| The sudden death of lawyer Stone Barrington's cousin, Dick Stone, and his family in an apparent suicide/murder event sees the ex-policeman the beneficiary of pretty much all the effects left by Dick Stone.
Something seems wrong and Barrington is soon flying out with his associates to the small island of Islesboro in Maine to take charge of his own investigation and to meet the disgruntled members of the family. Dark Harbor is a very small town where everyone knows everyone else so it doesn't take long for Stone to become involved with ex-associates of his cousin, now retired but formerly working for the CIA and the local and enthusiastic Sergeant Young of the Maine Police Department. Although Dick's brother has the most to lose from what turns out to be an amended will only a few days before the deaths, there is no evidence to suggest that the brother, Caleb, could have been in any way involved. Short of cash and with twin boys to educate through college, he is the prime suspect but, as further murders take place on the island, there is nothing to link him to those either. With the rape and murder of a young girl-friend of a previous murder victim, followed by yet 2 more rapes and murders, the pace hots up leaving Barrington as perplexed as the first day he arrived on the island. Calling on his CIA contacts, his intimate friend Holly, another ex-law person and the local police force, suspicion begins to fall on Caleb's family. When Holly mysteriously disappears whilst out jogging, the matter becomes personal. Barrington and his team use hi-tech equipment, plain old common sense and not a little bit of luck to track down the perpetrator when Caleb becomes less the likely suspect. With a bit of good timing, the case is cracked just as the holiday season in Islesboro comes to an end and Stone and his crew can all return to the mainland to carry on their lives. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100% Special suspect? - relative Murder of certain profession? Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 0 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - a teen Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure The antagonists are: - lawyer creatures How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Small town? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||