A Fatal Dose, Agatha Christie Style Quiz

Answer: Strychnine

This mystery novel introduced Belgian detective Hercule Poirot as well as Lieutenant Arthur Hastings and Inspector James Japp.

Emily Inglethorp, heir to the Styles Estate, is murdered. The murderer's weapon of choice? Strychnine. Its effects are quick and deadly.

The poison comes from the Strychnos nux-vomica, a tree native to India. Overdosing can cause muscle convulsion and eventually death.

Answer: Digitalis

When Emily Boynton takes her three step-children on a vacation, it results in Emily's unexpected death. It takes time to reveal the cause of death: an overdose of digitalis.

Digitalis, normally used to treat heart conditions, is extracted from the leaves of foxglove. It increases the amount of calcium in the cells of the heart, providing a stronger heartbeat. However, an overdose can result in cardiac dysrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat.

Answer: Ricin

At one time, ricin poisoning was hard to detect in the human body. In Agatha Christie's short story, featuring her married sleuths Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, a young heiress dies from ingesting chocolates tainted with ricin.

Ricin is derived from the seeds of the castor bean. Not only is ricin hard to detect, it's easily concealed.

A well-known case of ricin poisoning occurred in 1978. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident writer living in London, was waiting at a bus stop when a passerby used a rigged umbrella to inject him with a ricin pellet. He later died.

Answer: Hemlock

In the novel "Five Little Pigs", a man suddenly dies from hemlock poisoning. His daughter works with Hercule Poirot to vindicate her mother, who has been falsely accused of his death.

Hemlock, a member of the carrot family, is highly toxic for humans and animals. Its symptoms include muscle paralysis and loss of speech. Various species of hemlock grow in water, along roadsides, woodlands, and mountainsides.

Answer: Belladonna

A dying man collapses on the floor of Hercule Poirot's bedroom. Before he dies, the man whispers the name of a crime syndicate known as "The Big Four". Soon Poirot is on the trail of four key players: an Asian criminal mastermind, an American, a French woman, and someone known as "The Destroyer". Can the detective solve the case before it's too late?

Also known as Deadly Nightshade, side effects of this herbaceous plant include dilated pupils, blurred vision, slurred speech, and tachycardia.

Answer: Thallium

The Pale Horse is an old pub used by a mysterious agency for secret meetings. The murder of a priest piques the interest of local historian Mark Easterbrook. Along with mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, Mark investigates the murder and the duo discover the victim was murdered by poison, specifically thallium.

Thallium is a silvery-white heavy metal not commonly found in nature. It's often used in electronics, camera lenses, and switches.

Symptoms of thallium poisoning include headaches, trembling, poor muscle control and hair loss. The loss of hair on the body of another victim leads Mark and Ariadne to discover the truth about the murders.

Answer: Veronal

Agatha Christie worked as a pharmacy dispenser during World War I, a position that introduced her to various drugs and how they interacted. In her novel "Lord Edgware Dies", the means of death is veronal, a barbiturate. Taken in a high enough dose, the result is deadly, as evidenced in the murder of Lord Edgware.

Barbiturates act as central nervous system depressants. The drug is primarily used to aid in relaxation and induce sleep in patients who suffer from anxiety, headaches, and insomnia.

Answer: Eserine

The "Crooked House" of the title refers to a poorly constructed house known as "Three Gables". This house is where wealthy Aristide Leonides is poisoned with eserine, via an injection.

Also known as physostigmine, eserine is an ophthalmic solution (eye drops) used to treat glaucoma. It's also used to treat Alzheimer's Disease since it raises the level of acetylcholine which functions as a neurotransmitter.

Answer: Morphine

A wealthy aunt dies suddenly and her niece inherits her estate. Then a family acquaintance mysteriously dies after drinking tea mixed with morphine. There is no shortage of suspects, including the niece, an unfaithful fiance, and a nurse with an agenda of her own.

Morphine is an opioid derived from the poppy plant. Normally used as a powerful pain killer, morphine poisoning can result in chest pain, difficulty breathing, confusion and seizures. It can also lead to death as it did in "Sad Cypress".

Answer: Phosphorous

At first, the death of Miss Arundell, a wealthy spinster in her seventies, does not cause suspicion. Since she had been suffering from jaundice, indicating liver failure, and had recently fallen down the stairs, no one suspects anything is amiss. Except Hercule Poirot. Prior to her death, Poirot received a letter from Miss Arundell revealing her suspicions about someone intending to murder her.

Phosphorous comes in different forms, each form distinguished by a different color. Yellow phosphorous, toxic in even small amounts, is found in rat poison, military ammunition and fertilizer.