Name of the Game is Murder
Joan Lowery Nixon
Author of The Name of the Game was Murder
Chapter 4: —There are six clues but only five guests. —Thea is also being forced to play. —List the first set of clues given. —Write the person's name and the clue —(You may not discover all these clues until later, so write them as learn about them).
CLUE SET ONE: o Laura Reed: a list of football games and scores o Buck Thompson: a list of names and telephone numbers with the name "Peeples, Willie" circled o Julia Bryant: an airline schedule from New York to Buffalo • Julia gasps as she stares at her clue o Arthur Maggio: a train schedule • Senator Maggio's face darkens and he gets mad and folds his clue up and stuffs it in his pocket. o Alex Chambers: an enlarged section of a detailed map (which Sam identifies as being from Vietnam) o Thea Trevor: a travel brochure with the word "Acapulco" visible on it (Thea tears up when she sees it)
Chapter 9: —Identify the third set of clues.
CLUE SET THREE: o Laura Reed: "SHE LAID AN EGG, AND IT WAS A DOOZY" o Arthur Maggio: "THE BALD EAGLE HAS MANY KIN" o Buck Thompson: "SHE IS LOST AND GONE FOREVE. DREADFUL SORRY, PAPPY" o Thea Trevor: "DARLING, I AM GROWING OLD" o Alex Chambers: "IT WASN'T ENTIRELY JASON'S FAULT" o Julia Bryant: "TAKE A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM OLIVER, THE POET"
Chapter 7: —Identify the second set of clues for each character.
CLUE SET TWO (p. 78): • all the clues start with the phrase "ONE WILL BE ABOVE ALL:" followed by individual phrases • Arthur Maggio: "THE ACE OF SPADES'" • Alex Chambers: "THE KING OF DIAMONDS'" • Julia Bryant: "THE QUEEN OF HEARTS'" • Buck Thompson: "THE JACK OF CLUBS'" • Laura Reed: "THE TEN OF SPADES'" • Thea Trevor: "THE NINE OF DIAMONDS'"
Chapter 2: —Pages 10 to the middle of 14 are a flashback. —On pages 10 and 11, Sam is remembering a conversation with her mother. —Explain the conversation.
Conversation on pp. 10-11: —Sam is explaining why she feels she HAS TO go visit with Augustus Trevor in person (her passion for writing). —Sam's parents are skeptical, but seem willing to let Sam find out for herself despite the fact they are pretty sure she will be disappointed. —Sam's Mom allows Sam to call and ask her Aunt Thea about a visit and, after hesitating (seeming to confirm her parents are right to be worried), Thea agrees Sam can visit.
Chapter 2: —Augustus had told Samantha he was hosting a house party for the weekend. —Who is the first famous person who comes to the island? —Describe her.
FIRST PERSON TO ARRIVE: • The first famous person to arrive is Laura Reed, a movie star. DESCRIPTION OF HER: • Laura Reed is described as "a pretty but quiet woman who wore no makeup" with "blond hair" a little lighter than Sam's that "hung straight and heavy around her face." (p. 19). • Laura Reed is wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, but Sam assumes they are probably designer jeans because Laura Reed is a movie star. • Sam thinks that Laura Reed is a little shy and very nice and has "greenish-gold"eyes and a voice that is "sleepily whispery and throaty." (p. 19)
Chapter 1: —Describe the room that is given to Samantha. Describe its location, size, furnishings, and view to the outside.
Sam's new room: LOCATION: —top of a tower —up a narrow staircase —narrow door with arch on top and large keyhole with brass key in it SIZE: —small and round —completely round including the bathroom which is partitioned off within the circle —tiny, makeshift closet within the bathroom FURNISHINGS: —only enough room for a twin bed, a small dresser, and a chair VIEW: —narrow windows on one side part of the room through which the sea can be seen at a distance, but bars on the windows
Chapter 2: —Describe the setting in detail. (bottom of p. 13 and top of page 14). —What mood does the setting create?
