King of Ashes Quiz: 20 Questions About S.A. Cosby's Crime Thriller
Welcome to the ultimate quiz for S. A. Cosby’s King of Ashes. This comprehensive reading check spans the entire novel—from the opening epigraphs to the final revelation. Use it to test your recall of plot details, character motivations, thematic symbols, and your ability to synthesise larger ideas.
How to use this quiz
- Questions are grouped by type: Plot/Sequence, Character Motivation, Theme/Symbol, and Synthesis.
- Multiple-choice questions (MC) have one correct answer; short-answer questions require a word or phrase.
- After finishing the twenty questions, scroll to the complete answer key for brief explanations.
If you need a refresher, visit the book overview page or explore discussion questions and answers. For a deep dive into the ending, see the ending explained guide.
Plot / Sequence Questions (8 items)
1. (MC) What event forces Roman Carruthers to return to Jefferson Run?
- A) His mother’s disappearance
- B) His father’s car accident and subsequent coma
- C) Dante’s $300,000 drug debt
- D) A family business crisis at the crematory
2. (MC) How much money does Dante owe the Gilchrist brothers (the Black Baron Boys)?
- A) $100,000
- B) $200,000
- C) $300,000
- D) $500,000
3. (Short answer) In Chapter Nine, Torrent forces Roman to commit an act of violence inside the crematory. What does Roman do?
- Write one complete sentence.
4. (MC) Who kills Splodie with a hammer?
- A) Roman
- B) Torrent
- C) Dante
- D) Khalil
5. (MC) At the end of Chapter Thirty-Three, Neveah smashes the cookie jar. What does she discover inside?
- A) A hidden key and a photograph
- B) Cremains and a melted heart-shaped piece of metal
- C) A letter from her mother
- D) Money and drugs
6. (Short answer) What is the name of the criminal organisation to which Dante owes the stolen drug consignment?
7. (MC) In the June 6, 2004 flashback (Chapter Thirty-Five), how does Bonita Carruthers die?
- A) She is murdered by her husband Keith
- B) She dies in a car accident
- C) She falls and hits her head during a struggle with Roman
- D) She is killed by the Gilchrist brothers
8. (MC) At the final warehouse meeting in Chapter Thirty-Three, which character betrays Roman to Torrent?
- A) Khalil
- B) Detective Chauncey
- C) D‑Train
- D) Neveah
Character Motivation Questions (5 items)
9. (MC) What is Roman’s stated reason for returning to Jefferson Run?
- A) To take over the family crematory business
- B) To escape his life in Atlanta
- C) Because his father is hospitalised in a coma
- D) To settle a personal score with Torrent Gilchrist
10. (Short answer) Roman uses a particular coping mechanism to deal with his guilt over his mother’s disappearance. What is it?
11. (MC) Why does Neveah confront Roman about missing cremation crates?
- A) She thinks he is stealing from the family business
- B) She suspects he is disposing of bodies for Torrent
- C) She wants him to finance her trip to Africa
- D) She has found a cold‑case file on their mother
12. (MC) Why does Dante agree to participate in Roman’s plan to infiltrate the Black Baron Boys?
- A) He wants revenge for his missing finger
- B) Roman insists it is the only way to save their family
- C) He is addicted to the adrenaline of gang life
- D) He hopes to become the new leader of the BBB
13. (Short answer) In the final chapter (October 26), what does Jealousy whisper as she watches Roman by the crematory flames?
Theme / Symbol Questions (4 items)
14. (MC) The two epigraphs (from William Faulkner and Pablo Escobar) suggest that the novel’s central concerns are:
- A) The power of romantic love and forgiveness
- B) Memory’s primacy over rational understanding and the violent foundations of power
- C) The importance of family heritage and financial success
- D) The pursuit of the American Dream in a small town
15. (MC) Throughout the novel, the cookie jar kept on top of the refrigerator primarily symbolises:
- A) The family’s childhood innocence
- B) Hidden secrets and unspeakable trauma
- C) Poverty and struggle
- D) Roman’s guilt over leaving home
16. (Short answer) The crematory oven appears repeatedly as a symbol. What two major ideas does it represent?
