| After an absence of many years, the anonymous madman known as the Deaf Man returns to plague the detectives of the 87th Precinct in general and Steve Carella in particular.
What the Deaf Man has in mind is a complex pay-or-die extortion scheme, with politicians from the parks commissioner to the mayor as targets. It's really all a smokescreen for the Deaf Man's real crime, but what could that possibly be? As the Deaf Man brings his plans closer and closer to completion and the taunting phone calls and notes continue, the detectives stay on his trail, but always several steps behind. Who is the Deaf Man? Will he be caught? What is the true purpose behind the paltry ransom demands mailed to the 87th? And how can you catch a killer without motive, without clues, and without a name? | ||
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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 - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Crime plotlets: Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Genius Setting City? Yes City: - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) 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 Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets - exploded into bits Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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