Setting: • The setting is Santa Catalina Island which is an island twenty miles off the coast of Southern California (it is part of the Channel Islands). • The house is located around the north end of the island and, as Thea tells Sam, is not connected to the main roadway and, therefore, the main town of Avalon so they have to travel everywhere by launch. • Because they travel by launch they arrive or leave via a "short, covered pier in a small, narrow cove" and have to take a "steep, winding stairway to the house." (p.13) • Sam describes the house as follows: "Spread out, with corridors rambling in all directions, this ugly stone castle sat alone on a scrubby hill covered with a thick tangle of sage and short golden-brown glasses under wind-twisted oak trees." (p.13) • The area surround the house is: "higher hills, blurred purple-blue with mists." (p.13) MOOD: • The setting creates an incredibly creepy mood for the book.
Chapter 2: —Why did Laura Reed say that she had come to the island? —What were her feelings about being there?
WHY LAURA CAME: • Laura Reed says that she came to the island because she got a threatening letter from Augustus Trevor telling her to come and that "there would be a game in which [she'd] be one of the chief players." (p. 20) LAURA's FEELINGS ABOUT BEING THERE: • Laura is there because she is frightened and because she is "afraid to ignore his threat." (p.20)
Chapter 13: —Why does Samantha bump into Alex on the stairs? —Where was he going? —Where was she going? —How were there [SIC--should be THEIR] plans interrupted?
WHY does Sam bump into Alex on the stairs? • Samantha bumps into Alex on the stairs because he is stalking her in the belief that she knows where the manuscript is. WHERE was ALEX going? • Alex says he was guarding. • Alex wants Sam to give him the manuscript first. WHERE was SAM going? • Sam was heading down to the golden urn where she is pretty sure the manuscript must be located. HOW were they interrupted? • They are first interrupted Aunt Thea comes out of her bedroom • Alex lies and says that he and Sam were both hungry and heading down to the kitchen and Thea insists on accompanying them. • Next, Julia, who says she was listening to their conversation insists on joining them. • Next, Sam looks over the banister and sees Mrs. Engstrom fully dressed standing in the entry hall. • Mrs. Engstrom joins them at the bottom of the stairs and leads them all to the kitchen and offers to go get some wine from the wine cellar for them, but Sam says she will go because she really wants to search the wine cellar. • When she goes back to the kitchen she claims she is cold and runs back out and reaches in the urn and grabs the manuscript.
Chapter 1: —What is Augustus' Trevor's reaction to Sam's surprise visit?
—Angry —Tells Sam to go home and is mad when she explains why she can't. —Forces Sam to move to a different room because he has a party planned that Aunt Thea didn't know about.
Chapter 16: —Who killed Augustus Trevor?
—Killer = Mrs. Engstrom, the Housekeeper.
Chapter 3: —Notice the foreshadowing at the top of p. 24.
—Laura looks at Thea with a mixture of tenderness and pity. —There is also an ominous threat of bad weather. • The weather discussion has Aunt Thea saying that the stormy weather is odd for August which is kind of weird since it is still hurricane season for Southern California in September. Even if they hardly ever make landfall or get close, it is still hurricane season and you'd think people living on a resort island would be aware of weather-related things—especially if they only get around by boat.
Chapter 5: —Identify all the people who work for the Trevors. — Give their name and their position. (There are four).
—Mrs. (Frances) Engstrom = Housekeeper —Lucy = Maid —Walter = Butler —Thomas = Cook
Chapter 1: —Who is the protagonist and what is her ambition (career she hopes to have)?
—Protagonist = Samantha "Sam" Burns —Ambition = to become a writer
Chapter 12: —What is significant about the letters "RCPTY"? (pp. 134-135). —List the steps Samantha went through as she was solving the mystery. —Where did she realize that the manuscript was hidden?
