A Death in Cornwall Quiz – Test Your Knowledge of Gabriel Allon’s 24th Adventure
About This Quiz
This comprehensive 20-question quiz covers the entire span of A Death in Cornwall, the 24th Gabriel Allon novel by Daniel Silva. Questions test plot sequence, character motivation, thematic symbols, and synthesis of the story’s art-world and political conspiracies. An answer key with explanations follows the questions.
For more resources, see the book overview, questions and answers, and the ending explained.
Part 1: Plot and Sequence (8 questions)
1. (Multiple Choice) What first alerts Vera Hobbs that something is wrong at Wexford Cottage?
- A. A broken window
- B. A light burning in the kitchen window on a Tuesday morning
- C. Professor Blake’s car still in the driveway on a Thursday
- D. Footprints in the garden
2. (Multiple Choice) Why does Detective Sergeant Timothy Peel privately believe that Professor Blake’s murder is not the work of the Chopper?
- A. The killer used a different weapon
- B. The body was hidden and her mobile phone was taken
- C. The murder took place in daylight
- D. Only four previous victims had been killed
3. (Short Answer) What surname does Gabriel Allon use as an alias when he attends the concert in Munich to meet Anna Rolfe?
4. (Multiple Choice) Which painting does Gabriel first identify as the link between Professor Blake’s research and the murders?
- A. A Van Gogh self-portrait
- B. A Picasso from the Bernard Lévy collection
- C. A Rothko stored in the Geneva Freeport
- D. A Gentileschi Madonna and Child
5. (Short Answer) Who is the contract killer that murdered Charlotte Blake and later tries to kill Philippe Lambert?
6. (Multiple Choice) How does Gabriel force Trevor Robinson to release him and Ingrid during the Somerset rescue?
- A. He triggers a text message that sets a one-hour deadline
- B. He calls MI6 from a hidden phone
- C. He convinces Robinson that the police are surrounding the house
- D. He offers a bribe of ten million pounds
7. (Multiple Choice) What does Gabriel discover when he enters Galerie Ricard in the Geneva Freeport?
- A. The Picasso is missing and Edmond Ricard is dead
- B. All six forgeries have been sold
- C. The Swiss police are waiting for him
- D. The gallery is empty and the paintings are gone
8. (Short Answer) Who becomes the new Prime Minister after the Conservative leadership election?
- A. Hugh Graves
- B. Jonathan Lancaster
- C. Stephen Frasier
- D. Hillary Edwards
Part 2: Character Motivation (5 questions)
9. (Multiple Choice) Why does Professor Charlotte Blake stay in Wexford Cottage on a Tuesday, contrary to her usual schedule?
- A. She was waiting for a courier from Christie’s
- B. She was having an affair with Leonard Bradley
- C. She was sick and could not drive to Oxford
- D. She was hiding from the Chopper
10. (Short Answer) What is the true reason Gabriel Allon agrees to help Timothy Peel investigate Blake’s murder?
- A. He owes Peel a debt from their past in Cornwall
- B. He is bored in retirement and wants action
- C. He suspects the murder is linked to Nazi-looted art
- D. Chiara forces him to accept the case
11. (Multiple Choice) Why does Ingrid Johansen initially agree to pose as Anna Rolfe’s assistant?
- A. She needs money to fund her retirement in Mykonos
- B. Gabriel promises to clear her criminal record in Switzerland
- C. She is swayed by Gabriel’s reassurances and the thrill of the operation
- D. She wants revenge against Edmond Ricard
12. (Multiple Choice) What motivates Lucinda Graves to leak the Federov donation to the press?
- A. She wants to expose Russian oligarch corruption
- B. She is angry that her husband lost the leadership contest
- C. She hopes to force Prime Minister Hillary Edwards from office
- D. She is blackmailed by Trevor Robinson
13. (Short Answer) Why does the novelist include the subplot of the Chopper serial killer in the story? (Theme/symbol, but ask as motivation of author? Better keep as character motivation? Actually this might fit synthesis. Let me reclassify. For Part 2, make it a character motivation: Why does Leonard Bradley agree to meet Gabriel on the cliffs near Penberth Cove?)
- A. He feels guilty about his role in Charlotte’s death
- B. He wants to collect a debt from Gabriel
- C. He hopes to buy the restored Gentileschi
- D. He is being blackmailed by Lucinda Graves
Part 3: Theme and Symbol (4 questions)
14. (Multiple Choice) The epigraph from F. Scott Fitzgerald (“the very rich are different from you and me”) primarily foreshadows which theme in the novel?
