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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. What news does Alec receive on the phone when he returns from Boston?

2. When the killer arrives home after he chases Regan in the parking lot, what is he thinking?

3. What does Aiden tell Regan to do about the bully?

4. When Regan is re-telling the story to Alec about the man chasing her in the garage, what does she suddenly realize?

5. How do the workers who find something sticking out of the ground contact the police?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Sweeney being investigated by the Internal Affairs department?

2. Why does the author think it is important to introduce the characters as children? How do you think this plot device will help later in the story?

3. In Chapter 2, why is Sophie's mention of Regan's picture in the paper important to the story?

4. When the killer arrives home after chasing Regan in the garage, he feels that he has failed, but knows that the "beast" would never let him get caught. Discuss the "beast" as if it were a separate character, as the killer believes. What powers does the "beast" have over the killer?

5. In Chapter 23, Regan reveals that she omitted a person from her murder list because she was distracted. Who does Regan NOT put on her murder list?

6. In Chapter 28, when Alec returns to the hotel he seems to be bothered by the morning events. Why does the bust at Kevin's house weigh on Alec's mind?

7. As Regan prepares for the hospital charity event in Chapter 29, what is the significance of Regan's computer still being on?

8. What is Regan's hotel suite a symbol of in this story? Why do the girls return back to the suite after they reported the incident in the parking garage to the police? Why do they change their original plans to go to dinner?

9. Sophie tells the other women that Dr. Shields left the island. Why are Sophie and Cordie going to stay after he already left?

10. During the drug bust in Chapter 6, a uniformed officer appears on the scene to give the twin drug dealers a parking ticket. What happens in the warehouse? What do you think will happen to the officer? Will he be in trouble for this action? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The uniformed cop who botched the drug sting in the beginning of the story is a character throughout the book. Why does the author add this character? What does this character help define in Alec?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Regan's relationship with her brothers and how it changes throughout the story. What does the killer chasing Regan have to do with her change in her behavior toward her brothers? Do her circumstances make a difference or are her changes more ties to Alec and the relationship with him?

Essay Topic 3

The character of Henry plays an important role in the novel. Describe Henry and explain his background. How does Henry feel toward Regan? What is important about the character of Kevin to Henry? Why does Henry want to help Kevin?

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