St. Martin's, April 2005, 24.95, 384 pp. ISBN 0312313144 Mark DeAvecca is a first year student at Windsor Prep but isn't feeling well; his hands shake, he hallucinates and has memory loss. Everyone on the campus assumes he is doing drugs because his roommate Michael Feyre is a drug dealer. One night he thinks he sees somebody lying down on the ground but when he goes to investigate nobody is there. Worried about his health, he calls his mother's friend, former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian. Gregor notices right away that Mark is not himself but he doesn't believe he's taking drugs. He takes him to his hotel for a meal and some sleep and when Mark wakes up he returns to the school. When Gregor goes to find him, he sees Mark convulsing on the floor. He calls 911 and after some tests are made they learn he is suffering from caffeine and arsenic poisoning. They don't know who gave it to him or who wants him dead but Gregor thinks it is linked to the “suicide” death of his roommate. Gregor leads the local police in the direction he believes is the right one to catch the perpetrators. Harriet Klausner | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Murder of certain profession? Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult 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 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |