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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. Where does Mrs. Whitelaw say she kept a spare key?

2. Whose footsteps awaken Olivia?

3. Who does Havers think has the best motive for murder?

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

5. What is the name of Jean's brother?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Olivia decide to get back in contact with her mother?

2. How did Olivia show her anger at Chris after the cat operation?

3. How does Lynley act during his dinner with Havers?

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

5. Why is it easy to believe that Jimmy could have killed his own father?

6. How did Miriam help Ken into the Kent cricket team?

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

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

9. How did Olivia find out she had ALS?

10. How does Nkata help Lynley and Havers at the beginning of chapter ten?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is Olivia's past so important to the story? In what way does it soften how the reader feels about the murderer?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

What does the novel suggest happens to people that are neglected by either friends or family? What are the difference between characters in the story who have been helped by others and characters in the story who have been neglected?

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