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Quiet Storm, 2004, 14.95, 262 pp. ISBN: 0974960810 In Dallas, former police officer turned private sleuth Arthur Conan “Ace” Edwards ekes out a living to complement his retirement pay mostly finding information on cheating spouses. Three years ago, Ace worked a case for a client from his hometown, multimillionaire Jake Adams, seeking proof that his wife, Sheila was cheating on him so that he would pay less in alimony and most likely keep the home he designed. Ace succeeded, but Jake lost the house to Sheila anyway. Jake wants to hire Ace to investigate who burned down “his” home. Though he would prefer to stay away from Cisco, Ace accepts because the fee will pay off his outstanding debts. Ace immediately learns two people died in the fire. He assumes Sheila is one, but has no idea whom the other is. Though local, townsfolk treat Ace like an outsider refusing to cooperate with him; except for Bubba, who loved Sheila and was the cause of the divorce. As Ace continues his inquiries for a conflict of interest pair of clients (Bubba vs. Jake) and falls in love, someone tries to ace the sleuth whose only allies are his two cats. Harriet Klausner | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - revenge How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Texas Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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