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Quiz about Detectives in Love
Quiz about Detectives in Love

Detectives in Love Trivia Quiz


Fictional sleuths are mostly shown as detached loners, or as going through women like a hot knife through butter. However, some detectives do find love...

A multiple-choice quiz by agony. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
agony
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
270,119
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
2117
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: peg-az (6/10), Guest 66 (3/10), emmal2000uk (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Which of these Agatha Christie creations enjoyed a stable, long term, happy, romantic life? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey met, pursued, and won his lady love over the course of several books. What was her name?

Answer: (First and last (maiden) name, or first name only)
Question 3 of 10
3. In "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett, Nick Charles solves the mystery, while his wife provides bright conversation and an endless supply of cocktails. What is her name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Roderick Alleyn is the hero of Ngaio Marsh's detective stories. He's somewhat unusual for a fictional police officer of the time; he is cultured, educated, and interested in the arts. Who does he marry, during the course of the series? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Everybody's favourite girl detective, Nancy Drew, has a steady boyfriend (for more than 75 years now!). What is his name? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" books follow the fortunes of a group of cops in the fictional city of Isola. Steve Carella, who is most often the central character of the books, got married in the first book of the series, "Cop Hater" in 1956. What is his wife's name? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Robert B Parker's weight-lifting, gourmet-cooking, Hemingway-quoting detective Spenser has had a steady honey since he met her in 1974's "God Save the Child". Who is she? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Peter Decker meets a woman in Faye Kellerman's first series novel, "The Ritual Bath" who eventually becomes his wife, though there are cultural barriers to be crossed. What is her name? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. We first met Susan Isaacs' Judith Singer in "Compromising Positions" (1978). In that book she is a Long Island housewife and stay-at-home mom, who gets involved in a murder mystery (mostly out of boredom), and solves the case. She and the police detective, who have been striking sparks off of each other all through the book, end up in an affair.
In "Long Time No See", which came out in 2002, Judith is back, and so is her detective! What is his name?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Well, I won't try to kid you - Sherlock Holmes doesn't really belong in this quiz. Love and romance were definitely NOT his forte. However, he does have one encounter with a woman that strikes a spark. As Watson tells us, "to Sherlock Holmes, she is always "the" woman." And he does ask for her photograph, as a reward from a grateful King. Who is she? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 25 2024 : peg-az: 6/10
Oct 19 2024 : Guest 66: 3/10
Oct 12 2024 : emmal2000uk: 7/10
Oct 10 2024 : Guest 51: 4/10
Oct 05 2024 : ChristineSierra: 3/10
Oct 04 2024 : polly656: 6/10
Sep 25 2024 : Guest 198: 3/10
Sep 14 2024 : jmel2: 6/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which of these Agatha Christie creations enjoyed a stable, long term, happy, romantic life?

Answer: Tommy Beresford

So far as I can tell, Ariadne Oliver never shows the slightest interest in the opposite sex in any of the books and stories she appears in. She is MRS Oliver, however, so there must have once been a Mister.

Hercule Poirot does have a passion for Vera Rossakoff, the jewel thief, but it can hardly be described as stable, happy, and long term.

I think the "Miss" in Miss Marple's name can speak for itself.

Tommy Beresford is, of course, half of Tommy and Tuppence (Tuppence's real maiden name was Prudence Cowley). They have a long and happy marriage, raising two children, and growing old together.
2. Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey met, pursued, and won his lady love over the course of several books. What was her name?

Answer: Harriet Vane

Harriet first appears in "Strong Poison", on trial for the death of her lover. She and Peter duke it out until "Gaudy Night", when she finally accepts him; they are married in "Busman's Honeymoon".

Harriet and Peter also appear in a few books written to Sayers' notes by Jill Paton Walsh, but the less said about them, the better.
3. In "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett, Nick Charles solves the mystery, while his wife provides bright conversation and an endless supply of cocktails. What is her name?

Answer: Nora

While there are indications in the book that Nick had previously been the "love 'em and leave 'em" type so beloved of hard boiled writers, he's a happily married man now. Hammett only wrote one book about this couple, but their first film outing was so successful that William Powell and Myrna Loy went on to make five "Thin Man" sequels.
4. Roderick Alleyn is the hero of Ngaio Marsh's detective stories. He's somewhat unusual for a fictional police officer of the time; he is cultured, educated, and interested in the arts. Who does he marry, during the course of the series?

