| Attorney Nina Reilly is out hiking one day with her friend and colleague Collier Hallowell when a sudden storm hits. Nina and Collier take shelter, but they witness a man, Ray DeBeers, die after being struck by lightnening. For Collier the accident brings back painful memories of his wife's death three years earlier. Anna Hallowell had been killed by a hit and run driver. Meanwhile, Ray DeBeers' father, Quentin, believes (despite all evidence to the contrary) that his son's death was not an accident. He files a motion to have the body exhumed, and Nina is retained on behalf of the family to fight this. When Ray's body goes missing, and Quentin DeBeers turns up dead, suspicion falls on Ray's son Jason. Nina defends Jason, hiding a crucial piece of evidence in the process. Meanwhile, Nina's investigator and love interest, Paul, who is working on the case, discovers that the deaths of Ray and Quentin DeBeers may be directly linked to Anna Hallowell's death, three years earlier. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60% Special suspect? - relative Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect - Big focus on forensic evidence - Big focus on autopsies Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Setting United States Yes The US: - Pacific NW - California Mountains/Cliffs Yes Mountains: - climbing on trails - falling off Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Unusual forms of death - run over Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||