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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. Who hears Cross playing the piano and comes in to comfort him the morning after he finds the Parkers dead?

2. Who does Christine think is at her house when she calls Cross in a panic?

3. Who is Lucy Rhys-Cousins' suspected killer?

4. Who tips off the police that a robbery is in progress at First Union?

5. What is Jannie doing when Cross finally arrives at the hospital after studying the crime scene of the third robbery?

Short Essay Questions

1. The author quotes an old saying, "Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm." What does he mean by that?

2. What are Damon and Jannie doing when Jannie falls down? Did he mean to hurt Jannie?

3. What does Cross hope doesn't happen to Jannie in the ambulance? What happens as the doctors finish examining her at the hospital?

4. Where does Jannie think she is when she wakes up from surgery? What has Cross done to show camaraderie for her after her surgery?

5. Why is Mr. Blue mad at the Chase Manhattan bank manager's wife, Victoria Casselman? What does he do to her?

6. Does the villain think that calling himself the Mastermind makes him seem powerful? Why does he pick the name?

7. Why does Brianne feel confident and in control of the situation at Citibank?

8. With which drug does the Mastermind kill the second team of bank robbers? How does the drug work?

9. What does Cross tease Nana Mama about when wakes up early the morning after finding the Parkers dead? How does she respond?

10. From whom do the banks in the book generally receive hate mail? What does Cross do to investigate hate mail related to the robberies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Alex Cross is always weighing the importance of his job against how it interferes with his personal life. What conflicts arise as a result of this? How does he deal with these conflicts?

Essay Topic 2

Jannie's illness is a subplot in the book. Why would the author use this as a device?

Essay Topic 3

Since criminals break the law by definition, what codes, if any, do they follow? The Mastermind also seems to enjoy killing the teams of robbers he hires. How does he justify killing the first team? The second team? Is he a hypocrite?

(see the answer keys)

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