| Bostonians Ned Demarco and Francie Cullingwood are having an affair, using the remote New Hampshire island cottage of Francie's globe trotting friend Brenda for their trysts. Ned, a radio talk show psychiatrist, will never divorce his wife Anne while his daughter Emilia is still young. Ned's wife is unaware of her husband's infidelity as is Francie's spouse Roger. Afflicted with malaise since his layoff one year prior, Roger has become sullen, inattentive, and lazy. Francie is the breadwinner working as an art buyer for a local foundation. Their marriage has collapsed in part from their failure to conceive a child. Roger is rebuffed when he makes sexual advances toward Francie. He suspects she is being unfaithful and follows her trail to the NH cottage finding evidence of her adultery. Francie, during a brush with death on the unstable ice leading to the cottage late one night, vows to break off her extramarital affair if she survives.
Eventually Francie is introduced to Anne through their mutual friend Nora at the club where both couples belong. Francie and Anne become playing partners in the club's upcoming doubles tournament but are unaware of their mutual association with one another. Roger now acting on his knowledge of Francie's affair devises what he believes to be a foolproof method of eliminating his cheating spouse. He enlists the aid of a highly unstable, violent ex-con named Whitey Truax who is in a halfway house on probation in Florida. Whitey is originally from New Hampshire and was incarcerated for murdering a woman in a cottage similar to the one Brenda owns. Roger meets Whitey in Florida and sets his plan in motion; thinking he has devised the ideal scenario for murdering his wife. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Crime plotlets: Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Unusual characteristics: Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - revenge How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast Island? Yes City? Yes City: - Boston Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts - descript. of other female areas - descript. of male nudity Unusual forms of death - decapitated Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||