Friday, March 10, 2017

Mystery Annotation

Castle, R. (2013). Deadly heat. New York, New York : Hyperion Press.


Summary:
 Top NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat pursues the elusive former CIA station chief who ordered the execution of her mother over a decade ago. For the hunt, Nikki teams once again with her romantic partner, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Jameson Rook, and their quest for the old spy and the motive behind the past murder unearths an alarming terror plot-which is anything but ancient history. It is lethal. It is now. And it has already entered its countdown phase. Complicating Heat's mission to bring the rogue spy to justice and thwart the looming terror event, a serial killer begins menacing the Twentieth Precinct and her homicide squad is under pressure to stop him, and soon. The frightening murderer, known for his chilling stealth, not only has singled out Nikki as the exclusive recipient of his taunting messages, he then boldly names his next victim: Detective Heat (Amazon).

Characteristics of Mysteries:
1)      The solving of a crime, usually a murder, drives the plot. The detective and the audience sort through the available clues to discover the truth.
2)      The story focuses on the investigation and investigatory team. Mysteries are often written in a series, following the investigator through several cases.
3)      The frame in which the mystery is set plays a big role in its appeal.
4)      Mysteries range from dark and gritty to lighthearted and witty.
5)      Since mysteries are about the solving of a puzzle, pacing is relentless and compelling.

Read-a-likes:
Patterson, J. (2002). 1st to die. New York: Warner Books.
Imagine a killer who thinks, "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?"--and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women --a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner --who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women's Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won't touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise that turns everything about the case upside down.

Gerritsen, T. (2012). The surgeon. New York: Ballantine Books.
In her most masterful novel of medical suspense, New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen creates a villain of unforgettable evil--and the one woman who can catch him before he kills again. He slips into their homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, unaware of the horrors they soon will endure. The precision of the killer's methods suggests he is a deranged man of medicine, propelling the Boston newspapers and the frightened public to name him "The Surgeon." Filled with the authentic detail that is the trademark of this doctor turned author . . . and peopled with rich and complex characters--from the ER to the squad room to the city morgue--here is a thriller of unprecedented depth and suspense. Exposing the shocking link between those who kill and cure, punish and protect, The Surgeon is Tess Gerritsen's most exciting accomplishment yet.

Barr, N. (2006). Hard truth. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group.
Just days after marrying Sheriff Paul Davidson, Anna Pigeon moves to Colorado to assume her new post as district ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. When two of three children who'd gone missing from a religious retreat reappear, Anna's investigation brings her face-to-face with a paranoid sect--and with a villain so evil, he'll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

References:
Amazon. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2017, from http://www.amazon.com

Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. Chicago: American Library Association.

 WorldCat. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2017, from http://www.worldcat.org

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