| Detective Duncan Hatcher has spent years trying to nail elusive criminal and drug dealer, Robert Savich, to no avail. When Savich's trial is halted by a reputable Savannah judge, Hatcher can't believe that Savich is yet again perverting justice. An enraged Hatcher lashes out at the judge, Cato Laird, who he believes has a grudge against cops, and lands himself in jail for the night. When Duncan and his female partner, Dee Dee Bowen, attend an awards dinner a few nights later, Duncan lays his eyes on the most beautiful women he has ever seen. As luck would have it, she is Elise Laird, wife of the judge. Having had a few drinks, Duncan makes some crude comments to Elise, then immediately regrets his words. When Duncan and DeeDee are called to the Laird mansion a few nights later, they discover that Elise has murdered an intruder. As Duncan and Dee Dee investigate the murder, questions are raised as to whether Mrs. Laird killed in self-defense or whether it was deliberate murder. Doubts linger in Duncan's mind, despite the fact that his judgment is clouded by the beautiful Elise. Meanwhile, DeeDee hates Elise Laird with a passion and views her as cold-hearted manipulator of men. When Elise reaches out to Duncan and tells him that her husband is trying to murder her, Duncan doesn't know whether he is being played or playing the role of confidante. To the world, Judge Laird is a besotted, loving husband with the beautiful trophy wife who used to be a topless waitress. As Duncan finds himself falling head over heels in love with Elise he is appalled to find himself hiding secrets from his partner and not following police procedure. When Elise suddenly goes missing and is presumed dead, suddenly, he is forced to unravel a deadly conspiracy and to race against the clock to bring criminals to justice. | ||
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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? - 50% Special suspect? - lover Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on forensic evidence 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 - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? 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: Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - Drug kingpins How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Deep South Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts - descript. of male nudity Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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