| Grace O'Higgins is a young solo attorney in Syracuse, NY. Kay, a new client, has been referred to her with an unusual problem. Kay has to prove that she is married in order to inherit millions of dollars from the estate of her late uncle. Kay is a disheveled single graduate student in chemistry. She has no prospects. She has no money. She has a month. Kay's two wealthy cousins have hired the best firm in town to prevent her from inheriting the bulk of the estate.
Grace immediately files suit to protect her client. While Grace maneuvers in court, Kay negotiates with her cousins --- pitting them against each other. Then she surprises everyone by finding a husband. The marriage ceremony is performed in a video deposition to provide proof to the court. As the deposition ends, cousin Gunnar dies from an unidentified virus. Cousin Elke dies several days later, as the virus Kay has unleashed spreads. Sociopath Kay has gone from victim to mass murderer, yet remains undetected. Not satisfied with the entire fortune, Kay forges notes that cause the funds to be wired overseas before the heavy estate taxes can be deducted. Then she disappears. Grace and the cousins' attorney are indicted for conspiracy to defraud the State of New York. Looking for Kay, Grace discovers that her graduate school studies were funded by a Department of Defense bio-warfare grant. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Medical Thriller Yes Medical Plotlets: Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Legal Thriller Yes Legal Plotlets descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure The antagonists are: - lawyer creatures How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Genius Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Unusual forms of death - biohazard/virus Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - mostly dialog |
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