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Atria, Aug 2004, 12.95, 304 pp. ISBN: 0743470486 In Phoenix, attorney Clare Westbrook uses her twenty million dollars inheritance to open an office on the poor side of town to help innocent people who cannot afford a lawyer. Next door mental clinic patient Peter Bailey walks in and warns Clare to beware of the dolls before leaving. Clare is painting her office at night when a drive by shooting shatters her window. The cops arrive including her off again boyfriend Detective Anthony Sonterra, who takes the shaken up Clare to his home. Tony and Clare talk about their future together. He wants her to move in with him, but she says she will never shack up except in marriage and she is not sure she wants to marry him. Peter gives Clare an envelope containing thirteen pictures of dolls. Clare calls the clinic's Dr. Tomlinson, who insists Peter is not dangerous. Next Clare's email contains a picture of dolls with a warning, but she does not know why or what the “Dollman” wants of her. People associated with Clare begin to die and arson occurs as the beleaguered attorney wonders who the Dollman is and why is he trying to destroy her? The return of the cast from DON'T LOOK NOW will excite readers as the lead duo from then and now has grown further in this exhilarating police procedural romance. A secondary subplot involving Clare's assistant adds to the well written thriller that never slows down until the final confrontation between the heroine and the killer. Though the killer comes out of nowhere and his motive seems unreal, romantic suspense fans will look back on the two Westbrooke novels as fond Miller time. 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: Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents 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 Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30'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: - West 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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