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Book Review By Harriet Klausner
Cross Current by Christine King



Ballantine, Oct 2004, 23.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0345448294

While waiting to tug a boat filled with Haitian refugees, Seychelle notices another vessel out in the gulf and takes her ship the Garda there. She finds a young dehydrated girl named Solange with a dead woman. She rescues the girl and tugs the boat containing the deceased to the dock. The Haitian refugee says that her father lives in the United States.   Seychelle intends to find him so that Solange will not be deported.

There has been a recent increase in the smuggling of Haitians into America. Seychelle believes that Solange and the dead woman were on a boat that capsized with fifty Haitians aboard. Solange is not safe as thugs try to kidnap her although neither Seychelle nor she can determine why. Those Haitians that survive have been sold into slavery making it even more difficult for Seychelle to gain their trust so that she can locate Solange's father. Kidnappers abduct Seychelle and Solange taking them to Bimini where they meet the smugglers' mastermind. The criminal tosses Seychelle overboard expecting her to die while he carries out his plans for Solange.

Harriet Klausner


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
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
Crime plotlets:
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - white slavery ring

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
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: - Southeast
The Americas (not US): Yes
The Americas: - The Caribbean

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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