—RCPTY = • RCPTY is an anagram for the word "CRYPT" —Samantha's Steps: • Samantha starts thinking about Clue set Three and thinks: o Thea's "growing old" clue is a reference to a song she used to sing that talks about silver and gold o The Oliver in Julia's clue might just be Oliver GOLDsmith o The Jason in Alex's clue must be, as Thea suggests, a reference to Jason and Medea and the story of the Golden Fleece (although she can not remember the name of Medea's father, King Aeetes) o Laura's clue probably did refer to the goose laying a golden egg which she randomly mentioned in their conversation. o Maggio's clue about the bald eagle could refer to its kin the golden eagle. o Buck's clue with Pappy was probably a reference to a famous miner in 1849 ("a miner 49-er"). • In other words, Samantha figures out that all of clue set three refers to gold or golden. • Samantha then starts thinking about clue set four and realizes that each clue references a letter of the alphabet: o more silent than the tombs "R" o minus the "C" o green as a "P" o "T" and sympathy • She ignores Thea's clue as not having a letter, but starts substituting vowels assuming an anagram and comes up with RCPTY = CRYPT • She realizes that the "golden crypt" must be the "golden burial urn" and that is where the manuscript must be hidden. —Where was manuscript hidden: The "golden burial urn"
Chapter 1: —Why is Samantha unable to return home at this time?
—Sam can't go home because her parents are taking advantage of her absence to go to the Cayman Islands. (p.3.) —Error: the book says they have gone to "the Grand Cayman Islands." The country is the Cayman Islands of which Grand Cayman is the largest island.
Chapter 1: —Whom does Samantha Burns visit at the beginning of the novel and why? How is she related to this person?
—Sam is visiting with her Aunt Thea and Uncle Augustus Trevor on Catalina Island. —Why? Sam wants her Uncle Augustus to help her with her writing. The novel opens with her meeting with him in his office. How are Sam and Augustus related: —Aunt Thea is Sam's mother's sister and Augustus Trevor is her Uncle by marriage.
Chapter 1: —What does Samantha learn about the sleeping arrangements of Aunt Thea and her husband? (p. 6) This may foreshadow an unhappy marriage.
—Sam learns that her Aunt and Uncle have separate bedrooms.
Chapter 3: —Name and identify (tell their jobs) all the visitors to the island. —Add any additional information that seems relevant.
—See ALSO separate quizlet of characters —Main 5= Laura Reed: • Movie Star • Laura supposedly murdered her husband (Larry) on a sailboar and made it look like a accident. Buck Thompson: • Formerly a quarterback, now a sportscaster. • Buck had a bookie named Willie Peeples who swore Buck was betting on football games that he was influencing the outcome of by doing things like fumbling balls and faking injuries in order to control the scores of games and make money off of his bets. Julia Bryant: • Writer • Julia Bryant stole the manuscripts written by her friend who then supposedly committed suicide, though it is also alleged that Julia pushed her out the window. Then Julia's husband added little details like sleazy scenes and then they submitted them to publishers as Julia's own work. Arthur Maggio: • Senator of Nevada • Senator Maggio supposedly took lots of money as campaign donations from the Bonino crime family (organized crime/mob/mafia). Senator Maggio might be considering running for president so the tainted money would really hurt him. Alex Chambers: • Fashion Designer • Alex Chambers supposedly made investments under the name of a fake corporation. The investments were in sweatshops in New York filled with immigrants (many of them child laborers) who were mainly people who couldn't speak English from Vietnam.
Chapter 11: —Where and why does Alex encounter Samantha? (p. 127) —Summarize their conversation. Again, be specific.
—Where does Alex encounter Samantha: Parlor —Why do they meet: • He says that he came to see how she was doing with things. —What do they talk about (be specific): • Alex says that he came to see how she was doing with things. • Samantha accuses Alex of sneaking up on her but he says that it wasn't his fault it was because the carpets are soft. • Samantha doesn't buy it. • Alex tries to see Sam's notes and asks if she trusts him and she says, of course not because you opened the third set of clues without anybody else around and you are probably the one who took apart all the pictures. • Alex basically says, so what if I am the person who did that, there aren't any rules. • When Sam asks what he found out, he says nothing. He says he didn't kill Augustus, but Sam still doesn't believe him. • In the end Alex steals her notes and walks off.
Chapter 11: —Who found the fourth set of clues? —Where were they?
