the classic DOUBLE TAKE

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Have you ever read a book and, on a re-reading, see words and phrases which made perfect sense when you first read them, in the context of the story up to date, and then, on re-reading, you recognize that there are other possible interpretations of this!

I've read that, in mystery stories especially.

But one of the most wonderful examples of this is in the book Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs ....

"Are you Charles Cornick?" the vampire asked the man standing just behind Harris.
The werewolf's jaw dropped. "Oh, [expletive deleted] no, sir," he said in a shaky voice, his shoulder bumping into Harris's.
He might as well have screamed "I'm a victim" to the biggest predator in Europe. Adam could see the urge to attack slide into the bodies of all the vampires in the area--including Marsilia and Stefan.
Adam pinched his nose and closed his eyes briefly as the weight of responsibility fell on his shoulders. [ ..... ]
Harris's copilot continue to babble, the smell of his panic filling the air. "Have you ever seen Charles? He's about twenty feet tall, and he's Native American. Do I look Native American to you?"

This ... is priceless.