| Someone is having fun at Dave Raskin's expense. That person has been harassing him by phone for weeks, threatening him with death if he does not leave his second-story shop by the last day of April. But Dave Raskin, patriotic American, knows what to do. He reports the heckler to Detective Meyer Meyer at the 87th Precinct.
Meanwhile, Detective Steve Carella is investigating the discovery of a nude corpse with the unlikely name of John Smith, a man wearing two-dollar shoes and staying in a four-star hotel. As Carella tracks Smith's movements, he discovers a plot to rob a bank somewhere in the city, a plot involving bombs and a $2 million payday, while, back at the 87th, Meyer discovers that at least 40 other storekeepers are receiving the threatening calls, and they are all next-door to a bank! As the multi-layered plot unfolds, the two cases become intertwined around a mysterious criminal genius known only as the Deaf Man. Who is the Deaf Man? Which bank does he plan to rob? And how? Will the detectives stop him in time? McBain's book answers a few of these questions and poses others as the novel hurtles toward an explosive and unconventional finale. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical 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? - 30% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book The crook is.... - committing armed robbery Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % 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 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 - flamed - perforation--bullets - exploded into bits Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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