Crime at Christmas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hercule Poirot

The book is 1938's 'Hercule Poirot's Christmas' by Agatha Christie. The murder takes place in an English country house where all of Simeon's extended family (who all have very good reasons for wanting him dead), and a number of suspicious visitors, have gathered for Christmas.

The proliferation of suspects, and the fact the victim was found in a room that was locked from the inside, means Poirot certainly has his work cut out for him!

Answer: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

In this wonderful tale, Holmes and Watson must put their festivities on hold while they dash around London on a literal 'wild goose chase' in order to discover how the Duchess' stolen priceless gem came to be inside the Christmas goose. Will they solve the mystery and get home in time to enjoy their own Christmas dinner, which will hopefully not contain anything more substantial than stuffing? Given that Sherlock Holmes is involved I think the answer to this question should be elementary!

Answer: Father Brown

In 'The Invisible Man', Father Brown must solve a murder mystery that takes place around Christmas and in 'The Flying Stars' he must solve a daring jewel robbery that takes place during a pantomime performance. Father Brown tends to rely on his knowledge of human nature when solving crimes rather than relying on more concrete clues, probably quite understandable in a man of the cloth.

Answer: Lord Peter Wimsey

This dastardly deed takes place in the short story 'The Necklace of Pearls', which originally appeared in the short story collection 'Hangman's Holiday', first published in 1933. The titular pearl necklace goes missing during a game of 'animal, vegetable, mineral' and the celebrations must be placed on hold while they are recovered. Of the wrong answers, Lady Mary and the Duke of Denver are Lord Peter's sister and brother, and Freddy is a friend of his.

Answer: Miss Jane Marple

We return again to the works of the 'Queen of Crime' herself, Agatha Christie. Miss Marple's powers of deduction are particularly marked in this novel, where she manages, based on Mrs. Mcgillicuddy's account of what she witnessed, to work out all most exactly where the body must have been thrown from the train.

She is able to locate, not only the body, but also a group of conveniently arranged suspects. The wrong answers are all Christie creations from various works.

Answer: Ellis Peters

'The Raven of the Foregate', like the majority of the stories featuring Brother Cadfael, takes place in the 12th century during a period of political upheavel known as 'The Anarchy'. 'The Anarchy' was a civil war caused by a battle over the English throne between King Stephen and Empress Matilda which caused widespread lawlessness and chaos throughout the country.

This atmosphere of fear and tension forms an effective backdrop to the Cadfael novels with a number of characters being involved in the war on both sides.

Although many of the murders that take place in and around the abbey are not directly connected to the war, it does allow for the arrival of many strangers to the area who might not have been expected to pass through such a secluded spot in the usual course of things.

Answer: Roderick Alleyn

'Tied Up In Tinsel' is a relatively late Roderick Alleyn tale, being the twenty-seventh of the thirty-two novels featuring the inspector to be published. It is set during the Christmas festivities in a country house, where Alleyn investigates the mysterious disappearance of an unpopular servant who vanishes while dressed as Father Christmas. Alleyn is fairly unusual amongst 'Golden Age' detectives due to being a happily married family man from fairly early on in his novel appearances. New Zealand-born Ngaio Marsh is often considered as one of the four 'Queens of Crime' of the 'Golden Age' of detective fiction along with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham.

Answer: Janet Evanovich

As a bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum's aim in each novel is to track down a suspect who has skipped bail. In 'Visions of Sugar Plums' her target is the appropriately named Sandy Claws. 'Visions of Sugar Plums' was the first of four holiday-themed novellas featuring Stephanie Plum, each of which is unusual for breaking with the usual naming convention for Plum novels by not featuring a number in their title. Plum is a very human character; not particularly gifted, and flawed in many ways, she nevertheless possesses reserves of courage and intelligence that she can call upon in times of need.

She has become increasingly stable and reliable as the novels have progressed, without fundamentally changing her character.

Answer: 'E' Is For Evidence

In this exciting novel, which was first published in 1988, our intrepid heroine completes what appears to be a fairly standard insurance investigation a few days before Christmas, only to find herself embroiled in a net of financial and family intrigue.

The author of the Kinsey Millhone series is Sue Grafton, who published the first novel in the series, ''A' Is For Alibi', in 1982. All of the subsequent novels in the series have followed the same naming convention apart from the twenty-fourth entry which is simply called 'X'.

Answer: R. D. Wingfield

Jack Frost first appeared in two BBC radio plays, in 1977 and 1982, before Wingfield would feature him in a novel. The stories featuring Detective Inspector Frost are typically quite serious in nature and often deal with disturbing subjects. This tone is firmly established in Wingfield's first Frost novel where, despite the season, there is precious little Christmas cheer as the detective has to deal with a very troubling case involving the disappearance of a little girl.