Characters
What is the name of the protagonist?
Ryan
What does Ryan find in an envelope at the start of the novel that makes him decide to enter the competition?
Photos of his daughter Lydia — suggesting someone has been following her
What is the one rule that contestants must follow to stay in the competition?
One hand on the house / wall at all times
What does Ryan do for May in Chapter 13 that shows he trusts her early in the competition?
He offers her some of his duct tape so she can sleep — an act of kindness and generosity toward a fellow competitor
True or False: Ryan chose to enter the CashSmashers competition himself after seeing it advertised online.
False — his daughter Lydia entered his details without telling him
What is the name of the character who got murdered?
Adam
Who is the first contestant eliminated from the competition, and how does he react?
Ned — he is not at all happy about being eliminated
How much money is in the duffle bag placed in the middle of the lounge room?
$50,000
What does May do to Ryan's duct tape in Chapter 22, and why?
May steals Ryan's duct tape and throws it into the fire — she saw him as her biggest threat to winning and wanted to eliminate him
True or False: The surfer (Oliver) left the property after being eliminated from the competition.
False — Oliver never left the property; he stayed and threw rocks at the windows to unsettle Adam as revenge
Who entered Ryan into the competition without telling him?
His daughter Lydia
What does the bloody handprint on the poolside window turn out to be?
A fake — the woman was not injured but was laughing; it was a trick to get contestants to remove their hands from the wall
What does Ryan use to stay in the game while he sleeps, and what does he share with May?
Duct Tape — he tapes his hand to the wall and offers May some so she can sleep too
Why does Ryan feel betrayed by Lucas at the end of the novel, even though Lucas helped him stay in the game?
Because Lucas only helped Ryan to win money — he had bet on Ryan and fixed the competition for financial gain, meaning his support was never genuine
True or False: The CashSmashers knew Adam was really dead but kept the competition going because they could not figure out who killed him.
True — they knew he was genuinely dead but could not identify the killer, so the game continued
What is the name of the YouTube group running the competition?
The Cash Smashers
Who killed Adam, and what weapon was used?
Michelle stabbed Adam using a hidden third arm she had concealed under her jacket, stabbing him with a knife
Where was Lisa secretly sleeping to cheat in the competition, and why couldn't the cameras catch her?
In the bathroom — there were no working cameras in there
Michelle pretends to play the game fairly while secretly using a fake arm. Which two contestants discovered she was cheating, and what happened to each of them?
Adam discovered she was cheating — she killed him. Ryan also figured it out — Michelle stabbed his real hand against the wall in revenge
True or False: Michelle is ruled out as a suspect because the basement video shows she did not touch Adam during their argument.
False — while the video shows she did not touch him then, Michelle is ultimately revealed to be the killer; she stabbed him later using her hidden third arm
What is the name of the CashSmasher who is revealed to have fixed the competition by betting money on Ryan to win?
Lucas
Why does Ryan choose to eliminate himself at the end of the competition rather than try to win the four million dollars?
He decides May needs the money more than he does; he eliminates himself and lets her win
What 2 things did Lucas show Ryan to illegally fix the competition?
He showed Ryan the duct tape (to help him stay in) and the basement video of May (to give Ryan information about his competition)
Ryan initially suspects the CashSmashers of being killers but changes his mind. What conclusion does he reach about them?
Ryan concludes the CashSmashers are negligent but not killers
True or False: Adam was crawling toward the bag of money when he died.
False — Ryan deduces that Adam was heading toward the fire to cauterise his wound using his medical training, not toward the money