1. How does Brooks present Alex in the novel? You should comment on: What she does and what happened to her The methods Brooks uses to present her

2. The Importance of Alex Explain What is Alex’s role in the novel? Why is Alex important in the novel? What is important about the relationship between Alex and Martyn?

3. ALEX At the bus stop (pg 16-18) In Boots (pg 21-22) Flashback to when Alex moved in pg 19-20 At Martyn’s house (Pg 26- 30) After Dad’s death (pg 40-45) Martyn reveals the £30,000 (pg 58-60) Dean blackmails them (pg 71 ) The Epilogue (pg 219-220) Monday (page 151-153, 165-173) Dumping the body (Pg 115-116, 133-134) Aunty Jean’s visit (pg 74-85)

4. THE MANY FACES OF ALEX FREEMAN 1. Alex is seen through the eyes of Martyn 2. Alex is one of the only people who Martyn views in a positive light. Page 18 ‘flash of white.’ 3. Martyn is almost obsessed with Alex ‘I watched her’ page 18 4. Takes advantage when she finds out about £30,000 – becomes very close page 79 “Who else would do that for you? Who else? My heart sang” 5. She continues to support Martyn as they dump the body page 132 “We were going home. We’d done it” Martyn is blindly unaware of what is to come. 6. On Monday Alex and Martyn discuss the future page 152 –”one day more isn’t going to hurt stick to the plan” 7. Martyn remains oblivious until the police arrive; page 181 “I was wrong. I was stupid. I was an idiot”

5. THE MANY FACES OF ALEX FREEMAN 1.Stealing when dressing Dad’s body Page 78-93 2.Flushing the signatures page 152-154 protecting!!! 3.The face beneath the mask – Page 167 4.Dream – betrayed him – foreshadowed page 47 and 63-64 5.When she finds out Dad is dead Page 40-45 caring??? 6.Martyn beach – Alex morphs into Dad – Page 107-108 7.Alex changing behaviour at Boots – Page 16-23

6. BROOKS DOES GIVE US CLUES She never looks back Her face was a mask The beach She kissed me again before she left – Judas

7. EventEvidenceExplain At the bus stop… “as she strolled gracefully”. “I watched..I watched “sick feeling”. “she never looked back” “good or bad”. Martyn’s view of Alex is always positive and when we first encounter her at the bus stop it is clear to see “as she strolled gracefully”. Martyn is clearly attracted to Alex almost to the point of infatuation as he remembers her “I watched..I watched”(page 18) the repetition of “I watched” only reinforces his obsession with her especially as she is someone who makes him have a “sick feeling”. Brooks does hint at Alex’s manipulative nature when Martyn tells us “she never looked back” (page 18) and that she makes Martyn feel things that he doesn’t know if they are “good or bad”. Alex…

8. The £30,000“I could lie” “for the briefest of moments I didn’t recognise her, she was a stranger.” “Who else would do that for you? Who else?” After discovering the £30,000 Alex and Martyn become increasingly close; whilst she encourages him to go to the police initially she has a change of heart when she finds out about the money even offering to lie “I could lie” page 56. Again Brooks hints that she may not be a character we should automatically trust “for the briefest of moments I didn’t recognise her, she was a stranger.” page 56 However Martyn only idolises he further. When she paints Dad’s face Martyn declares “Who else would do that for you? Who else?” page 79. Again Brooks hints at her obscure behaviour “she turned from the open wardrobe” page 78 yet we continue to see Martyn put this girl on a pedestal as he declares “my heart sang”. Dumping the body and At the beach The end

9. Alex… Dumping the body “she changed gear angrily”, “’You’re too young’ she snapped” page 134 “what ever had happened had happened. It was over. Done. Forget it. Think of something else” page 135 After dumping the body we see a very different side to Alex, a side that even Martyn becomes aware of as he describes her behaviour in a negative way; “she changed gear angrily”, “’You’re too young’ she snapped” page 134 the use of aggressive verbs and adverbs show that Alex has potentially lost control, or is it simply that Martyn has become more aware of her behaviour. Despite her outburst however Martyn still does not doubt her he is quick to dismiss Alex’s reaction as he doesn’t want to see her as anything but Alex – his idealised female figure. He even fails to consider his ‘vision’ at the beach and whilst we may argue that Martyn is aware Alex poses danger to his future plans, he stills fails to admit she could pose a problem in the future.

10. Alex… The endBrooks often presents Alex as the real villain, who wears ‘a mask’ and never looks back. She is the the ‘murderer’s beautiful mistress’, although she is prepared to sacrifice Martyn’s life for the sake of her own, and kill Dean in order to realise her ambition. She is a determined, focused and adamant character right down to the epilogue when she uses Martyn’s ideals to justify her own actions. “ You once told me badness is a relative thing.” At the end of the novel we are forced to question our view of Alex. Ultimately she gets away with murder and benefits from the murder of both Dad and Dean. Whilst she leaves things ‘pointing in the right direction’ Alex feels no guilt or remorse and as the book closes we feel a great sense of injustice as we realise that good does not prevail and that actually the evil reign of Alex continues.