Artists in Crime Trivia Quiz

Answer: On a ship

Alleyn is beginning his return voyage to England after his months-long holiday (previously seen in the previous novel "Vintage Murder"). He takes a ship out of Suva where he comes across the famous painter Agatha Troy. Troy is painting a scene of the port they just departed from and Alleyn becomes infatuated with both the painting and its creator.

Answer: The fact that they both believe they insulted the other

Troy's painting of the port in Suva is the exact image that Alleyn tries to take in as the ship sails away. He tells her not do anything more to the painting, which she finds insulting. Later, Troy regrets being so harsh to Alleyn and worries she's insulted him.

In a series of letters the two write to friends and family in England, we learn the tension only increases throughout their journey. Despite this, Troy insists on painting Alleyn's head. Alleyn later buys said painting for his mother's birthday.

Answer: She can't keep the pose

Sonia Gluck is a model to whom Troy pays a substantial sum to pose for her art class. However, Sonia has a habit of not keeping the rather uncomfortable pose of her lying down with her torso twisted. This makes it difficult for the students to paint or sculpt her. Typically, either Troy or student Valmai Seacliff will push down on Sonia's shoulder to force her back into place.

Answer: Wolf Garcia

Wolf Garcia is a ne'er-do-well whom Troy takes into her class even though he cannot afford her fees, because she believes in his art. He claims to have a hefty commission for a cinema in London to carve statues of Comedy and Tragedy. The statues are heavy and large and need to be transported somehow from Troy's studio to London.

Answer: Valmai Seacliffe

Cedric Malmsley, a student, was painting Sonia as a woman with a knife through her back. In order to depict this properly, Troy and the students set up Sonia's throne with a knife poking out from underneath. Sonia never lies on the throne when the knife is in place and the knife is removed at the end of the day.

However, one day, the knife is in the throne when it shouldn't be and when Valmai pushes Sonia back in place, she is stabbed through the back and dies.

Answer: On a walking tour

Garcia previously told the class he was going to be away for a few days and gave a vague explanation of going on a walking tour of the area. No one can locate him and he is the prime suspect in Sonia's death as he had the most opportunity to secretly place the knife in the throne and had previously argued with her.

Answer: Wolf Garcia

Sonia was pregnant at the time of her death (although the fact was not publicly known until after her death). She previously blackmailed Basil Pilgrim by claiming he was the father. Basil was from a wealthy, landed family so he paid her the money to keep her quiet. However, the real father was Garcia who wanted no part of the baby or marrying Sonia.

Answer: Brixton

Garcia never had any money and thus bummed a warehouse off a friend who was not using it at the time. Garcia mentioned this warehouse frequently but never told anyone where it was. When Alleyn asks around, Valmai suddenly remembers Garcia mentioned Holloway.

She then says she made a joke about Garcia going to the Holloway prison if he continued to misbehave. However, Holloway is a well-known women's prison so Alleyn reasons that Valmai would not have made that joke. Instead, she would have joked about Garcia going to a men's prison and suspects the warehouse is actually near Brixton Prison.

Answer: Nitric acid

Alleyn discovers Garcia's grotesque dead body in the warehouse with nitric acid - used in etching - poured down his throat and over his face. It was a particularly nasty and gruesome death that was unconvincingly made to look like suicide. However, Alleyn notices that someone grabbed Garcia by the hair and likely forced the nitric acid down his throat.

Answer: Wolf Garcia

Alleyn explains all to Troy and his mother in the epilogue. Sonia and Garcia were blackmailing Basil and Valmai, respectively and with full knowledge of what the other was up to. While Sonia succeeded in getting money from Basil, Valmai refused to pay Garcia. Meanwhile, Garcia grew frustrated with Sonia and her demands that the two get married. Valmai watched in secret as Garcia placed the knife under the throne on a Friday night. She then joined Garcia to help him bring his supplies up to his London warehouse where she murdered him. She drove Troy's caravan back to the studio the same night and resumed her weekend with Basil, who was none the wiser. On Monday morning, art class resumed and Sonia took her pose on the throne. When Sonia moved, Valmai took the opportunity to murder her by slamming her down on the knife she never removed in full view of the class. To everyone, it looked like Garcia set Valmai up to kill Sonia.

Troy suspected all along that it was Valmai because she was the only student cruel enough to commit two murders in such gruesome fashions. The novel ends with Alleyn and Troy discussing any future they may have together. Troy says she no longer hates the detective and Alleyn says that he remains hopeful.