No Certain Rest ( Jim Lehrer)

In No Certain Rest, Jim Lehrer tells a riveting story of mistaken identity and murder that begins to come together one detail at a time, while the reader tries to race ahead of the facts to solve the murder. As the reader sees inside the mind of Dr. Don Spaniel, he echoes the same questions plaguing the archeologist, such as: "If you're not T.L. Flintson of the Twenty-third Massachusetts, then who in the hell are you, sir?" and "But how did his ID disk end up in the grave of another man who died somewhere else five months later?" (Lehrer 57). In allowing the story to unfold via Spaniel's thoughts, Lehrer entices the reader forward by prompting him to ask himself the same questions and try to figure out the answers on his own. This literary device is extremely effective, since it leads the reader along the path of increasing intrigue, contemplating the questions that are central to the suspense of the mystery. One step at a time, the facts fall into place as Spaniel uncovers new evidence and makes mental associations that begin to fill in the gaps. At one point, he explains this modus operandi to Colonel Doleman:

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Category: Literature - N