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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 is the name of Lucy's husband?

2. At whose country-house did Lula and Fred Bestigui spend a weekend the week before she died?

3. Where was Strike treated when his leg was amputated?

4. Where are Mr. and Mrs. Kolchak from?

5. Where does Guy Some say he thinks Lula's stalker was deported back to in Part 4, Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What prompted Lula's comment about her brother, according to Ciara in Part 4, Chapter 7?

2. What is Evan Duffield's alibi for the night that Lula died?

3. How does Robin glean information from the staff at Vashti? What new information does she learn?

4. How would you describe Robin's feelings about Strike as revealed in the narrative in Part 3, Chapter 10?

5. Where does Robin find Strike after he leaves the office in Part 4, Chapter 5? How is he described when she finds him?

6. What was Strike's relationship with his mother like? How did Strike's mother die?

7. What items had Guy Some sent to Kentigern Gardens on the day before Lula died?

8. How does Guy Some describe Lula's home at Kentigern Gardens? Why does he say she moved there?

9. What information does Spanner relate regarding Lula's laptop in Part 4, Chapter 2?

10. Who is Tony Landry and how does he come across in Part 3, Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do Robin and Strike learn when they visit Vashti? How do they gain this information? In what ways does Robin prove herself to be a beneficial assistant to Strike during this visit?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the following elements of symbolism in the narrative: Robin's engagement ring, Strike's prosthetic leg, and Strike's sleeping cot. What does each of these items represent to the characters in the novel? What do they represent to the reader? How do they contribute to the novel's themes?

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