Quiz Framed in Death J. D. Robb

Framed in Death Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

Framed in Death Quiz

This quiz covers the entire book Framed in Death by J. D. Robb, the 62nd novel in the In Death series. Questions are divided into plot/sequence, character motivation, theme/symbol, and synthesis. Use the answer key at the end to check your responses.

For more on the novel, visit the book overview or see the questions and answers.

Plot and Sequence Questions (8)

  1. What is the first painting the killer recreates?

    • A) The Blue Boy by Gainsborough
    • B) Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer
    • C) The Concert by Vermeer
    • D) Dr. Pozzi at Home by Sargent

  2. Who discovers Leesa Culver's body?

    • A) Eve Dallas
    • B) Opal Whittier
    • C) Fiona Whittier
    • D) Roger Whittier

  3. What is the second work of art used in the murders?

    • A) Vigée Le Brun self-portrait
    • B) Gainsborough's The Blue Boy
    • C) Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
    • D) Sargent's Dr. Pozzi at Home

  4. How does the killer render his victims unconscious?

    • A) Chloroform
    • B) A barbiturate cocktail in wine
    • C) A stun gun
    • D) A blow to the head

  5. What is the name of the third victim?

    • A) Leesa Culver
    • B) Bobby Ren
    • C) Janette "Chablis" Whithers
    • D) Aaron Pine

  6. Where is the first body displayed?

    • A) Inside a midtown gallery
    • B) At the bottom of a basement stairwell on King Street
    • C) In Times Square
    • D) In the killer's studio

  7. What piece of trace evidence does Eve find under the third victim's fingernail?

    • A) A paint chip
    • B) A fabric thread
    • C) A bloodstain
    • D) A glue residue

  8. Short answer: Give the full name of the killer.

Character Motivation Questions (5)

  1. Why does the killer target street-level licensed companions?

    • A) They are easy to intimidate
    • B) They fit the commissioned costumes and have few close connections
    • C) He wants to punish sex workers
    • D) He used to work as a companion himself

  2. What is the killer's primary reason for taking back all the money from his victims?

    • A) He needs cash for supplies
    • B) To assert ownership and dehumanize them
    • C) To avoid leaving evidence
    • D) He is simply greedy

  3. What motivates Phoebe Harper to help her son flee?

    • A) She believes he is innocent
    • B) She is obsessed with him and enables his behavior
    • C) She hates the NYPSD
    • D) She wants to sell his art

  4. What profession does Eve suspect for the killer based on his methods?

    • A) Gallery owner
    • B) Failed artist
    • C) Professional art restorer
    • D) Costume designer

  5. Short answer: What name does the killer give himself?

Theme and Symbol Questions (4)

  1. What do the epigraphs by Santayana and Ogden Nash introduce?

    • A) The importance of inherited wealth
    • B) Conflicts between authenticity and pretense, and earned versus unearned status
    • C) The role of art in crime
    • D) The danger of ambition

  2. What does the killer mean by calling his spree his "Death Period"?

    • A) He is suicidal
    • B) He believes murder gives his art life and vitality
    • C) He intends to stop painting
    • D) He is in a depressed phase

  3. What does the cat Galahad represent in Eve's life?

    • A) A constant nuisance
    • B) Domestic comfort and normalcy amid the chaos of murder cases
    • C) A suspect in disguise
    • D) A gift from Roarke that she resents

  4. Short answer: According to Dr. Mira, what conflicting emotions does the killer feel toward the original Vermeer painting?

Synthesis Questions (3)

  1. How does the killer's wealth affect the investigation?

    • A) It makes him impossible to catch
    • B) It creates legal and privacy barriers but ultimately helps identify him
    • C) It has no effect
    • D) It makes him careless

  2. What personality flaw leads directly to the killer's capture?

    • A) Greed
    • B) Narcissism and a need for recognition
    • C) Incompetence
    • D) Trusting his mother

  3. Short answer: What device does Eve secretly plant to prevent the killer from fleeing after bail?

Answer Key

1. B – The first victim, Leesa Culver, is posed as Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring.

2. C – 17-year-old Fiona Whittier sneaked out to a rave and found the body when returning home.

3. B – The second victim, Bobby Ren, is posed as Gainsborough's The Blue Boy.

4. B – The killer drugs his victims with barbiturates dissolved in wine before strangling them manually.

5. C – The third victim is Janette "Chablis" Whithers, a street-level LC posed as a Vigée Le Brun self-portrait.

6. B – Leesa's body was placed at the basement door of the Whittiers' brownstone at 17 King Street.

7. B – Eve finds a tiny wool thread under Chablis's fingernail, which later links to luxury vehicle carpets.

8. Jonathan Harper Ebersole – The killer is a wealthy trust-fund heir who calls himself "The Artist."

9. B – Street-level LCs fit the custom costumes and have few close relationships, making them easier targets.

10. B – By taking the money, the killer asserts total ownership and reduces the victims to objects.

11. B – Phoebe Harper is obsessed with her son and actively helps him escape justice, even after his confession.

12. B – Dr. Mira and Eve profile the killer as a failed artist who cannot gain recognition for his own work.

13. The Artist – He refers to himself this way in his autobiography found at his studio.

14. B – The epigraphs criticize self-absorbed art and contrast merited versus inherited money, setting up the novel's themes.

15. B – The killer believes that by taking lives he injects life into his art, calling this period his "Death Period."

16. B – Galahad provides companionship and a sense of home, offering a counterpoint to the grim murder investigation.

17. He both admires and despises it. – Mira explains that the killer admires the painting's achievement but despises it as a bar he cannot reach.

18. B – His wealth allows high-powered lawyers and privacy, but the purchase of custom costumes and materials leads to his identification.

19. B – His narcissistic need to be seen as a genius drives him to keep costumes, write an autobiography, and eventually confess.

20. A covert tracker in his wallet. – Eve plants the tracker before the bail hearing, allowing her team to intercept him when he attempts to flee.

For the full ending and a detailed breakdown, see the ending explained.