17. (MC) Roman’s father, Keith Carruthers, often says “Everything burns.” This phrase is most closely tied to the novel’s theme of:
- A) Impermanence, moral decay, and destruction
- B) Hope and rebirth after tragedy
- C) The cyclical nature of family duty
- D) The cleansing power of fire
Synthesis Questions (3 items)
18. (Short answer) How does Roman’s relationship with BDSM change from the beginning of the novel to his time with Jae?
19. (MC) Which character best embodies the tension between loyalty to family and the need for self‑preservation?
- A) Neveah
- B) Dante
- C) Detective Chauncey
- D) Khalil
20. (Short answer) In one or two sentences, explain how King of Ashes challenges the idea of unconditional family loyalty.
Answer Key
1. B – Roman learns his father has been hospitalised after a car accident and is in a coma (Chapter Two outline).
2. C – Dante confesses he, Getty, and Cassidy took a $300,000 drug consignment from the Black Baron Boys (Chapter Five outline).
3. (Short answer) Roman beats Getty unconscious, seals him in a cremation box, and activates the oven, burning him alive. – Torrent orders this to ensure Roman’s complicity (Chapter Nine outline).
4. C – Dante kills Splodie with a hammer to prevent Roman from being forced to burn Cassidy (Chapter Nine outline).
5. B – Neveah shatters the cookie jar and finds cremains and a melted heart‑shaped piece of metal (Chapter Thirty-Three evidence).
6. (Short answer) Black Baron Boys (BBB). – The gang is named in Chapters Five and Six.
7. C – During a struggle, Bonita falls and hits her head on a worktable. Roman’s father later burns her body in the crematory oven (Chapter Thirty-Five outline).
8. B – Detective Chauncey Mansfield is present at the warehouse to betray Roman, but he is killed by a sniper (Chapter Thirty-Seven evidence).
9. C – Roman cancels his Atlanta meetings and flies to Virginia because his father is in a coma (Chapter One outline).
10. (Short answer) BDSM sessions with the dominatrix Miss Delicate. – Roman visits Miss Delicate for a punishment session where she calls him a “worthless son” (Chapter One outline).
11. B – Neveah notices missing cremation crates and suspects Roman is using the crematory to dispose of bodies for Torrent (Chapter Twenty-Nine outline).
12. B – In Chapter Fourteen, Roman insists that infiltrating the BBB is the only way to save their family, and Dante reluctantly agrees.
13. (Short answer) “Everything burns.” – Jealousy whispers the phrase after seeing Roman framed by flames (Chapter Thirty-Nine evidence).
14. B – The Faulkner epigraph addresses memory’s longevity over knowing; the Escobar epigraph states empires are built with blood and fire (Chapter One outline).
15. B – The cookie jar hides Bonita’s ashes for years, representing the family’s concealed truth and trauma (Chapter Thirty-Seven evidence).
16. (Short answer) Destruction and moral compromise (or fire as concealment of violence, guilt, and family secrets). – The crematory is used to destroy evidence and symbolises the characters’ descent into moral darkness.
17. A – “Everything burns” echoes throughout the novel, reinforcing themes of impermanence, decay, and the corrosive nature of violence (Chapter Thirty-Nine evidence).
18. (Short answer) Initially Roman uses BDSM as a solitary punishment to manage guilt; with Jae he shares his desires openly and they establish a safe word, indicating trust and intimacy. – See Chapters One (Miss Delicate) and Twenty (safe word with Jae).
19. B – Dante struggles with guilt, addiction, and self‑destruction, but he ultimately kills Splodie to protect Roman and later sacrifices himself in the final confrontation.
20. (Short answer) The novel shows that family loyalty can demand moral compromise, violence, and the suppression of truth—ultimately destroying the very bonds it is supposed to protect. – Examples include Roman’s cover‑up of his mother’s death and Neveah’s discovery that her father’s secret tore the family apart.