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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 color is Robin's hair described as in Part 1, Chapter 1?

2. With what designer had Lula Landry just signed a contract that would have brought in $5 million in two years before her death?

3. How old was Charlie Bristow when he died?

4. What does Strike tell Derrick Wilson as the reason he left the military in Part 2, Chapter 6?

5. What are the names of the Bristows who adopted Charlie, John, and Lula?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Jonny Rokeby and what role does he play in The Cuckoo's Calling?

2. How is Robin Ellacott described when she is introduced in Part 1, Chapter 1?

3. What information does Strike seek from Robin during his meeting with John Bristow in Part 1, Chapter 3? What information does she remit to him?

4. What information does Robin relate from her research on Marlene Higson in Part 2, Chapter 1?

5. How is the scene described in the opening of the Prologue? What mood does this scene evoke?

6. Who is Mrs. Hook and why does she become upset in Part 2, Chapter 5?

7. Under what circumstances do Robin and Strike meet one another?

8. Where did Lula Landry go out on the day before she died? Who was she with?

9. Why does Strike say it is unlikely that Lula's murder was premeditated in Part 2, Chapter 2?

10. What did Derrick Wilson do once he was informed of Lula's fall on the night she died?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is John Bristow? Why does he hire Cormoran Strike? What is John's family like? What is revealed about John Bristow's character throughout the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of rivalry in The Cuckoo's Calling. How is rivalry (sibling rivalry, friend rivalry, etc.) central to the novel's plot? What characters demonstrate rivalry? How?

Essay Topic 3

Provide three examples of foreshadowing from The Cuckoo's Calling and analyze each. What does this clue foretell? What purpose does the foreshadowing serve? How does the author use foreshadowing and/or red herrings to create suspense?

(see the answer keys)

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