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Deadly Associations
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Plot Summary of Deadly Associations
"

Silver Dagger, August 2003, 23.95
ISBN 157072248x

Indian Hills is such a small central Florida town that Detective Claudia Hershey is shocked when a resident at the gated community of Willow Whisper claims his house was robbed. When she arrives to take the victim's statement, she is knocked on the head and the perpetrator takes Claudia's gun. She notices that the man who hurt her has taken four hostages.

When Claudia asks him why he did such a thing, he replies he wants his house painted the color he requested and the crack in the patio fixed. The four hostages are behind the movement to keep Mr. Hemmer from getting what he wants. Claudia sees an opening to take Mr. Hemmer down without injury and goes for it but one of the hostages gets free and kills him claiming self-defense. After the dust settles, Claudia is pressured to drop the case but she thinks there is more to the hostage taking and the killing than two of the hostages let and she wants to see if she can find the evidence to substantiate her theory.

DEADLY ASSOCIATIONS is the perfect book for those readers who love a solid police procedural without any gore. The protagonist defies the mayor and her boss to continue working on the case because she believes there is something very wrong at Willow Whisper. She is so convinced she is right she turns the tables on the mayor when he tries to fire her. A possible romantic interest and an identical twin sister who comes for a visit despite not being wanted gives the audience a glimpse into the heroine's personal life.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Deadly Associations
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




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 - police procedural, American
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: - police/lawman
Age: - 20's-30's
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 - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
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 Deadly Associations
Jack In the Pulpit by Cynthia Riggs
While Others Sleep by Helen R. Myers
Have You Seen Her? by Karen Rose
Naked Prey by John Sandford
The Hot Pink Farmhouse by David Handler


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