Deadlock; Sara Paretsky

aDeadlock- Sara Paretsky
Exercises
Before Reading
1Deadlock means a failure in trying to solve a discussion, argument or more of the similar
Dead means not alive
A lock on a river or canal is an area in this one which is closed so that the water level can be increased or
lowered to the one willed
2Vic Warshawsky isn't married- Y
Vic works for the police- N
Vic's cousin is dead- Y
Vic doesn't believe her cousin's death was an accident- Y
Vic knew her cousin's girlfriend well- N
3Vic will be murdered- N
Boom Boom's girlfriend will kill someone- Y
Vic will find out who killed her cousin- Y
The murderer will go to prison- N
While Reading
Chapters 1-3
• Why did Vic want to find out more about Boom Boom's death?- because she was uncertain his death was a
mere accident
• What did Boom Boom's grandmother tell Vic?- that he was in trouble at work because people thought he
had stolen certain papers from the boss
• What was Paige Carrington doing in Boom Boom's apartment?- looking for a love letter she had written
him
• Who were the four men with Vic at lunch in the club, and what connection did they have with Boom
Boom?- Niels Grafalk, Martin Bledsoe, Mike Sheridan and Clayton Phillips; all of them were superiors of
Boom Boom at the company
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• What was the accident to the Lucella Wieser?- water was put into the holds of the ship
• Why did Grafalk dislike Bledsoe?- because Grafalk didn't ever accept Martin's departure from his company
• What did Vic find in the study on her second visit to Boom Boom's apartment?-the watchman, dead
Chapters 4-6
• According to Janet, Boom Boom didn't get on well with Mr. Phillips
• Bobby Mallory didn't like Vic to get involved in police and murder cases
• Bledsoe told Vic contracts were cancelled routinely
• Both the brakes and the steering wheel were damaged in Vic's car
• Howard Mattingly was never liked by Boom Boom, and according to him he could not play hockey
• Niels Graffalk's father didn't give Matin Bledsoe any chance, despite his son did, and sent Martin to prison
Before chapters 7-10
Clayton Phillips is vice-president of the Eudora grain
Janet was Boom Boom's secretary
Bobby Mallory is a policeman
Niels Grafalk owns the Grafalk Steamship Line
Murray Ryerson is a newspaper reporter
Paige Harrington is a ballet dancer
Martin Bledsoe owns the Pole Star Line
Pierre and Howard Mattingly are ice hockey players
Niels Grafalk and Paige Harrington were involved in Boom Boom's death
Chapters 7-10
• Why did Vic fly to Thunder Bay?- to get onboard the Lucella and find out more about the case and the
people trying to kill her
• What did Vic see in the water when she got on the ship for the second time?- someone swimming away
from the side of the ship
• Why did the man with red hair set off the bomb?- probably to kill her and to destroy the ship
• Why had Bledsoe's plane already left when Vic arrived at Sault Ste Marie airport?- because Mattingly had
already used it
• What was Vic looking for when she searched the Eudora grain offices?- some missing invoices
• What did Vic find behind the photo?- some papers (the missing invoice and a contract)
• What was the difference between the invoice and the shipping contract?-in the invoice Grafalk's price was
the lowest while it should be the Pole Star Line's
• Who was found dead in the hold of Martin Bledsoe's ship?- Clayton Phillips
Before Chapters 11-13
After reading these chapters, I still think of those two as the ones involved in his death
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Chapters 11-13
• Why did Paige Carrington and Jeannine Phillips protect each other? They were sisters
• Why didn't Mrs Grafalk like Jeannine Phillips? Because the last woman was only interested in expensive
clothes and not in helping the poor
• Why didn't Grafalk tell Eudora Grain that Phillips was cheating them? Because he would make Phillips
work for him
• Why did Paige agree to watch Boom Boom for Grafalk?- because Grafalk paid her the bills and everything
• Why did Vic cut a piece of carpet from Grafalk's boat?- to see if there were any bloodstains where she had
found a hair earlier before
• Why did Vic cut her arm?- to prove in case she died or was murdered Grafalk had killed her
• Why did Vic jump into the water?- to escape from Grafalk and from death
• Why didn't Grafalk shoot Vic while she was in the water?- because he knew he was going to die, and that
killing her would bring nothing but bad reputation to him
Before Chapter 14
• Will Vic tell the police the truth about what Grafalk did- No
• Will Vic tell Claire Grafalk the truth about what Grafalk did?- Yes
• Will Claire Grafalk be angry about her husband's death?- No
• Will Paige be sad that Grafalk is dead?- No
• Who will take over the Grafalk Steamship Line?- Grafalk's older son
After Reading
1.
