Classic Mystery/Crime Stories Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dr. Charlotte Manning, the psychiatrist

Mickey Spillane's real name was Frank Morrison Spillane from Brooklyn, NY. "I, the Jury" was written in 1947, and introduced private investigator Mike Hammer.

In "I, the Jury", Dr. Manning gets involved with a crime ring. When Officer Williams suspects Dr. Manning of criminal behavior, she kills him. But that is not the end of the story. More murder is on the way.

Answer: A Scandal In Bohemia

"A Scandal in Bohemia" is the first short story featuring Sherlock Holmes. It was written by Sir Conan Doyle in 1891 for "The Strand Magazine". There were three Holmes novels previously written.

In the story, Holmes is hired by Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein to retrieve an incriminating photo that is in the possession of Irene Adler. In the end, she escapes with the photo, but promises to keep it private.

Answer: And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie wrote "And Then There Were None" in 1939 while she was working in a hospital during World War II. "And Then There Were None" was not the original title, which was considered offensive, so the American publisher changed it. It has sold over 100 million copies and was the best-selling mystery novel worldwide of that time.

In the story, eight guests are invited to an island where they are stranded and murdered one by one. Each guest eyes the other guests suspiciously, trying to identify the murderer.

Answer: Raymond Chandler, the writer

"The Lady in the Lake" was written in 1943 by Raymond Chandler. He is not one of the characters in the story, therefore he was not killed. He was born in the US then moved to England, and later served in the Canadian military during World War I.

The story starts with a missing wife and a female body found in a lake. The story gets quite complex, with characters changing identity, multiple murders, and multiple killers.

Answer: Victor Mattiece, Oil tycoon

John Grisham wrote "The Pelican Brief" in 1992. He was a criminal lawyer, and also served as a Baptist missionary in Brazil. Grisham later became a member of the State House of Representatives in Mississippi. Most of his books center around law and politics. He, his wife, and two children live in Mississippi and Florida.

In "The Pelican Brief", two environmentalist-friendly Supreme Court Judges are murdered. Victor Mattiece wants to develop a marsh that is home to an endangered species of pelican. The case may head to the Supreme Court, and it is expected the President will assign new judges who won't object to the protected land being developed. As the case is investigated, more murder occurs.

Answer: Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, two ex-cons

In 1966 Truman Capote wrote about the 1959 Clutter family murders as a nonfiction novel which he referred to as "New Journalism". Capote read about the murders in the newspaper, and started investigating the story. He later spoke with Dick Hickock and Perry Smith while they were in prison.

Smith and Hickock broke into the Clutter home to rob them, but finding no valuables, they murdered the parents and two teenage children. Smith and Hickock were hanged in 1965. Capote took six years to write this book.

Answer: Realizing Mr Hyde is taking control, Dr Jekyll kills himself

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in 1886.
Stevenson suffered through poor health most his life. He was born in Scotland, and often traveled through Europe and America looking for a pleasant climate. He met and later married American, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne. He died at age 44, possibly of a cerebral hemorrhage.

"Jekyll and Hyde" may have been influenced by the conflict of Stevenson living in the formal Victorian Age and his Bohemian youth.

Answer: Sir Conan Doyle's "The Musgrave Ritual"

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote "The Musgrave Ritual" in 1893 for Strand Magazine, and later added it to the book "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes".

In the story, Reginald Musgrave goes to Holmes concerning two missing servants (a butler and a maid) and a riddle referred to as the ritual. Holmes realized the riddle was directions to a treasure. The butler, who also figured out the riddle, was out to steal the Musgrave treasure. The game is afoot, with both in search of the lost treasure.

Answer: Crime and Punishment

Dostoevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. His father was an army doctor who made enough money to buy some land and serfs, who lived almost as slaves. Some suspected these serfs killed his father. Dostoevsky became a writer and later joined a socialist group. He was arrested for being part of an anti-government organization and was sentenced to be executed. His sentence was later changed to four year hard labor in Siberia. Afterwards he married and dedicated himself to writing.

"Crime and Punishment" tells of a young man who murders two women during a robbery, and how he spends his life trying to redeem himself. Finally he turns himself in for the murders.

Answer: Metzengerstein

"Metzengerstein" was the first of Poe's stories to be published. Poe submitted the story to the Saturday Courier newspaper of Philadelphia as part of a writing competition. The story did not win, but was published without Poe's name on it.

The story is about a family feud between the Berlifitzings and the Metzengersteins. It leads to the death of Count Berlifitzing and the appearance of a horse. The horse is taken by Baron Metzengerstein. The mystery of the horse eventually leads to the Baron's demise.