| Samantha Adams, a cynical, crime journalist for the Atlanta Constitution, travels on assignment to Atlantic City, New Jersey to cover the Miss America Pageant. She brings her boyfriend Harry and her dog Harpo along for the weekend, a weekend that she assumes will be filled with vacuous females, spangles and glitter. But, when one of the judges fails to show up for the first evening's show, Sam sees his disappearance as a chance to use her investigative skills. Harry and his friend Lavert bet against Sam that the judge's disappearance was not through sinister means.
While Sam talks to the manager of the Pageant, hotel telephone operators, the head of housekeeping at the hotel, and various friends and relatives of the missing judge, she discovers that Miss America is not the air-headed beauty contest that she expected. She finds humor and substance behind the gorgeous facades of Miss Louisiana and Miss Texas, ambition in the eyes of Miss Georgia, and power in the guise of Miss New Jersey. Things come to a header when the nephew of the hotel magnate is also proclaimed missing. Sam, Harry, and Lavert share their findings with the local police department. Subplots include Mafia relationships, filmmaking, the quest to better one's situation, love/romance, and gambling. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical Time/era of story: Murder of certain profession? Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - insanity How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast City? Yes City: - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) Misc setting - resort/hotel Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment 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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