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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. How does Jimmy almost die?

2. What evidence do the police find of someone jumping over the garden fence at Celedine Cottage?

3. Where does Miriam find Kenneth a job?

4. What does Olivia learn that Chris did as a side project?

5. What does Helen do for Lynley that she has never done before?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Lynley take Jimmy to New Scotland Yard?

2. What new leads does Lynley find in Chapter 14?

3. How did Olivia's relationship with Chris and Miriam's relationship with Kenneth mirror one another?

4. What new information does Lynley find out from Miriam in Chapter 18?

5. How does Olivia imagine her reunion with her mother?

6. What runs through Lynley's mind as he tries to get to Jimmy?

7. What new information do the police find out about Chris and Olivia in Chapter 16?

8. How does Lynley react when Jimmy falls into the river?

9. Describe Lynley and Havers meeting with Guy Mollinson in this section?

10. What information does Gariella give Lynley about the case?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 2

In what way does the novel suggest that helping people can lead to the neglect of others? How could people like Miriam have achieved more of a balance in their relationships?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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