Genre
Thriller, Crime
Setting and Context
New York in a street with similarly structured houses
Narrator and Point of View
Third person omniscient but who gives the perspective and thoughts of several main characters in the story.
Tone and Mood
Apprehensive, Anxious, Cynical
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Marco and Anne . Antagonist: The Unknown Kidnapper of their baby daughter
Major Conflict
Cora, Maro and Anne's 6-month-old daughter, is kidnapped one night when her parents are at their neighbours' house celebrating a party. They try to know who kidnapped her and why.
Climax
When Marco gets his ransom money to go and get Cora back, he gets hits in the head, pass out, and has his money stolen.
Foreshadowing
"Anne tells herself to stop it. Tells herself that of course, Marco is faithful to her. He knows he is completely committed to his family." The doubt in Anne foreshadows the actions of Marco later on, and that he was involved in the kidnapping incidence.
Understatement
"'What's wrong with having the best lawyer we can get?' Anne asks. 'Don't worry about the money, Marco.'"
Allusions
There were many allusions to Anne's parents' richness and especially that the money came from her mother and not her father. This hinted to the fact that Anne's father might one day think to use his wife's money against the family for his own good; to earn it himself.
Imagery
"She tunes it out and stares at the carved marble fireplace, exactly like the one in her own living-dining room, on the other side of the common wall that Anne and Marco share with Cynthia and Graham; they live in attached brick row houses, typical of this city in upstate New York, solidly build in the late nineteenth century. All the houses in the row are similar -Italianate, restored, expensive..."
Paradox
"Marco feels out of place in his own home."
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
