St. Martins, Oct 2004, 24.95, 320 pp. ISBN 0312324677 After working for the San Francisco Police Department for seven years, Dante Mancuso wasn't satisfied the way a case ended up; he pursued it against the orders of his superiors. Internal Affairs booted him out on trumped up charges. The shadowy Company recruited him and has sent him on assignments around the world. His latest assignment is to return to San Francisco, go to his father's funeral, and get reacquainted with old friends and his ex-girlfriend. He is to arrange a sting between the Wus (a Chinese family with legal and illegal businesses that use the Mancuso warehouse for temporary storage) and two drug traffickers Mason Wow and Yosek Faton (an ex con affiliated with the Nation of Islam). Dante learns that his father thought someone was out to kill him; he gave the negatives of pictures to his brother Sal who gave them to Dante. When Sal is murdered, Dante thinks it has to do with the pictures of illegal immigrants dead in a case on a ship. These pictures lead Dante back to why he was kicked off SFPD with hopes the truth will finally come out during the sting and its aftermath. The protagonist is a survivor and a man who didn't believe a killer's confession. This led him in to the world of the Company, where rules are made to be broken and operations are quasi-legal. His discovery of the truth about the man's death seven years ago changes nothing and he has to learn to live with his place in the world now. Harriet Klausner | ||
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? - 80% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book The crook is.... - Get treasure/money from another criminal 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 General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Who's the criminal enemy here? - drug dealers If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30'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: - California Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |