Special Sub-Topic: The Christie Couples, Vol. III Click Here To Play: The Christie Couples, Vol. III

"Death on the Nile": Cornelia Robson ends up marrying Dr. Bessner, much to the chagrin of another man, who actually proposed to her first. Who is it?

James Ferguson. Sorry for reusing some of the couples from my previous quizzes here, but it is not easy to find ten occasions where the Christie Coupling doesn't work out... Avid socialist James Ferguson is impressed by Cornelia and thinks of her as the only nice person on the entire ship. But she tells him that she doesn't think he's a reliable person, which is why she prefers the Austrian doctor - despite him being old and having a belly, as Ferguson bitterly points out.

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles": Cynthia Murdoch and Lawrence Cavendish end up together, and the unfortunate narrator of the novel, who had been harboring a crush on Cynthia, stays alone for the time being. Who is this luckless lover?

Captain Arthur Hastings. Hastings is smitten with Cynthia (partly owing to his affinity to chestnut hair, as Poirot never tires to point out - not only in this novel). Another woman Hastings admires greatly is Mary Cavendish, the wife of his friend John. He does not get lucky with either of them, but not long after, in "Murder on the Links", he meets his future wife, Dulcie "Cinderella" Duveen.

"Murder on the Links": Jack Renault and Bella Duveen get back together, even though Jack has been dating another girl in the meantime; a girl who was hoping to marry him. Who is the beautiful ex girlfriend who ends up as her predecessor's predecessor?

Marthe Daubreuil. Bella Duveen, Hastings' future sister-in-law, is herself under suspicion for a while but in the end can prove her, and Jack Renault's, innocence. Marthe Daubreuil, Jack's neighbor and daughter of a woman with a secret, gets caught in her own obsessions and greed and does not survive the novel.

"The Pale Horse": She has been going steady with narrator Mark Easterbrook but in the end loses out to Ginger. Who is she?

Hermia. Hermia Sutcliffe is Mark's cultured, intellectual friend. He likes her well enough, but realizes at some point that she is incredibly "dull" and that life with her would be a boring succession of theater-going, dinner parties and no adventure whatsoever. Redhead Katherine "Ginger" Corrigan is a far better match. In the 1996 TV movie, it is hinted that Hermia also falls in love with someone else, and they remain good friends. The novel does not comment.

"The Sittaford Mystery": James Pearson is arrested for murder, and his lovely fiancée, Emily Trefusis, starts digging. She is assisted by the young journalist Charles Enderby, who also falls in love with her. In the end, Emily makes her choice. Don't give me the one she chooses, give me the one she refuses:

Charles. Emily is described as a lively, stubborn and adventurous young woman, and even the reader thinks she might cancel the engagement to James in favor of Charles. But she remains steadfast and reacts with utter surprise when Charles suggests she do just that.

"Peril at End House": Michael Seton's death is a key plot point in the novel. While he was still alive, he first dated one girl and then fell in love with another. Who is the first one - The Spurned One?

Nick. Nick and Michael have been seen in public together and everyone still assumes they are a couple. However, Michael has fallen in love with Nick's cousin, Maggie - something that Nick cannot understand at all.

"Cards on the Table": Anne Meredith and Rhoda Dawes both fancy Major Despard. When they are in a boating accident, both girls are in danger of drowning. Despard saves one of them (in more than one sense), leaving the other to her fate. Who is the losing party here?

Anne & Anne Meredith. Anne Meredith is one of the four suspects, and for a while it appears that she was the one who murdered Mr. Shaitana. That assumption turns out to be wrong after all, but she is a murderess nonetheless. When she realizes that her friend Rhoda is also in love with Major Despard, she tries to drown her, and ends up dead herself. Major Despard and Rhoda get married and make another appearance in "The Pale Horse".

"Hercule Poirot's Christmas": Pilar Estravados chooses to marry Stephen Farr in the end, nipping another character's interest in her in the bud. Who is that other man?

Harry Lee. When Harry Lee, the "wild one", finds out that he is not related to Pilar after all, he proposes to her. But Pilar (or rather: Conchita) has already fallen in love with Stephen and decides to marry him.

"The Secret Adversary": Every Christie reader knows that Tommy and Tuppence belong together. However, Tuppence receives another proposal during the course of this story - one that she immediately recognizes for what it is: a gesture of respect and comfort, since Tommy has vanished. Who is the man who gets spurned by Tuppence - for his own good, as it turns out?

Julius P. Hersheimer. When Tommy vanishes during the investigation, Julius proposes to Tuppence; not necessarily because he loves her, but because he respects her and wants her to be safe. Tuppence, however, cannot accept, as she is not convinced that Tommy is actually dead. That turns out to be very true, and since Julius really loves Jane, both of them are very happy that Tuppence didn't say yes, and remain on excellent terms.

"Taken at the Flood": There is some confusion in Lynn Marchmont's love life: first she is about to leave her fiancé for someone else, but in the end she returns to him. Who is the other man, who ends up spurned before he can reach his ultimate goal?

David Hunter. Good thing Lynn did not marry David, since he was only after her money and killed his lover because he no longer needed her. In the end, Lynn realizes that she has loved Rowley all along.