—Who found set 4: • Julia Bryant found the fourth set of clues. —Where was set 4: • The fourth set of clues were "fastened with a rubber band and tucked at the very back in the middle drawer of Augustus's desk under some paper." (p. 119) CLUE SET 4 (p. 122): o Alex Chambers: "MORE SILENT THAN THE TOMBS ARE" o Laura Reed: "LIKE DAVY JONES' LOCKER—MINUS THE SEA" o Arthur Maggio: "DEADER THAN A DOORNAIL, GREEN AS A PEA" o Julia Bryant: "TEA AND SYMPATHY—DONE TO DEATH" o Buck Thompson: "WHY A SUDDEN DEATH PLAY?" o Thea Trevor: "GIVE UP THE GHOST"
Chapter 2: —Pages 12 and 13 tell what happened after Samantha landed at the airport. —Who met her at the airport? —How did they travel to the island?
—Who met Sam?: Aunt Thea meets Sam at airport. —How did they travel to Catalina?: Sam and Thea travel to Catalina on Augustus Trevor's private launch.
Chapter 15: —Who wrote the fifth set of clues? —What did everyone do after reading the clues? —What did Samantha do next?
—Who wrote CLUE SET 5: • Samantha wrote the fifth set of (false) clues. —What did everyone do: • After reading the clues, most of them figured the clues out and went running to Sam's intended destination which was the wine cellar. • Thea has a different clue and goes to the sun-room followed by Mrs. Engstrom. —What did Sam do next: • Sam locks the others in the wine cellar and then goes to join Thea.
Chapter 2: —The second paragraph on p.l4 says that Aunt Thea gave her a large bedroom and left her to unpack. —In her eagerness to meet Augustus Trevor, she had run downstairs to see him. —The last line of the flashback is, "That had been a big mistake." —What does this mean? —Remember, chapter 1 began with the conversation with Augustus.
• "That had been a big mistake" is referring back to Sam's confrontation with Augustus Trevor where, in chapter 1, we learned he was angry that Sam was there and forced her to change rooms.
Chapter 15: —What does Samantha do with the manuscript?
• After Samantha reads the manuscript she puts it back in the urn.
Chapter 8: —Who found the third set of clues? —What had he already done before he gave them to the others?
• Alex found the third set of clues and he had already opened them all before he gave them to the others.
Chapter 5: —What is announced at the end of this chapter?
• At the end of the chapter Mrs. Engstrom, Lucy, and Walter announce that Mr. Trevor has been murdered ("there's blood splattered on his desk!").
Chapter 4: —What is the game that each visitor will play?
• Augustus Trevor does not really specify the game, he just says, "During the weekend we're going to play a game, and you'll be given clues to solve." • He says that the clues will lead to a treasure and that for the people who can solve the clues, he will remove their individual secrets from his book,
Chapter 4: —What did Augustus Trevor stumble upon (discover) while doing research?
• Augustus Trevor says that while he was doing background research he discovered a horrible secret about each one of his weekend guests.
Chapter 7: —What does Samantha discover in the bathroom?
• In the bathroom Samantha discovers that Augustus Trevor's corpse has been moved: "Augustus Trevor's bloody, twisted face stared up at me from the bottom of the tub!" (p. 83)
Chapter 17: —How was the manuscript destroyed in the end?
• In the end, Mrs. Engstrom set the manuscript on fire using gasoline and matches while she and Sam were on the dock as the police were approaching. • Same throws water on the manuscript, but it is pretty much destroyed by that point.
Chapter 14: —Samantha sits down to read the manuscript. —Briefly write what she discovers about the five guests and Thea.
