| Now a Director of the National Forensic Academy, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is able to use her formidable skills on myriad investigations. But someone is aware of her every move, manipulating her towards a situation where she would become the prey.
Florida is full of human predators, and they all give Dr Kay Scarpetta the opportunity and the means to do what she does best - persuading the dead to speak to her. And in Boston, Benton Wesley is working on a secret case involving convicted killers. It is a project which gives Scarpetta deep disquiet, as does the behaviour of her niece, Lucy, who is spending too much time in cheap bars looking for casual pick-ups. The Academy is called when a woman's body is found in Boston. She has been tortured, sexually abused, her body tattooed with handprints. The same sort of handprints Lucy had seen on the flesh of her latest pick-up. Meanwhile, Scarpetta and Marino are investigating the disappearance of a family in Florida, called in by a concerned neighbour, but as they search and find the tell-tale signs of abduction rather than disappearance, they also discover that someone had assumed the identity of the caller, and she is now dead. They've been set up, and it becomes clear that someone is tracking their every move. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100% Special suspect? - chronically deranged person Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - solving long-past murder - killer purposefully leaves puzzle clues - Big focus on forensic evidence 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 - 50 % 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: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - jealousy The antagonists are: - cults How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Southeast Farm/Ranch? Yes Farm/Ranch: - ranch Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Misc setting - scientific labs Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture Unusual forms of death - hanging Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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