"The Negotiator" by Frederick Forsyth Quiz

Answer: Quinn

We never learn Quinn's first name (in fact he'd had it erased from CIA records when he left the service). Lebel was the hero in "Day of the Jackal", McCready was the hero in "The Deceiver" and Peter Miller in "The Odessa File".

Answer: The Sicilian Mafia

A wealthy Italian jeweller's daughter had been kidnapped by Sicilians. They held her for ransom and Quinn had negotiated her ransom price. But the little girl was accidentally killed in the crossfire between the bandits and some hired guns the father sent after Quinn (without telling him) to ensure the girl AND the money came home. Quinn blamed himself and resigned.

Answer: False

Quite the opposite, the two of them have just developed a historic peace agreement called The Nantucket Treaty. It says each superpower will stand down and dismantle nuclear weapons one by one, a first step towards world peace. Most people would normally be happy about that, but a group of oil merchants, armanents bigshots, and ultra-right fanatics (not to mention some Russian generals who'd been planning to invade the Middle East for oil) have other ideas.

Answer: Oxford

He went overseas to vacation/study in England. As President Cormack's son, he was always followed by secret servicemen in an unmarked car wherever he went. They were killed one morning, though, when a white van suddenly appeared out of nowhere, shot them, chloroformed Simon, and zoomed away with him in the back. Margaret Thatcher herself rang Washington to tell Cormack senior the bad news.

Answer: The CIA

Quinn was living incognito in Spain at the time. As soon as he saw the kidnapping on the news at the local pub he mentally prepared himself for an imminent visit from his former employers. He was not disappointed, they were already waiting for him when he got home.

Answer: False

It's a bit of a trick question, but in the book we are not told "Sam" is short for "Samantha" until they have been chatting for a little while. She agrees to marry Quinn at the end of the story, so I'm sure he was glad she was a she.

Answer: All these reasons

The story starts off with a Russian army commander despairing about depleting USSR oil supplies, then takes us to America where an oil tycoon and a shipping tycoon band together for the same reason. They think if they can keep President Cormack from signing the peace treaty and enhance US belligerence, it will be the first step to ending American dependence on the "corrupt Arabs" once and for all.

Answer: Saudi Arabia

The new president makes it clear to the world that he is not interested in war (not least with his peace treaty). The conspirators want the vice-president, a man who feels quite the opposite, to replace him. Kidnapping Cormack's son and later killing poor Simon will render the president emotionally unfit to be in office. So they think.

Answer: All of these

You can guarantee Frederick Forsyth's books will always give a good guide to European roads!

Answer: Yes

It turns out to be none other than Duncan McCrea, the young agent who was with Sam and Quinn in London during the ransom negotiations (classic: someone the heroes thought was their friend was quite the opposite). McCrea was also the one who pressed the detonation button when poor Simon was released.

A device exploded against his spinal cord and he literally came to pieces. The device was a USSR weapon but turned out to have been supplied by the Russian conspirators, not by the government itself.

Answer: False

The movie had the same name as the book but it was a different story altogether. There are a few hints in the book that suggest Frederick Forsyth envisioned Clint Eastwood in the role of The Negotiator if it became a movie. E.g. the description of Quinn, the type of role, and the way some people who met Quinn instantly thought of "Dirty Harry" quotes.

Answer: Clergyman

The US government are trying to track down Quinn at one point and decide the best was going through Sam's father (who happens to be a father in every respect).

Answer: They have either already been murdered or are about to be

Quinn finally meets "Zack" the chief kidnapper he used to speak to on the phone. In France, Zack insists that they had no idea Simon was going to be killed after his release; he thought his employers just wanted the money. To prove it, Zack gives Quinn the whole ransom back. Zack doesn't want it, he just doesn't want to end up dead like his friends.

A few minutes later, a bullet from a passing car brings the total of dead kidnappers up from three to four...

Answer: Diamonds

They asked for 5 million originally but Quinn told them only 1 million was possible. He told his tense audience that is the best thing to do in ransom negotiations, as agreeing to the kidnapper's first demand would make them suspicious and/or demand more money.
At the end Quinn sends the diamonds to the US Embassy in London, without taking any for himself. He values human life more than money.

Answer: They were both in Vietnam

In the brief history about the thug, the book says a US green beret sergeant had once struck him in the face for the brutalities he'd inflicted on unarmed civilians in Vietnam (more for gaining pleasure than info). It is not until the end that the thug reveals Quinn was that sergeant. Since Quinn and Sam were his prisoners he probably felt safe in disclosing that.