Christie's Trick Endings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Taken at the Flood

"Taken at the Flood" is set in the aftermath of World War II. In the village of Warmsley Vale, the Cloade family is desperate to get hold of the late Gordon Cloade's money currently in the hands of his young widow Rosaleen and her brother David. When a man named Enoch Arden comes to town, he claims he knows that Rosaleen's first husband is still alive.

This would make her marriage to Gordon illegitimate and the Cloades will get his money. When Enoch Arden is found dead in his hotel room, Poirot and company investigate his murder.

However as Poirot initially speculated, Arden wasn't murdered but died in accident that was later changed to look like a murder.

Answer: N or M?

"N or M?" is a mystery/spy thriller starring Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. During World War II, Tommy and Tuppence work undercover as Mr Meadows and Mrs Blankensop at an inn where many Londoners are staying for protection from the bombs falling on London. One of the guests is Mrs Sprot, a young mother with a baby girl.

The other guests find her charming and sweet but it turns out she is actually a ruthless German spy working to infiltrate the British government.

Answer: Endless Night

"Endless Night" is narrated by Michael Rogers, a young man who recently married his sweetheart Ellie. Ellie and Michael are devoted to each other and madly in love. Ellie is murdered by poison and Michael is despondent. However this is all an act as Michael is actually in love with Greta, Ellie's assistant. The two conspired to kill Ellie for her fortune.

"Endless Night" was not the first time Christie made the narrator the killer, an idea initially seen as unfair to the reader.

Answer: The Moving Finger

"The Moving Finger" is a novel featuring Miss Marple. In the village of Lymstock, the citizens are terrorized by scandalous, though false, anonymous letters. Everyone either denies the content of the letters or denies having received one. Mona Symmington seemingly commits suicide after she receives a letter saying her husband is not the father of one of their sons.

As the police try to hunt down the letter writer, Miss Marple realizes the letters are just distractions to cover up Mrs Symmington's murder by her husband, who would have been the prime suspect under normal circumstances.

Answer: Peril at End House

"Peril at End House" is an early Poirot novel. The detective comes to the aid of Nick Buckley, a young woman who has survived several attempts on her life. On Poirot's suggestion, Nick invites her cousin Maggie to stay with her so Nick will never be alone and thus vulnerable. However, Maggie is shot dead while she wears a shawl of Nick's. The obvious conclusion is that Maggie was killed by someone who mistook her for Nick. Poirot sees it differently and concludes that Nick murdered her cousin. There were never any attempts on Nick's life. It was all a ploy to eliminate Nick as a suspect in Maggie's murder.

This was a trick Christie used quite frequently in several novels during her long career.

Answer: Murder on the Orient Express

"Murder on the Orient Express" is one of Christie's most famous novels. Poirot is traveling on the Orient Express with a dozen or so other passengers when one of them, a former kidnapper and murderer named Ratchett, is stabbed to death. Poirot investigates several conflicting clues and determines the only logical conclusion is that all of the passengers conspired to kill Ratchett. All of the passengers are in some way associated with Daisy Armstrong, a young girl Ratchett had kidnapped and murdered, a crime he got away with.

Answer: Ordeal by Innocence

"Ordeal by Innocence" revolves around the Argyle Family who, years later, are finally coming to terms with the murder of the matriarch of the family Rachel. Rachel was killed by one of her many adopted children, Jacko, who later died in prison. However, years later a Dr Arthur Calgary arrives to tell the family that he could have provided Jacko with an alibi for the time of the murder. Calgary is surprised to discover that the Argyles are not happy because now the murderer is still among them and they will begin to suspect each other.

However, Jacko is not entirely innocent. He seduced the family housekeeper, Kirsten, into killing Mrs Argyle because she didn't give Jacko some much needed money. When Jacko was arrested, Kirsten stayed silent because she discovered Jacko was using her and did not really love her.

Answer: Three Act Tragedy

In "Three Act Tragedy", Poirot investigates the death of the Reverend Babbington, an elderly man whom everybody liked. He seems like an unusual choice for a murder victim and many people believe he died naturally. However, Dr Tollie Strange dies in the same manner shortly afterward. It is soon learned that both men died of nicotine poison that had been placed in their drinks (the Reverend's cocktail and Strange's wine). Poirot determines that the reverend was murdered by chance. The killer poisoned one cocktail which was then placed on a tray and distributed to party guests at random.

Babbington's death was to make Dr Strange's murder look related to the reverend's and for the killer to test whether or not he could pull it off.

Answer: After the Funeral

"After the Funeral" begins with the death of Richard Abernathie. Richard was terminally ill but died sooner than expected. His estranged sister Cora claims his death was murder and she is soon axed to death. Poirot investigates and determines that Richard's death was natural and that the Cora at his funeral wasn't the real Cora.

It was her companion Miss Gilchrist who long planned to kill Cora. Miss Gilchrist casually mentioned that Richard was murdered so it would look like Cora was killed to prevent her from elaborating further.

Answer: Murder at the Vicarage

"Murder at the Vicarage" is the first Miss Marple mystery. Colonel Protheroe is shot to death in the village vicarage shortly after Miss Marple sees Mrs Protheroe enter the vicarage. Mrs Protheroe is the obvious suspect as she was having an affair with Lawrence Redding, a painter who was also seen in the vicarage. Both Mrs Protheroe and Lawrence confess to the murder to save the other one. Upon closer investigation, it doesn't appear either Mrs Protheroe or Redding could have shot the colonel. Mrs Protheroe didn't have a gun and Redding has an alibi. The police look for other suspects.

In the end, Miss Marple determines that the most obvious suspects, Mrs Protheroe and Lawrence Redding, were the killers after all. Lawrence had deposited a gun at the vicarage and then left before the colonel arrived. Mrs Protheroe then arrived, grabbed the gun and the shot her husband while he wrote a letter. With the vicarage clock off fifteen minutes and trick Lawrence orchestrated with fireworks, the couple was able to convince the police the murder took place earlier than it really did.