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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What confidential piece of information does Smithback reveal to Margo that he knows about the two bodies from the river?
(a) One of the bodies is her cousin.
(b) All of the answers are incorrect.
(c) The skeletons are both female.
(d) There were teeth marks on the bones.

2. Why is Nick Bitterman going to Belveder Castle?
(a) To propose.
(b) To have lunch.
(c) To meet his wife.
(d) To attend a business meeting.

3. To what type of philosophy is the following phrase attributed? "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
(a) Freudian.
(b) Jungian.
(c) Holmesian.
(d) Platonian.

4. In what year was Linnaeus Hall constructed?
(a) 1951.
(b) 1927.
(c) 1882.
(d) 1799.

5. What was the conclusion made by the medical examiner after examining the teeth marks on the bones of the victims?
(a) The were made by rats.
(b) They were made by Mbwun.
(c) They were not teeth marks.
(d) They were most likely made by humans.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the identity of the deformed skeleton?

2. How much is the reward for information into the murders?

3. What does Smithback's informant say his name is?

4. What were the killings called that Dr. Frock and Margo solved in the prequel to "Reliquary"?

5. How are Pendergast and D'Agosta dressed in Chapter 23, as they make their way toward the tunnels?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Hayward say the tunnels are dangerous? Cite examples from the text.

2. What is the irony in the author's naming the leader of the Route 666 group Mephisto?

3. Why do you think the author mentions his previous book, "Relic"?

4. What does Pendergast reveal about Hayward? How does Hayward feel about this revelation? How does D'Agosta feel about this revelation?

5. Does the existence of an underground "clan" seem plausible? What do you think is their purpose in the story?

6. What is ironic about using the muse of rhetoric, Polyhymnia, to name an ornate club in Chapter 10? Does its patronage seem to have anything to do with it?

7. Police work seems to involve a lot of political jostling and brown-nosing. How is that concept illustrated in Chapter 11?

8. What kind of influence do you think a woman like Mrs. Wisher would likely have on the political climate? Does she show that she is willing to use that influence to force matters in the direction she wants them to go? What gives you that indication?

9. What is the history of Mbwun, and why is it assumed that these killings might relate to the events surrounding this creature?

10. How might Margo's expertise in ethnopharmacology be an example of foreshadowing?

(see the answer keys)

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