How effective is the author in engaging the reader's attention?

The opening chapter of “The Drop” successfully engages and sustains the readers attention from the succinct, short sentence. The introduction to this novel centres on the life and death of Michael J.Roscoe, and involves various unanswered questions that compel the reader to continue reading the novel. Through the implementation of various narrative and linguistic technique, the author has successfully formed the basis of a novel that is effective in engaging and sustaining the reader's attention.

One such way that author effectively captures the reader's attention is through the establishment of a mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere. The inclusion of truncated sentences, such as “His son was almost as tall as him. The picture had been taken the summer before, on Long Island. They had spent the day sailing,” presents a sense of tension and urgency within the novel and arouses the reader's interest. Consequently, the reader is drawn into the involvement with the text and feels compelled to discover what events occurred to create a suspenseful storyline. Furthermore, the utilisation of rhetorical questions also assists the author in establishing mystery and suspense throughout the chapter. The employment of this technique is evident in the paragraph “No Coffee? Whatever next? Mr Roscoe had begun his day with a double espresso for as long as she had known him. Could it be that he was ill?”.This example impels the reader to continue reading as they feel involved with the mystery of the story and arises many unanswered questions. These techniques assist in engaging the reader's attention as they feel compelled to discover answers that create a suspenseful atmosphere.

From the opening sentence the writer intrigues the audience through the strategic employment of gaps and silences throughout the text. This successful technique involves the author excluding explanations of events and is evident in sentences such as, “Routine was going to kill Michael J.Roscoe and this was the day death had chosen to come calling.” In this sentence, the reader is given insufficient information in relation to Roscoe's death which draws the reader into the novel and forces them to make connections throughout the text. Therefore, the lack of information given creates gaps throughout the novel, captivating the