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| Plot Summary of Twice Burned |
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"
Mira, Jul 2002, 6.50, 400 pp.
ISBN: 1551669196
The Stonybrook, Pennsylvania police arrest Ted Hardy for the brutal stabbing death of his ex-wife and the even more heinous crime of burning down their home with their two preadolescent children inside. Ted is convicted of the three homicides and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Ted's younger sister Lea refuses to believe that her beloved brother could murder the two children he cherished. Though she has not set foot in her hometown since her parents murder-suicide twenty years ago, she moves back to her family home in order to renovate and sell it to obtain money for Ted's appeal. As she worries about her depressed brother, someone tries to kill Lea. Only with the help, protection and eventually love of her neighbors Mick Conklin and his teenage daughter Heather does she have a chance of surviving, but their actions place her beloved duo in peril.
TWICE BURNED is an exciting romantic suspense that runs on several levels. The subplot radiating with Lea as its core is a well written prime thread that bring alive the key cast members including a close up look at a teen in trouble due to feelings of rejection. A second theme using flashbacks to the final days of Ted's wife seems more disruptive taking away from the Lea piece though it provides insight to the behavior of the dead spouse. The other segment centers on the legal system's handling of capital punishment that spotlights problems of adequate defense for a mentally depressed person. Jan Coffey furnishes a strong novel that will delight readers who want to know if not Ted then who?
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Twice Burned |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in small town
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Mid-Atlantic states
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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