1) Ms. Stewart is very committed to the idea of providing a musical soundtrack for her novel. This is a fun way to add a little multimedia to a book. More importantly, when she evokes a song, she also gets the added benefit of the reader subconsciously transferring their concept of the song to the novel. For example, when I think of “Someone Like You,” I think of bitter heartbreak that is only half-healed. That feeling colors how I perceive the prose.
2) I love that the book begins with two of my favorite opening techniques: in medias res and a countdown. When you begin in medias res (in the middle of the action), the reader is flung into the excitement without delay. Countdowns are a very natural way to build tension. They are innate in us. We know that when one minute becomes thirty seconds, and that becomes five, that SOMETHING big will happen.
3) Ms. Stewart has come up with a very clever and natural way to release exposition. It is literally Stella’s job as a music reporter to give her viewer exposition. It’s perfectly organic when Stella (literally) turns to the audience and tells you who Phillip Preston is and what he has done.