• LAURA: o Laura is a promising young actress with a jealous husband named Larry. o Laura and Larry have argument because he wants her to quit acting and forget her Hollywood dreams. o A director friend supposedly offers them the use of his sailboat for a day on the ocean to make up after their argument, but during the trip Laura claims Larry was accidentally knocked overboard by the swinging boom arm of the sail. o Laura also claims that she searched for him and came back, but his body washed ashore two days later at Emerald Bay and the death was was ruled an accident. o AUGUSTUS DISCOVERED that Laura has asked for the boat rather than it being offered and that a mallet that was supposed to be on the boat was missing. • ALEX o Alex Chambers supposedly made investments under the name of a fake corporation. o The investments were in sweatshops in New York filled with immigrants (many of them child laborers) who were mainly people who couldn't speak English from Vietnam. • BUCK o During Buck Thompson's last year playing professional football (1979) he fumbled the ball at a critical moment causing his team to win by only two points. o Buck also claimed a back injury and spent two weeks in the hospital. o AUGUSTUS DISCOVERED a bookie named Willie Peeople who swore that Buck had bet on the point spread on the game with the fumble and had artificially manipulated other scores including the one of the game during which he supposedly suffered his injury. • SENATOR MAGGIO o Senator Maggio's son had been a lawyer for the Bonino crime family (mob), but had later broken ties with them and gone into corporate law. o AUGUSTUS SUGGESTED that a lot of Senator Maggio's funds had come straight from the Bonino crime family and if he were to be elected president he'd be "in the pocket" of organized crime. • JULIA o Sam wonders whether or not Julia's friend was pushed rather than jumping. o AUGUSTUS has "reliable sources" that CLAIM that Julia and her husband Jake carted off all of her friend's manuscripts after her death and Jake added "steamy" scenes and sent them to publishers under Julia's name. • THEA o In 1962 Thea, Augustus, and Mrs. Engstrom all were staying in a private rental villa in Acapulco and when Thea was out shopping she was mugged in a back alley while trying to take a shortcut. o When the robber tried to slash her, Thea resisted and they both fell down. o When Thea got up she realized that the robber was only a boy and had fallen on the knife he held and been killed. o Thea was terrified of being arrested for murder and ran home and told Augustus what happened.
Chapter 16: —What was the motive for the killing?
• Mrs. Engstrom's motive for murder was to protect Aunt Thea from being deported to Mexico for murder of the boy in Acapulco way back in 1962.
Chapter 2: —Now we are back to the present. —Samantha has unpacked in tower room and is heading downstairs. —What does she see on the landing that startles her?
• On the landing Sam sees what she describes as a two foot tall "burnished gold vase" (actually a golden burial urn) with a rounded lid standing on a pedestal.
Chapter 5: —What scares Samantha during the night? Be detailed.
• Over night the storm (wind, rain, and thunder) is really loud. • Sam thinks she hears: o "the creaking sound of a door opening" o "footsteps coming closer" o "the doorknob turning" o the key rattling in the lock • Then she yells, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" • Just as Samantha thought that she had convinced herself it was just her imagination the key jiggles again and someone pokes it from outside so it falls into the room and Sam looks out the keyhole only to see someone staring right back at her.
Chapter 10: —Describe the discussion between Laura Reed and Samantha. Be very specific.
• Sam goes looking for Laura and finds her in her bedroom with smudged makeup and red eyes. • Sam asks Laura for help, but Laura says she doesn't know how she can help. • Sam says she wants to ask Laura about her two most recent films which Laura says nobody remembers: Daughter of Vengeance and the year before that, Lady in Trouble. • Laura points out that Lady in Trouble is a prophetic title because Laura is now a lady who is in trouble. • Laura says "it wasn't murder" and "it was a moment of anger" and "it was an accident" and Samantha assumes Laura is referring to the murder of Augustus Trevor which Laura immediately denies but says that the "who" is unimportant. • Laura starts going on about Augustus telling her she "laid an egg and it was a doozy" without making much sense. • Laura claims she searched the whole room and then says "Would it be nice...if we could live our lives over again and take out all the bad parts" and then talks about being bored and waiting for dinner basically ending the heavy stuff.
Chapter 13: —Why does Samantha offer to go into the wine cellar? What was she looking for?
• Sam offers to go into the wine cellar so Mrs. Engstrom doesn't have to go down there. • Sam wants to see if the door to the wine cellar really can be kept locked. • While Sam is down there she discovers there are thirteen steps into the cellar which she uses as part of a fake clue later on in the book.
Chapter 17: —What does Samantha figure out at the end about her writing?
• Samantha figures out at the end that she doesn't need a mentor because she can write on her own and it is her opinion as the writer that counts more than another person's.
Chapter 13: —Where does Samantha find the manuscript?
• Samantha finds the manuscript exactly where she expects to find it in the golden burial urn.
Chapter 6: —What did Samantha find under the sleeve of Augustus' jacket?
