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Dead Midnight
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Plot Summary of Dead Midnight
"

Mysterious, Jun 2002, 24.95,
ISBN: 089296765X

In San Francisco private investigator Sharon McCone does not know which feeling rips her guts worse. Is it the guilt for not realizing how depressed her brother was or is the grief that Joey killed himself? Though reluctant to investigate the suicide of Roger Nagasawa, Sharon believes work is the best thing to keep her mind off of Joey even if there appears surface parallels.

Roger worked for a popular Internet magazine that highlighted the happenings in the Bay area. Her inquiries lead Sharon to conclude Roger was going to expose the management of his magazine that is somehow failing in spite of strong loyalty and plenty of capital. However, Roger's proof is missing. Other key players also have vanished as McCone works the West Coast to keep other participants from leaping off of a bridge.

In spite of the underlying suicide theme that is handled reasonably well though overkilled (bad taste pun), DEAD MIDNIGHT is a fun who-done-it for those readers who want a story line faster than a world class 100 yard dash or even a quarter horse race. McCone races faster than speeding Flash as she overcomes her feelings of inadequacy and self-culpability with Joey's death to follow the clues. Marcia Muller furnishes an interesting McCone entry.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Dead Midnight
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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 - 40%
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? - 60%
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - private investigator
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? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - power
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: - California

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Dead Midnight
Desert Shadows by Betty Webb
Unfaithful Servant by Timothy Harris
Underkill by Leonard Chang
Murder in the Bastille by Cara Black
The Guards by Ken Bruen


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