Cameron Holmes

English 11 Advanced

10/30/15

The novel, At the Edge by Norah Mcclintock is a story about a girl named Robyn who

ends up becoming friends with a new kid to her school, James Derrick. As she begins to learn

more about her new friend James, and begins to tutor him, she becomes curious of reasons why

his personality is quite odd. The more time she spends with him the more she learns about him,

and finds out his brother was killed under his watch, several years ago. Jamess brother Greg was

supposedly shot by a man, who ended up walking away free in court, because of the outstanding

defense attorneys work, that struck doubt into the court, leading to a not guilty charge. James

was forever scarred by that, because he was too young to take all of the pressure by the defense

attorney in court, and he let his believed brothers murderer walk away free. Little does James

know who the defense attorney actually was, Robyns mother. As Robyn tries to learn more

about the murder case, and if her mom was truly the one at fault, she begins to dig herself in a

hole she cant get out of. Robyns nosiness may satisfy her conscience about the guilt of her

mother, but at the same time may also get her into situations far more harmful than she bargained

for.

The novel, At the Edge by Norah Mcclintock is a combination of both a Cozy Mystery,

and a Legal Mystery. This novel is a Cozy, because it takes place in a small town, and the

murder takes place off stage. The main character named Robyn, also somewhat plays the role of
a detective as she tries to uncover clues about the murder of Jamess brother. Mcclintock writes,

Look at Leonard. He says he didnt do it. He says he was never in the alley. Look at him and

tell me - is he the man who shot Greg (178)? This quote explain one of the spots in the story

where she tries to figure out the actual murderer was. However, this novel could also be

considered a Legal Mystery, because of the extensive amount of court scenes displayed in the

story, and the number of laws that come into play in discovering the true killer. Mcclintock

writes, Mr. Derrick would have known that any statement he made would have been

circumstantial - that just because Leonard had been near the alley, didnt mean he shot anyone.

James statement was crucial if Leonard were to be convicted (176). This quote explains one of

the many legal matters that become involved in the story. With numerous court scenes that take

place in the novel, as well as the controversy that occurs over the eye-witness evidence of James

in being able to remember that man who shot his brother in the alley, this book is also considered

as a legal mystery.

The story is told from the perspective of the main character, Robyn. The reader uncovers

clues along with Robyn. As the main character is trying to piece together the clues in an attempt

to solve the mystery, the reader is as well. This aspect of the novel makes it far more interesting,

because as you are given clues throughout the story, you may think that some of them are

meaningless. However, once you get to the end of the story and uncover the truth, you realize

that how important the seemingly small clues were. In addition to the intriguing problem solving

element of the story, it also lets you inside of the feeling that the main character experiences. For

example, when Robyn finds out that her own mother was the defense attorney for the accused

murderer of Jamess brother Greg, her stomach turns. Mcclintock writes, What would he think
after confiding in me what he was keeping a secret from everyone else? Part of me wanted to

confess. Another part wish I never met him (111). This quote exemplifies the feelings that

Robyn shows throughout the story as she is trying to keep a secret from the person who opened

up to her on his biggest secret.

The author of the story has a very unique way of developing characters throughout the

story. First off, just about every character introduced in the story plays a vital role in the

progression of the story. There are no minor characters introduced in the story that play hardly

any role whatsoever in the outcome of the novel. The author develops characters very

intriguingly, because even the characters at the beginning who you think will just show up in one

chapter and vanish for the rest of the story may end up being the most important. For example,

James and his father Mr.Derrick. James popped up in the story in the very first chapter, and

seemed like he wasnt going to be relevant from the start. Mcclintock writes, His name is

James Derrick, I said. Hes a transfer student. Thats all I know. And hes in your

homeroom, Morgan said. Like I Cared (10)? This quote shows how the reader was lead on to

believe that the character James was going to be seemingly irrelevant. In the end, he is the most

important character in the book other than Robyn. On top of that, Jamess father was seemingly

depicted as irrelevant as well. Throughout the story the reader sees that Mr.Derrick blames his

son James for the death of his youngest son, because he didnt keep an eye on him when he was

told to, and it was his fault for not being one hundred percent certain who shot his brother.

However, when you find out at the end that Mr.Derrick told James the description of the killer

that he wanted to be convicted instead who may have actually killed him, it comes to a shock for
the reader. It was believed throughout the story that Leonard is the killer, but at the end the

reader finds out the truth that it really wasnt him after all.

The plot structure in the novel is very fascinating, and equally as unique compared to

most novels. The first ninety-five percent of the novel consists of rising action. Then, the last ten

pages of the book consisted of the climax. After that, there was only a page or two of falling

action which was rather odd. The structure of the book was also intriguing in the fact that the end

of each chapter consisted of a cliff-hanger, where either an intense situation occurred that made

the reader want to continue, or a new clue was introduced to the story. Mcclintock writes, The

view would have been breathtaking if I could have gave it my full attention. But I was distracted

- by the man kneeling on the kitchen floor with his hands clasped behind his head, and by the

gun in Richard Derricks gloved hand (169). This quote was introduced just before the last

chapter began. Multiple quotes of this magnitude are planted throughout the book, which

seemingly are designed to keep the reader want to continue. Also, Mcclintock writes, Even

though I already knew what he was talking about, I held my tongue. There were some things that

you just couldnt force. My brother died five years ago, he said. Im sorry, I murmured.

James stared out the windshield. What happened?, I asked. James still didnt look at me. He

was murdered(87). Before this quote was introduced, it was known that his brother had died,

but the reader had not known yet that his brother had been murdered. This was yet another key

piece of information that was introduced at the end of a chapter as a cliffhanger.

Arguably the most compelling part of the novel is the way clues are implanted throughout

the course of the novel. Numerous clues are presented and discovered throughout the book, as

the main character Robyn continues to find out more and more clues about the murder of Jamess
brother. She tries to solve the mystery as to why the widely believed killer, Eddie Leonard, was

never convicted. Robyn discovers clues by asking her mother about the case, because she was

the defense lawyer for Leonard in court. Leonard was never convicted because James was not

convincing enough in his eye-witness description of Leonard. Mcclintock writes, There was

more to it than an eye-witness account. Although thats the part everyone seems to remember. I

also introduced my client's criminal record (108). This quote also was introduced to the reader

to try and persuade them to realize that Leonard truly wasnt the killer. The eye-witness evidence

piece truly comes into play when at the end its discovered that James didnt actually see the man

who shot his brother, that is why he was shaky and unsure in court. The man Eddie Leonard who

was tried, was spotted running away from the scene by Jamess father Richard. Richard told

James what he saw and Leonard was the only person who could reasonably be blamed for the

murder of his brother Greg. Eye-witness evidence was portrayed throughout the book as if it

werent a big deal, but at the end, the reader finds out that it was the most important piece of

evidence.

All in all, the novel At The Edge by Norah Mcclintock is a very well constructed

mystery novel. The author does a great job of keeping the reader interested throughout the story,

and gives the reader a good sense of how the main character feels throughout the story.

Numerous subtle clues are presented throughout the story in which the reader would have to

observe very carefully in order to accurately solve the mystery. Missing just one small piece of

information given to the reader during the course of the novel, would make it extremely difficult

to successfully solve the murder mystery.