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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 does Miriam always drink after dinner?

2. Who does Jimmy want to talk about instead of his father?

3. What is Kenneth's goal?

4. What does Helen say she ate while out shopping?

5. What word does Jean think she hears the green man mutter?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Mrs Whitelaw think could have accessed the cottage?

2. How did Olivia meet Chris?

3. What do Jimmy and his sibling do at Island Gardens Station?

4. How did Mrs. Whitelaw rekindle her relationship with Kenneth after the death of her her husband?

5. What information about her does Olivia say her mother wouldn't want people to know?

6. Why did Olivia become a prostitute?

7. How does Olivia upset her parents when she runs into them on the street?

8. How are Lynley and Havers different from each other?

9. What was Kenneth's involvement with Gabriella Patton?

10. What does Olivia remember about her mother's relationship with Kenneth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look at the structure of the book.

1. How does the author use character and dialogue to drive the narrative?

2. Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's themes?

Essay Topic 2

Examine Lynley's character across the whole series.

1. How does the author develop Lynley's character across the whole series?

2. What new elements does Playing for the Ashes add to Lynley's character?

Essay Topic 3

What was Miriam's relationship with Kenneth Fleming? Why was she so interested in helping him? How did her relationship with Kenneth effect her relationship with her daughter Olivia?

(see the answer keys)

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