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All or Nothing
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Plot Summary of All or Nothing
""All or Nothing" stars Al Giraud, a private investigator and his assistant (and lover) Marla Cwitowitz. They are hired by Vickie Mallard, a suspected murderer's wife to prove her husband's innocence. Her husband, Steve, is imprisoned for the murder of real-estate salesperson, Laurie Martin, whom he was seeing, on what he declares as a purely professonal basis.

Al and Marla discover that Laurie Martin has a torrid past, and searching for her history takes them all across the US, from Florida, to Texas, to San Francisco. Their investigations place themselves in real danger in their quest to find out the truth about Laurie and the innocence or guilt of Steve Mallard. The sub-plot of the romance between Al and Marla is only a small percentage of the book and doesn't detract from the story."

Louisa Eggleton, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of All or Nothing
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%




Tone of story - very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain? - Somewhat obvious
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100%
Special suspect? - lover
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 5-7
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to All or Nothing
Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing by Gabrielle Lord
The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman
Out on the Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block
Every Breath She Takes by Suzanne Forster
A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton


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Elizabeth Adler Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Louisa Eggleton  

SCHOLARS:
Annie Strasburg  


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