| At a Forensic seminar, Kay Scarpetta meets Nic Robilliard, a small-town Louisiana cop haunted by the unsolved murder of her mother years before. Scarpetta, no longer working as Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia but as a private consultant operating out of Florida, agrees to help Nic. Once in Baton Rouge, Scarpetta is dragged into a serial murder investigation that may be related to the murder of Nic's mother years earlier. Meanwhile, Scarpetta's niece Lucy, who now heads a private investigation team known as the Last Precinct, is dispatched on a crucial mission to Eastern Europe. All the while, the "Wolfman" Jean-Baptiste Chandonne awaits his execution on Death Row, but insists that Scarpetta speak with him... and be the one to insert the needle at his execution. All of this is being elaborately controlled by a man on the outside, a man who will soon reveal his face to Scarpetta. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Story partially from villain's perspective Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder - - Big focus on forensic evidence Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book The crook is.... - on the run from the law 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 Crime plotlets: Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Who's the criminal enemy here? - catching thief If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - foreign organized crime Monster of some sort? Yes Kind of monster: - the Wolfman How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Deep South - Mid-Atlantic states Europe Yes European country: - Eastern Europe Misc setting - prison Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - lesbians! Unusual forms of death - poisoning Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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