Answer: Agatha Troy

Agatha is an artist. Marsh's first choice of career was the stage, and many of her detective stories are set in and around the theatre.

I don't know if Ngaio Marsh is read much these days - her books may not have the 'spark' which the 21st century reader needs to go back in time, the way that Christie's and Sayers' do.
5. Everybody's favourite girl detective, Nancy Drew, has a steady boyfriend (for more than 75 years now!). What is his name?

Answer: Ned Nickerson

Ned is a good kind of boyfriend to have - attentive and solicitous when needed, yet blithely abandoned whenever his presence is not convenient.

The first "Nancy Drew" book, "The Secret of the Old Clock" was published in 1930. Ned first appeared in "The Clue in the Diary" (1932).

Carolyn Keene, the series' author, was a pen name used by various ghost writers, working from outlines provided by Edward Stratemeyer, and later, his daughters. Stratemeyer also brought us the Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and others.
6. Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" books follow the fortunes of a group of cops in the fictional city of Isola. Steve Carella, who is most often the central character of the books, got married in the first book of the series, "Cop Hater" in 1956. What is his wife's name?

Answer: Teddy

Teddy is deaf, and the recurring villain in the books is also (probably) deaf; he calls himself "The Deaf Man". We never really find out if there is any connection, however.

For anyone who has never read an 87th precinct book, I highly recommend them. There are 54 books, from "Cop Hater" in 1956 to "Fiddlers" in 2005, and the quality is consistently great. The style and tone of the books changed considerably over the nearly fifty years, but they are always excellent - there has always been a little "something different" about the 87th. During a recent bout of ill health, I reread most of the series (the books from the '50s and '60s are 150 page three-a-dayers) and was amazed at how well they hold up. McBain (aka Evan Hunter/aka Salvatore Lombino) died in 2005.
7. Robert B Parker's weight-lifting, gourmet-cooking, Hemingway-quoting detective Spenser has had a steady honey since he met her in 1974's "God Save the Child". Who is she?

Answer: Susan Silverman

Susan was a high school guidance counselor in that first book - she has since gone on to become a psychologist.

I have to admit that Susan Silverman is my least-favourite purportedly positive character in fiction - she really gets up my nose. And, despite their seemingly world-shattering love, Spenser and Susan don't live together - maybe, secretly, he can't stand her either....
8. Peter Decker meets a woman in Faye Kellerman's first series novel, "The Ritual Bath" who eventually becomes his wife, though there are cultural barriers to be crossed. What is her name?

Answer: Rina Lazarus

Rina is an orthodox Jew, and the accommodations she and Peter must make to each other's very different lifestyles are an interesting addition to the books. Of late, the series seems to have moved on to follow Peter's daughter by his first marriage, Cindy. She has also by this time become a Los Angeles cop.
9. We first met Susan Isaacs' Judith Singer in "Compromising Positions" (1978). In that book she is a Long Island housewife and stay-at-home mom, who gets involved in a murder mystery (mostly out of boredom), and solves the case. She and the police detective, who have been striking sparks off of each other all through the book, end up in an affair. In "Long Time No See", which came out in 2002, Judith is back, and so is her detective! What is his name?

Answer: Nelson Sharpe

Judith and Nelson eventually broke up - not because the affair was over, but because neither could face what they were doing to their families. Fast forward twenty years - Judith's husband has died, her children have grown up and moved away, and she is trying to take widowed middle age in her stride. Just in time to keep her from sinking into terminal boredom, here comes another Long Island suburban murder... and another meeting with Lieutenant Sharpe.

Not all of Susan Isaacs books are mysteries, but there is an element of mystery or thriller in most of them. I love her books - they are fast and funny, and the characters are real people, especially the women.
10. Well, I won't try to kid you - Sherlock Holmes doesn't really belong in this quiz. Love and romance were definitely NOT his forte. However, he does have one encounter with a woman that strikes a spark. As Watson tells us, "to Sherlock Holmes, she is always "the" woman." And he does ask for her photograph, as a reward from a grateful King. Who is she?

Answer: Irene Adler

Adler outwits Holmes, in "A Scandal in Bohemia" (1891) the first Holmes short story from "The Strand" magazine.

Many modern writers have tried their hands at a Holmes story, and they often try to inject a little romance into the mix. On the whole, though, this is unsuccessful - he's just not a sexy kinda guy.
Source: Author agony

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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