| Anna Pigeon is on the move again - with cat Piedmont and dog Taco in tow. Her new assignment is in the Deep South of the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. Before she can even get to her new digs, she's given bad directions by a junior ranger and ends up in the Mississippi mud.
Once she finds her way to ranger central, she finds herself up against bible-thumping campers, Confederate soldier re-enactors, and employees that embody the southern Bubba spirit. All the men seem to have a layer of fat and a condescending attitude towards the lady ranger. But there's no time to dwell on the obvious, because in her first day/night she encounters boys who have abandoned a drunk and blacked out teenage girl. Another drunken girl, Danni, in the woods turns out to be the victim of a heinous crime - she's got a sheet with eyeholes cut out over her head and a noose around her neck. Is it redneck villians? Disgruntled boyfriends? A black-on-white crime? Nothing is slow as molasses as Anna fights off a gator who bites off one dog's leg, as she meets the victim's psycho mother, as she is endangered by the Bubbas who don't want to work for a lady ranger, and when she finds out about the local homosexual lover's point. There's the handsome and sexy policeman...but there's also his wife on her doorstep. Throw in the story of Grant's soldiers who disappeared during the Civil War, and a horrific attack on Anna, and you've got another Nevada Barr page-turner that will keep you up all night! | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50% Special suspect? - chronically deranged person Misc. Murder Plotlets - local police w/ IQ of a houseplant - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect - 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 - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % 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 Motive of antagonist - money/treasure The antagonists are: - rednecks How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Deep South Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation - hanging - blunt clubbing (like seals) Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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