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Signet, Oct 2004, 6.50, 288 pp. ISBN: 0451213327 Helen Hawthorne caught her unemployed husband having sex with their next door neighbor and in a rage she wrecked his SUV. The judge ordered her to pay alimony because her spouse spent the last few years taking care of her and their home while she earned a six figure income. An irate Helen refuses to pay one cent so she leaves St. Louis, relocating in Fort Lauderdale where she accepts dead end jobs that pay under the table. Her current job is a telemarketer at Tank Titan System Cleaner where the callers who pick up curse, hang up, and generally humiliate her because they think she is a low life. During a phone survey with Hank Asparth, he places the instrument down without hanging up; thus she overhears him arguing with a woman until she realizes that he strangled her. Helen calls the police, but they find nothing suspicions. She can't let it go so she calls the victim's sister Savannah to only to learn her sister has been missing for several days. Helen believes that Savannah's sister Laredo is dead and plans to learn the truth. She chose to become an investigator because she believes in justice and opts to expose herself to catch a killer. From going topless to stealing from the mob, this protagonist will do whatever it takes to prove Hank killed Laredo. Harriet Klausner | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Somewhat obvious Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Kind of investigator 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 Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - jealousy 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 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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