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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 Molly Perkins bring to Catherine's house?

2. How does Catherine feel when she wakes up the morning after finding the dead body?

3. What does Catherine do at the end of Chapter 1 that enables her steady her nerves?

4. What is the name of the librarian?

5. Who does Catherine tell the sheriff she saw on her way out to the tenant shack?

Short Essay Questions

1. From the descriptions in Chapter 1, describe where this novel is taking place.

2. What is the exchange between Catherine and the sheriff like and how does Catherine feel about this?

3. Why is Catherine momentarily suspicious of Randall when she is in his office the day after Tom's murder?

4. What is the manner of Leona's death? Where does she die? Where does she ultimately end up and why does the sheriff think she was moved?

5. What does Catherine find in the old, abandoned tenant house and what is her reaction?

6. What is the procedure at the crime scene as explained by Sheriff Galton?

7. What is the point of the buzzer that Catherine points out to Tom in his house? Does the author's inclusion of this indicate anything in the novel?

8. Who does Catherine receive a call from while she is on her lunch break on Tuesday? What does this person accuse Catherine of and what is her response?

9. Do you believe that Catherine's discovery of Tom's body has lessened or heightened Sheriff Galton's suspicion of her? What else in Chapter 11 could contribute to the heightening or lessening of the sheriff's suspicion of Catherine?

10. What information does Betty Eakins give to Catherine that could possibly help Catherine solve the crime?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of secrets is a very prevalent and recurring theme in the novel. Identify how this theme is used citing examples from the novel. Why is this theme an important one in the novel? How do the secrets of the townspeople add to the plot of the novel? Why do the people of Lowfield so readily tell their secrets to Catherine? How does she react to these secrets?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the character of Carl Perkins. How does this character present himself in the novel? What clues can Catherine look back on concerning her interactions with Carl to determine that he is in fact the murderer? Discuss Carl Perkins' motives for committing the murders. Would you say that Carl is the typical culprit in a murder mystery?

Essay Topic 3

Mystery novels can be used as tools for teachers to help their students learn important skills. A couple of those skills include deductive reasoning and critical thinking. Explain how a mystery novel teaches these skills using examples from the novel "Sweet and Deadly." What other skills can a student possibly learn through reading and analyzing a mystery novel? How do these skills help a student in other facets of their lives?

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