| Gary Soneji is the most of dangerous of criminals. A psychopathic serial-kidnapper with a genius-level IQ and an obsession with famous criminals, he doen't want money and he doesn't want political favors. Gary Soneji wants to be somebody, to live on the collective unconscious of America, and he's well on his way in this novel, the first in James Patterson's Alex Cross series.
On a bright spring day, Soneji, posing as a teacher at one of the most exclusive private schools in the country, abducts the daughter of a world-famous movie star and the son of the Secretary of the Treasury. Called in to investigate the case is Detective Alex Cross, a homicide investigator and forensic psychologist specializing in serial killers. Pursuing Soneji across the east coast, Cross soon realizes that he is not dealing with an ordinary psycho. The man he is chasing is an organized genius so obsessive that he wipes his fingerprints off the pages of books. Finally capturing Soneji, Cross is faced with a double problem: how can he find a kidnapped child when the only man who knows where she is isn't talking, and how can he ensure Soneji's conviction, when the madman has adopted the expertly-crafted facade of a family-man with a monstrous split-personality? | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % 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: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - insanity How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Genius Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast - Southeast City? Yes City: - Washington D.C. Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - actual description of sex Unusual forms of death - diced - perforation--bullets - perforation--swords/knives Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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