NOTE: I received this free book from Blogging for Books in
exchange for writing a review on their website.
My review is as follows:
I have been reading either college essay exams or books for
my two book groups, so I considered this book a mini vacation from my required
reading. It has been quite a while since
I have read a pure detective mystery and I loved every minute of this reading
experience! The author, John Verdon,
provided insight into the personalities of the characters, particularly the
main character, Dave Gurney, and his wife Madeline that made them fascinating
and helped me care about them. He also
provided insight into Dave’s thought process and motivation that was quite
interesting. Besides having an enjoyable
reading experience I learned how detectives might go about solving cases as
well as insight into my own thinking.
The solution was ingenious and thought-provoking! I strongly recommend this book to mystery
lovers as well as someone who wants an enjoyable, thoughtful read where they
will gain knowledge and insight. Please
visit my blog, ReadtoEnrich.blogspot.com for a list of characters and
discussion questions. This book was provided
free in exchange for my review.
Characters
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Dave Gurney – retired detective
Madeline – second wife – counselor at crisis center
Danny – Dave and Madeline’s son – deceased at age 4 –
automobile accident when Dave was watching
him
Kyle – son by first wife – Columbia law student
Jack Hardwick – retired detective,
Esti Moreno – BCI investigator, dating Jack
Lex Bincher – lawyer working with Jack to free Kay Spalter
Carl Spalter – murdered executive and prospective
politician
Kay Spalter – second wife - convicted of killing Carl
Alyssa – daughter
by Carl’s first marriage – drug addict
Jonah Spalter – Carl’s brother – Cyberspace Cathedral
Mother to Carl and
Jonah – murdered in senior living home
Michael Klemper – Mick the Dick – Senior Investigator on
Spalter case
Adonis Angelidis – Donny Angel – mob boss – murdered by
Peter Pan
Petros Panikos – Peter Pan
Brian Bork – RAM-TV
Malcolm Claret – Dave’s therapist
Minor Characters:
Paulette Purley – cemetery manager
Frank McGrath – manager of apartment building
Carol Blissy – manager of senior living home
Freddie – witness against Kay who disappeared
Balo – in apartment next to crime scene
|
For Discussion:
NOTE: All page numbers refer to the hardback edition of the
book
1. Discuss Dave’s reasons for pursuing the case. He felt it was an intellectual challenge or
puzzle to be solved. Madeline thought he
was driven by the idea of risk. (Chapter
10, Page 60)
2. What did you think of Claret’s analysis of Dave’s motivation? On page 257 (Chapter 37) he stated that “So
this obsessive need of yours to atone for Danny’s death, to deal with your
guilt by exposing yourself to the risk of being killed…it’s terribly selfish,
isn’t it?”
3. Consider Dave’s explanation of how witnesses can be
wrong. In chapter 39, page 271 he
stated, “We don’t think what we think because we see what we see. We see what we see because we think what we
think. Preconceptions can easily
override optical date – even make us see things that aren’t there.” Do you think this is correct? Can you think of any examples, either from
the news or from your own experience, to prove or disprove this idea?
4. In the midst of the investigation while Dave was gathering
information he reflected that, “Too much was happening too damn fast. It was as though his brain couldn’t contain
another speck of information, and every time something new got jammed in, it
shoved something out the other side.”
(Chapter 39, Page 272) Have you
ever felt like this?
5. What did you think about the idea of “pattern resonance”
where we make connections unconsciously between things that are somewhat
similar but not overtly so? (Chapter 52,
page 356) How did this help Dave solve
the mystery? Can you think of any examples
from your own thought processes?
6. Why did Brian Bork run the promotion ads for the fictitious
show earlier than agreed upon? Did you
think this was realistic?
7. Several times the author described Madeline as able to
compartmentalize her life (Chapter 44, Page 309 and Chapter 45, Page 315). Are you able to do this? Do you want to be able to do this?
8. The author noted that being in law enforcement changes
people by “nourishing certain traits: skepticism, calculation, insularity,
toughness.” (Chapter 34, page 235) He continued that different people react
differently to these and have either positive or negative outcomes. Can you see how this could happen? What could police departments do to help
their officers survive and thrive in difficult situations?
9. As a college professor, I often remind my students about the
importance of sleep and the need to give information time to become
consolidated into your long-term memory.
Gurney thought that dreams were the result of “the nightly filing and
indexing process the brain employs in the movement of recorded experience from
short-term to long-term memory” (Chapter 54, page 365). Do you think this is correct? Can you see how this would be important to a
detective trying to solve a case as well as a student studying for an exam?
10. As you were reading, who did you think was the
murderer? What clues led you to your
conclusion?
11. Did you like the ending and the explanation of the solution
to the case? Was it satisfying? Compare this novel to other mysteries you
have read and the way the solution was revealed.
12. Discuss your reading experience.
*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at wordassociation.com, amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Click on link to upper right to go to Amazon page.