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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. Why does Harry go to the bar called "Code 7" in Chapter 17?

2. What problem does Harry identify in Chapter 28 that every cop in California runs into?

3. When Cal Moore and Harry finally meet face-to-face in Chapter 32, Moore is not surprised. Why?

4. Harry meets the local police Chief and an investigator. What are Harry's impressions of them?

5. Gana, Dance, and Arpis were all found dead during the DEA raid. Who does Harry discover killed them in Chapter 32?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the clue at the beginning of Chapter 31 that Harry almost missed, and who finds it instead?

2. How does Harry explain the fact that the suicide body had the same tattoo as Moore?

3. Why, when people are killed accidentally at EnviroBreed, does Harry suspect they are shipped across the border illegally?

4. In Chapter 21, Harry insists on taking the Caprice. Why is he so intent on driving that car?

5. How and where does Harry find the histories of Calexico?

6. What is CLET and what functions does it perform?

7. Whom does Harry Bosch identify in the old photographs and how?

8. Describe what it is like when Harry drives back across the border.

9. What does the EnviroBreed building look like?

10. Why did many day laborers at the circle refuse to work at EnviroBreed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are only a couple of women characters in this novel. Choose either Teresa Corazon or Sylvia Moore and construct a critique of her characterization. This essay should include 1) a description of the major techniques Connolly uses to characterize her, 2) the role she plays in the plot and conflict structure of the book, 3) her relationship to Harry, the hero of the series, and 4) your opinion of the character. Be sure to use specific textual evidence to build an argument for your interpretation.

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

Many of the best and most successful mysteries are structured through withholding information. Whether it is a first person narrator who is unreliable, or characters who lie to each other or the reader, this kind of information mediation is a key technique of fiction writing. Construct a thesis that responds to Connelly's use of this technique and the way he withholds information from the reader or from his characters and write an argumentative essay.

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