Declassify Me! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Agatha Christie

Published in 1967, this is Agatha Christie's 58th detective novel. It takes its title from William Blake's "Auguries of Innocence". Narrated by young adventurer Mike Rogers, "Endless Night" is a memorable novel with a very distinct atmosphere.

Answer: Stephen King

"Different Seasons" is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King that was first published in 1982. Three of those four novella have seen film adaptations, two of which have become absolute classics: "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" became "The Shawshank Redemption", one of the highest rated movies of all time according to the Internet Movie Database IMDB, and "The Body" became the unforgettable coming-of-age film "Stand By Me" starring River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell as four friends on a poignant summer adventure.

The third adaptation, "Apt Pupil", features very strong performances by Brad Renfro and Ian McKellen, which alone make it worth watching.

Answer: Jeffery Deaver

The protagonist of "The Never Game" is survivalist Colter Shaw, who makes a living as a reward seeker, putting his skills to good use by finding missing persons. The novel became the basis for the TV show "Tracker" starring Justin Hartley, which premiered on CBS in 2024.

The show makes a lot of changes to the original, however, and it is perfectly possible to watch the show and read the books without one spoiling the other.

Answer: Agatha Christie

In this, Agatha Christie's 50th book, which she considered one of her best, the author focuses not on the guilty but on the innocent, and on what the shadow of suspicion does to them.

Answer: Jeffery Deaver

An early novel by Jeffery Deaver, "A Maiden's Grave" was filmed for TV as "Dead Silence". The adaptation starred James Garner and Marlee Matlin. And the title means something else entirely than one might expect.

Answer: Jeffery Deaver

Arguably Deaver's most famous book, this was the start of the long-standing Lincoln Rhyme series (22 books and counting, as of 2024). It was the basis for a fairly successful 1997 film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie and also for the short-lived TV series "Lincoln Rhyme".

Answer: Stephen King

A 2022 addition to the King canon, "Fairy Tale" was highly anticipated but ultimately not too well received by his fans (or "Constant Readers," as he likes to address them). What we mostly agree on, however, is that the first part of the novel is also the best, and Radar the dog is a marvelous creation.

Answer: Stephen King

The middle book in the Bill Hodges trilogy has a heavily literary theme, something that is recurring in King's work. The Bill Hodges trilogy is remarkable in two ways: The first installment, "Mr. Mercedes", won King the Edgar Allan Poe Award (which is presented by the Mystery Writers of America and has nothing to do with King's usual genre of horror), and it introduced the character of Holly Gibney, who was originally supposed to be a mere supporting character but grew so much on King and his readers alike that (at the time of writing this quiz in 2024) she went on to star in two more full-length novels, "The Outsider" and "Holly", and an anthology of novellas, "If It Bleeds".

Answer: Agatha Christie

Written in the 1940s during the war and then placed in a vault for safekeeping, this was Agatha Christie's way of making sure that her readers would be treated to a conclusion of the Miss Marple series in case something happened to her. Ironically, the later Marple novel "Nemesis" feels like a much more natural conclusion to the series than this one, although "Sleeping Murder" is a fantastic read with a truly great premise.

Answer: Stephen King

"Misery" is a true King classic, with its claustrophobic setting, nail-biting suspense, memorable villain, and multi-layered writing. The 1990 film adaptation won Kathy Bates an Oscar, and the second season of the Hulu TV show "Castle Rock" (2019) introduced us to the character's younger self, brilliantly portrayed by Lizzy Caplan.