The author constructs Eric Edgar Cooke in order to portray an evil character with many agendas and personalities. In the chapter entitled "A powerful car to match a powerful urge", we are introduced to Eric Edgar Cooke's multiple sides as he is thinking to himself upon seeing three girls walking in the rain "although often he"d helped women, he wasn't going to do so now He was the other Eric Edgar Cooke very different to the one that gave lifts". This disturbed me greatly as this behaviour freaked me out, yet I was enticed to read on, this shows the affect of Eric Edgar Cooke's character on me. Eric Edgar Cooke was created in order to engage the reader in the opposite way as John Button, John was created to encourage sorrow and a feeling of mourn, Eric Edgar Cooke however was created to send fear to the reader.
The structuring of a novel is the way in which the story is laid out. The structure of Broken Lives is creatively constructed as it manipulates time in order to tell its story. The novel begins in the on Monday the 26th of October 1964, where we are made witness to the execution of Eric Edgar Cooke, the novel then goes back in time to Saturday the 9th February 1693 where we experience the fateful day in which John Button and Eric Edgar Cooke's lives become connected. The author uses this time manipulation technique to create a feeling of intrigue; this compels the reader to read on.Furthermore the author uses small short paragraphs during action sequences in order to keep the suspense and keep the reader reading. The Chapter entitled "A Powerful Car To Match A Powerful Urge" is a clear example of this tactic. The chapter portrays the sequence of events leading up to the hit-and-run of Georgina Pittman and Maureen Rogers, by using small paragraphs to describe the actions of Eric Edgar Cooke and to portray to the reader what the girls were thinking at the time. This sequence, which spans for five pages, laced with additional information and is intentionally structured in order to intrigue the reader into exploring what happens next.