• Boom Boom was pushed under a ship by Clayton Phillips
• Howard Mattingly broke the watchman at Boom Boom's apartment's neck
• Howard Mattingly was hit by a car
• Clayton Phillips was shot in the head by Niels Grafalk
• V.I. Warshawsky made Niels Grafalk's boat explode
2.
• I disagree, because Jeannine Phillips made her husband kill Boom Boom and Paige's discoveries killed
many people, although she didn't seem to know it
• I agree, because Jeannine Phillips forced her husband kill him and Paige told her he had found the truth
• I disagree, because Niels Grafalk is more the evil mind behind all the crimes in this story than Jeannine
Phillips
3.
Vic decided to hide as a passenger on the Lucella because she was afraid that captain Bemis would want her
on board his ship. She knew that she would be able to leave the Lucella when the ship stopped at the locks at
Sault Ste Marie. After the cargo of the port had been loaded into the ship and the lucella was ready to leave,
Vic climbed up the ladder to the main deck and waited until the Lucella had pulled away from the shore and
was a couple of kilometers from land. Then she went up to cabin to talk to Bledsoe.
4.
• Why were you aboard the ship?
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• What happened exactly before the explosion?
• Where exactly were you in the moment of the explosion?
• What did you see that made you suspect that something was going wrong aboard the ship?
• Do you remember anything suspicious in the attitude of the crew of the ship?
EXPLOSION AT POE LOCK DESTROYS SHIP
Several people were killed yesterday morning when an explosion completely destroyed the `Lucella Wieser'
ship, a cargo ship which was curiously involved in the mysterious death of famous ex-hockey player Boom
Boom Warshawsky. Another fact is that detective V.I. Warshawsky, close relative of the above mentioned,
was aboard the ship the same moment the explosion took place. The detective pointed out she had seen one
person jump out of the ship just seconds before the bomb exploded. Fortunately only a few members of the
working crew of the ship died in this tragic accident. Owner of the ship and of the organization in possession
of the Lucella Wieser suspects of a possible sabotage from the direct rival of the company, which for privacy
reasons has decided not to reveal the name of the possible responsible for this fatal event.
5.
Ajax President- I'm afraid your husband may be responsible for several sabotages which have occurred in
these last days aboard his direct rival's ships
Mrs. Grafalk-But why would he do that?
Ajax President- To stop his business from bankrupting.
Mrs. Grafalk-but why did he want to do that?
Ajax President- his shipping company was losing a great amount of money against his competitors- their
bigger cargo ships are much more profitable than his smaller ships
Mrs. Grafalk-Couldn't he build bigger ships of his own?
Ajax President-No. Because he was already losing a dreadful lot of money
Mrs. Grafalk-So how did he keep Grafalk Steamship running?
Ajax President-By using money from his other businesses
Mrs. Grafalk-How did you find out about all this?
Ajax President-Ms. Warshawsky suggested me to check out your husband's business accounts and this is how
I found out about all this
6.
Phillip's wife wanted to live in a wealthy part of Chicago so he started cheating his bosses at Eudora Grain by
putting one price in the shipping contracts for Eudora Grain and later charging a higher price on the invoices.
He then made thousands of dollars for himself, but Boom Boom discovered the truth, and Phillips panicked
and Killed Boom Boom. He then went to Grafalk for help, who was later responsible for blowing up the
Lucella, but when Vic also discovered what was going on, Phillips threatened to tell the police, and Grafalk
ended killing Phillips.
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7.
She was right because his family wasn't right to be left out without his fortune and, despite Grafalk's evil acts,
his wife was a gentle soul who would have never done any wrong in anything
8.
Dead End is another word that plays with the meaning of both words meaning a path without end
9.
Mick St. John, from the series Moonlight, is a detective who, like Vic, lives alone (because he's a vampire,
sorry for finding such a poor comparison but it's the only decent one I can think of), but he likes to keep
control of all the situations he's in. He's also much colder than her, and thinks about all his acts very
thoroughly. But they both share an attraction for messing around to find out things that they wouldn't find out
normally (but this happens everywhere in fiction, it's the only way to find out the criminals)
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