| Menley is trying to get over losing her son in a car accident and almost losing her husband due to grief and guilt, and she finds out she's pregnant again. After their daughter is born the decide to take a vacation and rent a house on the Cape for a month. During this time a man accused of murdering his wife for money is in desperate need of a lawyer to prove his innocence and Menley's husband decides to represent him.
Menley hears her dead son's voice haunting her at night and she thinks that she's losing her mind while she seems to be losing her memory as well. She can't remember getting up in the middle of the night and moving her daughter or covering her up and she thinks she might be having post traumatic stress from the accident. Meanwhile she's writing a paper about the Cape for a travel magazine and comes across some devestating history about the house they are renting during her research and wonders if this is a mystery worth solving. She has no idea that the person who is after her has intentions she can't even imagine. This book is a little hard to follow, and I think that the ending was a little disappointing, but it was enjoyable to read and it was a little different than anything I have ever read by this author before. It jumps back and forth between multiple characters and it takes a little while to get to know all of them and tends to be a little confusing at first. | ||
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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? - 60% Special suspect? - best friend Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - cooped up in spooky house 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 - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Unusual characteristics: Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes Ice Caps/Sea? Yes Where? - Ocean Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Misc setting - fancy mansion Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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