Allreaders.com
Author Michael Marshall Smith booklist (click here)

Book Review By Ellie Chaucer
The Lonely Dead by Michael Marshall Smith

   Ex-CIA agent Ward Hopkins' life was never perfect. But in the last few months, it's definitely taken a turn for the worst. Ward is on the run, slinking around the USA's least glamourous states, staying in run-down motels and other dark, dubious places where there is usually a KEEP OUT sign on the door. Three months ago, Ward discovered a group of well-heeled sociopaths called The Straw Men while trying to find the people who killed his parents. Together with Bobby Nygard, his best friend, and two agents trying to solve a kidnapping case, Nina Baynam and John Zandt, Ward storms The Straw Men's hideout. Along the way, Ward 'reunites' with his long-lost twin brother, Paul, also known as The Upright Man, and gets The Straw Men's billion dollar hideaway blown to bits.

   Now Bobby is dead, John is AWOL, and Nina's career is going downhill. Ward is trying to track down his brother when Nina asks for help on a murder case. A woman has been found dead, sitting bolt upright in her hotel room. After some investigation, and a second murder, Ward begins to suspect that the killings and his own problems may be connected, and that The Straw Men's influence is much farther reaching then he first thought.


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? - 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - Killer purposely leaves clues
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
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
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status:
Eccentric: Yes
Motive of antagonist - insanity
The antagonists are: - radical right wingers
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Pacific NW - California

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
Unusual forms of death - dropped from large heights
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Back To Main Menu