| Jim Davenport is an average family man from Indiana, a classic "nice guy" who moves his family down to quaint, suburban Triggerfish Lane in Tampa, Florida to take a job with a consulting firm. But Triggerfish Lane is not the paradise it appears. A local land-grabber is trying to scare away the homeowners by bringing in an assortment of degenerate tenants.
Jim, a pacifist to the core, is fired by his firm after he refuses to allow them to change his report to recommend layoffs. With the firing, Jim's life begins to spin out of control. A defective airbag in Jim's Suburban kills a carjacker who, it develops, has a quartet of vicious brothers who have just been sprung from jail. John Milton, a mild-mannered bank-teller, is laidoff and led to believe that Jim recommended it. Suffering a nervous breakdown, the now-homeless Milton plots revenge. Finally, Serge A. Storms, psychotic thief, spree killer, and Florida history buff, moves into a house down the street from Jim and takes a liking to the "unsung hero of America, a parent," as he and his lackeys Coleman and Sharon plot a kidnap-for-ransom that goes hilariously wrong. The wild, multi-faceted plot careens around Triggerfish Lane and out into the streets of Tampa, where everything from used-car lots to people who pay by check at convenience stores are mercilessly lampooned by Dorsey's razor-wit before returning to the Davenport home for an Independence Day barbecue that offers a truly explosive finale. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical Time/era of story: Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Crime Thriller Yes Crime plotlets: Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Who's the criminal enemy here? - hunted by BAD vigilante getting revenge If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Unusual characteristics: Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - revenge The antagonists are: - rednecks How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Dumb Setting United States Yes The US: - Southeast Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee - hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids - sinister, like an X-Files Gomer Pyle Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - use of artificial tools - actual description of sex Unusual forms of death - dropped from large heights - flamed - perforation--bullets - blunt clubbing (like seals) - exploded into bits Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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