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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. In what month did Lula Landry die?

2. What is the name of John Bristow's girlfriend?

3. What does "D. B." stand for in D. B. Macdonald?

4. Who was Jonny Rokeby's second wife?

5. What company does the driver Mick work for?

Short Essay Questions

1. What injury has Strike sustained? How did he get this injury? Is the injury obvious?

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

3. What role does race play in The Cuckoo's Calling?

4. Why are John Bristow's responses to Strike regarding Lula's friend from the mental hospital significant in Part 2, Chapter 9?

5. Compare and contrast Detective Inspector Roy Carver and Detective Sergeant Eric Wardle. What role does each play in the novel?

6. What are Strike's circumstances when he first encounters Robin?

7. What conflicts begin to arise between Robin and Matthew in Part 2, Chapter 3?

8. Where was Deeby Macc set to stay on the night that Lula Landry died? Why did he stay elsewhere?

9. How is Deeby Macc characterized in the interview that Robin reads of his in Part 2, Chapter 1?

10. What is the timeline surrounding Lula's death from 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss examples of irony in The Cuckoo's Calling. How does the author employ irony to develop tension in the narrative? What are examples of situational, verbal, and dramatic irony and what purpose does each example serve to the text?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the themes of family, deception, and pop culture in The Cuckoo's Calling. How does the author develop these themes through character in the novel? What symbolism relates to these themes? What statements do you think the author is making through these themes?

Essay Topic 3

Who is the sole witness to Lula's fall? Why is this witness discredited by the police? What information does Strike learn from this character? What lies does he reveal she has given? Why did she lie?

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