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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. Harry examines Porter's unsolved cases and discovers an odd coincidence. What is it?

2. The victim of the crime Harry is investigating is a former colleague of his. His life began to disintegrate when:

3. Where does Harry meet with Rickard?

4. What does Harry think makes a case more difficult to solve?

5. Harry finds Hollywood depressing. Why?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the work environment in Harry's police station.

2. Describe the previous interactions between Cal Moore and Harry Bosch and the extent to which they knew each other before Moore's suicide.

3. How does Harry think Juan Doe's body, killed in Mexicali, made it to Los Angeles?

4. What is Rickard doing when he calls Harry in Chapter 11?

5. What is the evidence that Teresa uncovered having to do with brain tissue and what does it mean?

6. How did the "Juan Doe" die, and how did the case reach Bosch?

7. Why do the police believe Moore killed himself?

8. According to Harry, why are homicides in Hollywood more difficult to solve than elsewhere?

9. What is the real reason why Harry Bosch finds Hollywood depressing?

10. What is the BANG squad?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This novel is a contemporary mystery that uses the trade of illegal drugs as both setting and plot. In an analytical essay, offer an explanation and analysis of how the drug trade functions 1) as setting and 2) as the source of the plot. Be sure to use specific examples from the text that richly illustrate the claims you make. In addition, you may also consider what you learned about the drug trade during our class discussion on it.

Essay Topic 2

Harry Bosch is an excellent example of an anti-hero. Offer an analysis of the characterization of Harry Bosch in this novel in a tightly constructed essay. Define the terms hero and anti-hero, and explain the extent to which you (using explicit textual evidence) think these terms apply to Harry Bosch. Please also consider this question in terms of the genre of this book.

Essay Topic 3

Every novel takes place somewhere, and the strongest novels have settings that thematically resonate with the other fictional elements, including plot, character, language, etc. Choose at least one of the settings (geographical, physical, chronological, etc.) and write an analysis that 1) examines the setting in terms of both form and 2) in content, and 3) determines how the setting in question affected other fictional elements.

(see the answer keys)

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