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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Scarpetta visit Grueman after her meeting with the bird expert?

2. How does Scarpetta answer the questions posed to her in court?

3. Where did Grueman keep his belongings?

4. What does Benton offer Lucy?

5. Why does Robyn's ex-husband keep calling Scarpetta?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why isn't anyone able to get fingerprints from Waddell?

2. What causes the governor to resign?

3. Why does Scarpetta head to Robyn's old house to get fingerprints?

4. Why does Waddell's decision to give up appealing his case surprise Scarpetta?

5. Why does Benton not believe that Waddell would be capable of the recent murders?

6. How does the press know about Scarpetta's meeting with the governor?

7. What does Scarpetta suspect about the briefcase Jennifer's ex-husband gives her?

8. Why do Benton and Scarpetta rearrange the furniture in Robyn's old house?

9. How does Scarpetta know that the killer only had access to crime scene pictures, not the crime scene itself, of Robyn's murder?

10. Why does Scarpetta request that Benton put an article in the paper about the theft of jackets?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a well-reasoned argument discussing whether or not Scarpetta is a good role model for young, female readers.

Essay Topic 2

Murder mysteries, those by Patricia Cornwell in particular, are an especially popular type of novel. Discuss at least 4 aspects of Cornwell's writing style that resonates so strongly with such a large audience. Cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Present an argument that discusses whether or not Lucy's ability to hack into the AFIS system is believable or not. Make sure to list at least 3 reasons, with direct evidence from the text, to support your position.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 808 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample