Quiz The Truth about the Devlins Lisa Scottoline

The Truth about the Devlins: Full-Novel Quiz

Quiz Questions

  1. Plot / Sequence (Multiple Choice)
    What does John Devlin confess to TJ at their father's birthday dinner?
    A) He embezzled money from a client.
    B) He killed a client by throwing a rock at a quarry.
    C) He is addicted to gambling.
    D) He is getting a divorce.

  2. Plot / Sequence (Short Answer)
    What is the name of the accountant John confronts about embezzlement?

  3. Plot / Sequence (Multiple Choice)
    Where is Neil Lemaire's body found the second time?
    A) At the quarry
    B) In his home
    C) In a white Mercedes at Dutton Run Park
    D) In the trunk of a maroon Volvo

  4. Plot / Sequence (Multiple Choice)
    Who is Barry Rigel?
    A) TJ's sponsor
    B) The man following TJ, later killed by a pickup truck
    C) Lemaire's boyfriend
    D) The FBI agent investigating John

  5. Plot / Sequence (Multiple Choice)
    At the family meeting in Chapter Twenty-Nine, what does John do when TJ reveals the truth?
    A) He confesses and apologizes
    B) He accuses TJ of drinking and denies everything
    C) He calls the police
    D) He runs away

  6. Plot / Sequence (Short Answer)
    Who turned John in to the FBI?

  7. Plot / Sequence (Multiple Choice)
    Who is the real killer targeting Gabby?
    A) Barry Rigel
    B) Denver Mortensen from Fournette Labs
    C) Stan Runstan
    D) Viktor Solkov

  8. Plot / Sequence (Short Answer)
    What happens to TJ's father Paul at the press conference?

  9. Character Motivation (Multiple Choice)
    Why does John initially confide in TJ about Lemaire?
    A) He trusts TJ's legal expertise
    B) He needs TJ's help to bury the body
    C) He is panicking and knows TJ survived prison
    D) He wants to turn himself in and TJ stops him

  10. Character Motivation (Multiple Choice)
    Why does TJ continue investigating despite warnings?
    A) He wants to prove himself to his father
    B) He feels responsible for uncovering the truth and protecting his family
    C) He hopes to get a reward
    D) He wants revenge on John

  11. Character Motivation (Multiple Choice)
    What motivates Gabby to go to the FBI?
    A) She wants to take over the firm
    B) She believes in accountability and refuses to cover up John's fraud
    C) She is angry at John for ignoring her referrals
    D) She fears the FBI will investigate her

  12. Character Motivation (Multiple Choice)
    Why does John lie to the family about TJ relapsing?
    A) He genuinely thinks TJ relapsed
    B) To protect his own secret and discredit TJ's accusations
    C) To get TJ sent back to rehab
    D) To avoid sharing his million-dollar fee

  13. Character Motivation (Short Answer)
    Why does TJ relapse in Chapter Forty-Three?

  14. Theme / Symbol (Multiple Choice)
    What does the Rolex watch symbolize for TJ?
    A) His father's love and approval
    B) The family's conditional love and his unworthiness
    C) The wealth of the Devlin family
    D) A reminder of his criminal past

  15. Theme / Symbol (Multiple Choice)
    What does the cat Mango represent in the story?
    A) John's guilt
    B) TJ's need for responsibility and connection to the victim
    C) The embezzlement scheme
    D) The Holmesburg experiments

  16. Theme / Symbol (Short Answer)
    What is the significance of the Rodin epigraph at the start of the novel?

  17. Theme / Symbol (Short Answer)
    What does TJ's ocean swim in Chapter Forty-Five symbolize?

  18. Synthesis (Short Answer)
    Compare TJ's role as black sheep at the start to his role at the end of the novel. How does he transform?

  19. Synthesis (Short Answer)
    How does the theme of justice connect the Lemaire cover-up and the Holmesburg prison experiments?

  20. Synthesis (Short Answer)
    What does the epilogue suggest about redemption for the Devlin family?

Answer Key

  1. B – John confesses he killed a client by throwing a rock at Knickerbocker Quarry (Chapter One).

  2. Neil Lemaire – John explains to TJ that Lemaire was the accountant who embezzled $100,000 from Runstan Electronics (Chapter Two).

  3. C – Lemaire's body is found in a white Mercedes sedan at Dutton Run Park (Chapter Twelve).

  4. B – Barry Rigel is the driver of the black Hyundai who follows TJ; he later runs into traffic and is hit by a pickup truck (Chapter Twenty-Seven).

  5. B – John accuses TJ of drinking again and denies all knowledge of the embezzlement, causing their father to throw TJ out (Chapter Twenty-Nine).

  6. Gabby Devlin – Gabby confesses she turned John in to the FBI after discovering his billing fraud (Chapter Fifty-One).

  7. B – Denver Mortensen, head of security at Fournette Laboratories, killed John by mistaken identity and planned to kill Gabby to stop the Holmesburg lawsuit (Chapter Fifty-Three).

  8. He tackles Mortensen and is shot in the gut – Paul Devlin shields his family and is gravely wounded (Chapter Fifty-Seven).

  9. D – John wants to turn himself in, but TJ stops him, arguing he cannot handle prison (Chapter One).

  10. B – TJ feels responsible for uncovering the truth and protecting his family; he resolves to investigate even if it destroys John's career (Chapter Twenty-One).

  11. B – Gabby believes in accountability and refuses to be part of a cover-up; she acts because it is morally necessary (Chapter Fifty-One).

  12. B – John lies about TJ relapsing to discredit TJ's accusations and protect his own secret about Lemaire and the embezzlement (Chapters Seven and Twenty-Nine).

  13. TJ feels hopeless after learning Carrie is engaged and realizes his sobriety was motivated by winning her back (Chapter Forty-Three).

  14. B – The Rolex symbolizes the family's conditional love; TJ feels unworthy of it and later sells it to let go of that symbol (Chapters Four and Thirty-Eight).

  15. B – Adopting Mango gives TJ reason to enter Lemaire's house, and caring for the cat forces him to stay sober and take responsibility (Chapters Twenty-One and Forty-Four).

  16. It frames the novel as a work that values passion, vulnerability, and full emotional experience, inviting readers to interpret events through that lens (Epigraph).

  17. It symbolizes cleansing, renewal, and TJ's determination to fight for his family and his own sobriety and identity (Chapter Forty-Five).

  18. TJ transforms from the disgraced ex-con and family outcast to the investigator who uncovers the conspiracy and saves his sister; he ends the novel as a future lawyer, symbolizing full redemption (Epilogue).

  19. Both involve powerful entities covering up wrongdoing: the Devlin family protects John's fraud, and Fournette Labs tries to silence the Holmesburg lawsuit; the novel argues for equal justice regardless of privilege (Chapters Thirty-Three, Fifty-Three, and Sixty-Four).

  20. Redemption comes through honesty, humility, and staying together; John is in prison but the family supports him, TJ stays sober and starts law school, and the parents downsize to focus on family (Epilogue).

Test your recall of the full novel, then visit our book page for a summary, questions and answers for deeper analysis, or the ending explained for a guided breakdown of the final chapters.