- A. The loneliness of the spy
- B. The moral distance created by vast wealth
- C. The impossibility of true love across classes
- D. The corruption of the art world
15. (Multiple Choice) What does the “OOC” acronym written on Charlotte Blake’s legal pad symbolize?
- A. The shell company that holds the stolen Picasso
- B. The name of the serial killer’s organization
- C. The code for a hidden Swiss bank account
- D. The initials of a secret art recovery team
16. (Short Answer) The Geneva Freeport serves as a symbol of what corruption in the novel?
17. (Multiple Choice) Ingrid’s visit to the Shoah Memorial in Paris and her tears represent which broader theme?
- A. The psychological damage caused by childhood trauma
- B. The emotional weight of Holocaust restitution and memory
- C. The danger of sentimentality for an operative
- D. The cultural divide between Denmark and France
Part 4: Synthesis (3 questions)
18. (Multiple Choice) How do the “Chopper” murders serve as a foil to the main crime plot?
- A. They demonstrate that serial killers are more dangerous than art criminals
- B. They allow the police to dismiss Blake’s death as part of a pattern, hiding the real conspiracy
- C. They provide a romantic subplot for Timothy Peel
- D. They show that rural Cornwall is more violent than London
19. (Short Answer) In what way does the novel critique the “London Laundromat” and the role of British politicians in accepting Russian money? (Use evidence from Author’s Note)
20. (Multiple Choice) Which of the following best explains why Gabriel decides to leak the Harris Weber files to journalist Samantha Cooke rather than to the Financial Conduct Authority?
- A. He has a personal friendship with Cooke
- B. He distrusts official regulators and believes public exposure is more effective
- C. He wants to help Cooke win a Pulitzer Prize
- D. He needs a distraction to cover his kidnapping
Answer Key
1. B – Vera spots the light burning at 5:25 a.m. on a Tuesday, unusual because Blake normally leaves on Monday. (Chapter 1)
2. B – Peel notes the killer concealed the body and took her mobile phone, deviating from the Chopper’s pattern. (Chapter 6)
3. Johannes Klemp – Gabriel uses this alias to attend the concert in Munich and speak with Anna Rolfe. (Chapter 15)
4. B – Blake’s notes highlight a Picasso from the Bernard Lévy collection, linking the murder to Nazi-looted art. (Chapter 7)
5. Klaus Müller – The German contract killer murdered Blake and later tried to kill Philippe Lambert. (Chapters 26, 30)
6. A – Gabriel triggers a text to Samantha Cooke that sets a one‑hour deadline for Robinson to accept his terms or kill him. (Chapter 51)
7. A – Gabriel finds Ricard dead behind his desk and the Picasso missing from its frame. (Chapter 23)
8. B – After Hugh Graves resigns, the 1922 Committee elects Jonathan Lancaster as Prime Minister. (Chapter 59)
9. B – Charlotte Blake was having an affair with Leonard Bradley, as revealed by text messages. (Chapters 44, 46)
10. A – Gabriel helped Peel as a boy in Port Navas; Peel saved Gabriel’s old ketch, creating a personal debt. (Chapters 5, 6)
11. C – Ingrid is swayed by Gabriel’s reassurances and the operational thrill, not by money or coercion. (Chapter 17)
12. C – Lucinda Graves leaks the Federov donation to force Prime Minister Hillary Edwards from office, smoothing her husband’s rise. (Chapters 51, 55)
13. A – Bradley meets Gabriel because he feels guilty about his indirect role in Charlotte’s death and wants to unburden himself. (Chapter 60)
14. B – Fitzgerald’s quote about the rich being different sets up the theme of moral distance created by wealth, central to the art‑laundering conspiracy. (Epigraph)
15. A – OOC Group is the shell company that holds the stolen Picasso. (Chapters 7, 13)
16. Offshore secrecy and money laundering – The Freeport stores valuable art under anonymous shell companies, enabling tax evasion and hiding stolen assets. (Chapters 21–22, Author’s Note)
17. B – Her tears reflect the novel’s theme of confronting Holocaust history through provenance research and restitution. (Chapter 27)
18. B – The Chopper murders give the police a convenient explanation for Blake’s death, obscuring the art‑theft conspiracy. (Chapters 6, 19)
19. The Author’s Note directly criticizes UK politicians for accepting donations from Russian oligarchs, naming the “London Laundromat” as a mechanism that enables kleptocrats to hide billions. The plot dramatizes this through the Federov‑Radcliff scandal and the Graves conspiracy.
20. B – Gabriel decides the FCA cannot be trusted because of political influence; a public leak forces accountability. (Chapter 43)
Return to the A Death in Cornwall book page for the full summary and discussion.