• Samantha finds the second set of clues ("a small stack of envelopes") under the sleeve of Augustus' jacket. (p. 68)
Chapter 5: —What surprises Samantha during her talk with Julia?
• Samantha is surprised that Julia does not even know the names of the characters in her own books.
Chapter 4: —What is the clue given to Samantha?
• Samantha receives a clue after Augustus gets angry when Sam offers to help Laura with her clue. • Sam gets a series of numbers [7-5-20 12-15-19-20] that she recognizes as a simple alphanumeric code representing the phrase "get lost."
Chapter 8: —Which place in the house was Augustus Trevor always protective of?
• The only room that Mr. Trevor kept locked was the wine cellar.
Chapter 16: —Put the events of chapter 16 in order
• The phone rings and Mrs. Engstrom answers before Samantha can do so. • Sam says they need to call the police. • Sam tells Aunt Thea that she found the manuscript and says they should try to discover who committed the murder. • They take the manuscript back out of the urn and Thea calls the police. • Sam begs Thea to take the time while the police are coming to figure things out and Thea says she will give her a half hour. • They eliminate Laura because there wouldn't be enough proof to convict her and the scandal/publicity might even help her career. • They eliminate Julia because there is no solid proof that the suicide was a murder and her readers probably wouldn't care whether really wrote the books because they are so sleazy/trashy. • Thea says that Alex's sweatshops are already known and his customers don't really care about sweatshops. • Thea says either there is no proof about Maggio or others have figured it out and are waiting to leak it as a scandal after he announces his campaign for president. • Thea says Buck has a bad temper, but that's not enough proof and he has been retired a long time so they can't do that much to them. • Samantha says that what happened with Thea in Acapulco was a long time ago and no one in Mexico probably even remembers, but Mrs. Engstrom pops in and ay "We can't be sure." • Aunt Thea says she did not kill Augustus. • Next they discuss who could use the computer or mess with it. • Sam points out that Senator Maggio and Alex lied about their computer skills. • When they are discussing writers Thea says: "That might be the key" and the word "key" gets Sam thinking about other things including the fact that all the bedroom doors upstairs use the same keys. • Sam asks Thea whether the other guests know about the one key for all doors thing and Thea says they do not which lets Sam know that it has to be a household member and she accuses Mrs. Engstrom because Mrs. E would know about the keys and can use computers. • Mrs. Engstrom is devoted to Thea and says she is going to destroy the manuscript and that Walter, Tomas and Lucy aren't there to help. • Mrs. Engstrom says she is going to take the launch to the mainland, pulls out a knife, and tells Samanthat that she will be going with her.
Chapter 3: —What do Thea and Laura have to say about Julia Bryant? —Include the kind of books she writes and the incident with her friend.
• Thea and Laura start talking with Samantha about who else is coming for the weekend including Julia Bryant. Thea and Laura don't like Julia's writing which they describe as "sleaze" and "drivel." • They also talk about Julia's foundation for budding novelists set up in honor of her friend who wrote a lot of books but never had the courage to send them to a publisher and eventually committed suicide by jumping out of a twelfth-floor window. (Of course, later we learn that Julia stole her work and murdered her.)
Chapter 6: —What is found in the fireplace?
• They find "curled and cracked metal and plastic pieces" and "scraps of paper" in the fireplace in Mr. Trevor's office. —In other words, they find the remains of the copies of his manuscript that the murderer was able to find (disks and paper).
Chapter 8: —In this chapter Samantha learns who had put the body in the bathroom and why. —Explain.
• Walter had put the body into the bathtub because he says that the body needed to be put into a room that could be kept at a cool temperature.
Chapter 2: —Who identifies this object for her?
• Walter the butler explains to Samantha that it is a burial urn.
Chapter 6: —Even though it appears that the manuscript has been burned, everyone realizes there is still a problem. —What is the problem? —What do they all agree that they must do?
PROBLEM: • Sam points out that there has to be another copy of the manuscript around besides the ones on the backup disk, the one burned, and the ones on the computer. WHAT THEY ALL AGREE TO DO: • Everyone agrees that they should find the second copy of the manuscript and destroy it and that they should work together to do so.
