Murder on the Dancefloor Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lord Edgware Dies

In "Lord Edgware Dies", the murderer hires someone to impersonate her at a party while she is out committing the murder, thus providing herself with an alibi. The book was also published under an alternate title - "Thirteen at Dinner".

The other three novels all involved the victim being murdered at the party itself.

Answer: Bridge

Hercule Poirot meets an eccentric collector, Mr. Shaitana, at an exhibition of snuff boxes, who tells Poirot he has a far more interesting collection. At a dinner party hosted by Shaitana, Poirot realises that the collector has invited four sleuths and four other people who have apparently gotten away with murder in the past. Afraid of their long hidden secret coming out in the open, one of the four murders Shaitana while a game of bridge is on in the adjacent room.

It is up to Poirot and the other three detectives to expose Shaitana's killer.

Answer: Poisoned dart

Initially the victim is assumed to have died as a result of a wasp sting. Later Poirot finds a blowpipe hidden behind one of the passenger's seats and the blame soon shifts to the person sitting there. However, it was unlikely that the use of a blowpipe would have gone unnoticed by the people on board the aircraft, leading Poirot to guess that it was a red herring used by the actual killer.

A very basic error made by Christie in this plot was that the length of the blowpipe was given as one foot whereas the pipes are generally six feet long making it impossible for one to be hidden on an airplane seat. Christie acknowledged her mistake in a later novel called "Mrs. McGinty's Dead".

Answer: Passenger to Frankfurt

"Passenger to Frankfurt" begins at an airport and doesn't involve trains in any way.

"Murder on the Orient Express" is entirely set in a train while in the other two the murder takes place on a train journey.

Answer: Death on the Nile

A jilted woman follows her ex-lover and his new wife on their honeymoon to Egypt. Things take a turn for the ugly when the woman shoots her lover in the presence of two other witnesses and the wife is found dead in their room.

Answer: Cat Among the Pigeons

A revolution is about to take place in a rich Arab country and the Prince gives the family jewels to his pilot who in turn hides it in the tennis racket of his niece, studying at the boarding school, for safekeeping. Unfortunately, someone sees this and what follows is a spate of murders in the search for the jewels.

Answer: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Alternate titles for the book include "An Overdose of Death" and "The Patriotic Murders". Poirot's dentist is murdered a short while after Poirot himself had an appointment. While the initial signs indicate that the dentist may have committed suicide after realising he had made a fatal error, the truth turns out to be more complicated.

Answer: Miss Marple

This is the first novel set in St. Mary Mead and introduces Jane Marple, one of the popular characters created by Agatha Christie. Colonel Protheroe is found dead in the Vicar's study and suspicion immediately falls on his wife, who is having an affair with a young artist - a fact of which the Colonel was oblivious.

When the wife and lover both confess to the murder, each trying to protect the other, it's up to Miss Marple to set things straight.

Answer: A Caribbean Mystery

Jane Marple is sent on a relaxing holiday to the Caribbean by her nephew, Raymond West, a successful author. At the hotel, she ends up chatting with Major Palgrave who claims to know a serial wife killer. However, before he can reveal any further information, he is found dead in his room, which leads Miss Marple to believe that the killer may be on the same island.

Answer: Dead Man's Folly

Ariadne Oliver is called to stage a Murder Hunt as part of the festivities organised at the village fete. Suddenly hit by a feeling of uneasiness, she asks Poirot to come investigate to see if there's something fishy underfoot. Her instinct turns out to be correct when the dead body is discovered.