| In the Texas desert Jack Reacher, former Army police officer and now endless drifter, is picked up while hitch-hiking. His ride is a desperate woman looking for someone to help her with a problem. It seems her husband has been beating her severely for the seven years they've been married. For the past two years he's been in jail for tax evasion and he's about to get out, and the beatings will continue. If it weren't for her young daughter she would just leave but it isn't as simple as it sounds.
After Reacher refuses to kill the man, he agrees to help her any way he can. Unfortunately when the husband gets out of prison he is shot and all evidence points to the wife. Then it appears she may not have been such a victim at all. In fact everything she said may have been a complete lie. All the evidence points that way. But Reacher doesn't think so. It will take all of his investigative skills, and a good amount of strong arm intimidation, to get to the bottom of this. On top of this is the murder of a local lawyer, and the 20 year mystery of a rash of immigrant killings. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80% Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 70 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: The antagonists are: - government bureaucracy How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting Desert? Yes Desert: - dying of thirst, sunburn Farm/Ranch? Yes Farm/Ranch: - ranch Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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