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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 had Deborah Cooper been doing the afternoon Nola disappeared?

2. What did Deborah Cooper do when she saw Nola running through the woods with a man running behind her?

3. What is the name of the actress that Marcus used to date?

4. Why did the person writing the threatening letters to Harry stop writing them?

5. How did Harry react when Marcus told him he thought Nola had had a relationship with Elijah Stern during 1975?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Tamara Quinn tell her therapist that she is so mean to her daughter Jenny?

2. Why did Luther Caleb's father get so upset when he learned that the name of the girl who had disappeared was Nola Kellergan?

3. What shocking revelation did Chief Pratt confess to Gahalowood and Marcus when they questioned him at his house?

4. Where was Luther Caleb's body found and what did Gahalowood and Marcus think was strange about it?

5. Why did Harry tell Marcus they could no longer be friends after he got out of jail and his house burned down?

6. What did Harry tell Marcus about the importance of failure?

7. Why does Tamara Quinn abruptly tell Harry he has to pay his tab at Clark's in mid-summer 1975?

8. When David Kellergan discovered Nola was missing, how did he handle her disappearance?

9. Why did Jenny file a complaint against Luther in 1975?

10. What prevented Gahalowood and Marcus from asking former Police Chief Pratt why he did not include the information about Luther Caleb's death in his report on Nola's murder?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many characters in this novel, as with many characters in suspense stories, are not what they appear to be. Choose the one character you think is the most deliberately duplicitous and write an essay explaining your choice.

Essay Topic 2

Harry and Marcus often boxed together. Write an essay analyzing what their boxing sessions symbolize about their relationship and explore why Dicker may have chosen that particular sport for them to participate in together.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Travis Dawn keeps Nola Kellergan's gold necklace for more than 30 years, even though it is a damning piece of evidence in her murder. Keeping in mind that Travis is the Somerset Police Chief in 2008, do you think this part of the plot was believable? Use specific references to the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 955 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample