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| Plot Summary of Widow's Walk |
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"
Putnam, March 2002, 24.95, 304 pp.
ISBN 0399148450
Boston lawyer Rita Fiore hires private detective Spenser to find some evidence that will help her client Mary Smith who is accused of murdering her husband Nathan. He was a very rich fifty-one year old man and Mary is twenty-three and a real life dumb blonde. Both Spenser and her attorney believe she is innocent and intend to find the real perpetrator so Mary's name will be cleared.
From the time Spenser signs on for the case, he picks up a tail. Hoping that the thugs following him could lead him to somebody that clears Mary, he has Hawk follow them. When they find out whom they work for, Hawk and Spenser talk to that person but learn nothing. As Spenser starts to peel away the layers of a financial conspiracy, six people involved in the case are killed and it looks like Spencer is going to be the seventh.
Spenser is like Batman: ageless. He is a wise cracking ex-cop who has been involved with Susan for a quarter of a century and even with all the novel revealing so much about him, readers still learn something new with Robert B Parker's latest fun tale. WIDOW'S WALK is funny, entertaining and action packed, a joy to read.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Parker's venerable wiseguy detective Spenser is asked by a friend to investigate the death of a wealthy older man whose arm candy wife is accused of the crime, and is far too dimwitted to even consider such an act. Along the way, he uncovers a financial scandal that leads to more murders, and is (naturally) threatened physically himself. Will these brutes never learn?
Parker's formula continues to work splendidly, although this is not one of the more deeply probing or significant (in terms of the character's growing mythology) installments. Parker is coasting, but even his coasting is better than most people's all-out trying."
Jeffrey Cohen, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Widow's Walk |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
- 70%
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?
- just the right amount
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
- a lawyer creature
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
The antagonists are:
- lawyer creatures
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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