Death By Coriander Trivia Quiz

Answer: A Pocket Full of Rye

'A Pocket Full of Rye' takes its title from the nursery rhyme 'Sing A Song of Sixpence' and the murders loosely follow the words of the rhyme. Rex, 'the king', died at work or 'in his counting house', as it says in the nursery rhyme, while his wife, 'the queen', is 'in the parlour eating bread and honey' when her tea is spiked with cyanide. Miss Marple becomes involved in the case when she receives a letter from her former maid, Gladys, who is now working at the Fortescues' home, Yewtree Lodge, begging Miss Marple for help.

Unfortunately, soon after sending this letter, Gladys is murdered and Miss Marple is determined to catch her murderer. It is Miss Marple who notices the similarities between the deaths and the nursery rhyme.

Answer: After the Funeral

In this excellent, intriguing and surprising novel, a family have gathered for the funeral of their patriarch, Richard Abernethie. Although his death appears to have occurred due to natural causes, his sister, the eccentric Cora Lansquenet, makes a comment which suggests that he was murdered and that it has been hushed up.

When Cora is murdered very shortly afterwards it looks like somebody was trying to silence her. When Miss Gilchrist, Cora's live-in companion, becomes ill, but does not die, after eating a slice of wedding cake which contained arsenic, it seems even more apparent that Cora may have been on the right track. With every member of the family having benefitted somewhat from the death of Richard Abernethie, Poirot has no shortage of suspects and he has his work cut out to solve this gripping mystery.

Answer: Three Act Tragedy

When the elderly, respectable and well-liked clergyman dies suddenly at Sir Charles' glittering party, his death is initially attributed to natural causes. However, when another drinks party, which includes some of the same guests as the first, also ends in tragedy when Dr. Strange dies, the first death starts to look more sinister.

The coroner gives his opinion that Strange was poisoned with nicotine and it is determined that Reverend Babbington died in the same fashion. It is up to Poirot to unravel these seemingly motiveless and unrelated crimes and bring the murderer to justice before anyone else is killed.

Answer: Peril at End House

After meeting Nick Buckley, who lives in the titular 'End House', while they are on holiday, Poirot becomes convinced that her life is in danger. Poirot befriends Nick and takes an interest in her friends, determined to protect her from the unknown enemy who appears to be threatening her life.

Unfortunately, before Poirot can identify the murderer, Nick's cousin, Maggie, who has come to stay with her cousin, is murdered after the killer apparently mistook her for Nick. Can Poirot solve this ingenious mystery before any further tragedies occur? 'Peril at End House' is often considered as one of Christie's most surprising novels with a denouement that you are unlikely to see coming!

Answer: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Poirot is drawn into this mystery when he receives a somewhat vague letter from Miss Barrowby asking for help. While the letter does not tell Poirot exactly what Miss Barrowby is concerned about, it does stress that it is a family matter which requires discretion.

Unfortunately, before Poirot can visit Miss Barrowby to find out more about the case, he hears that she has died. Poirot decides to investigate the death and visits Miss Barrowby's home where he meets the two relatives and the young Russian companion with whom Miss Barrowby lived.

The doctor tells Poirot that the death was due to strychnine poisoning but, since the family all ate the same food, he could not see how it was administered. Poirot solves the case while observing an incongruous row of shells in the otherwise neat and symmetrical garden. 'How Does Your Garden Grow?' was included in the 1974 short story collection 'Poirot's Early Cases' which gathered together a selection of stories featuring the celebrated sleuth which had first appeared in various publications some years earlier.

Answer: Sparkling Cyanide

Colonel Race is drawn into this mystery when his friend George Barton, in mourning for his wife who had died after drinking poisoned champagne at the Luxembourg restaurant nearly a year earlier, informs Race that he believes her death to have been murder.

The inquest following Rosemary's death had brought in a verdict of suicide but George has been receiving anonymous letters which suggest otherwise. George hatches a plan to catch the murderer by hosting another dinner party, in the same venue, on the same date and with the same guests, where he has planned a surprise which he hopes will shock the murderer into a confession.

Unfortunately, before George's plan can materialise, he is killed in the same manner as his wife. When Rosemary's younger sister, Iris, becomes the next target of the murderer it is up to Colonel Race and the police to bring the killer to justice before it is too late. 'Sparkling Cyanide' was based on Christie's earlier short story 'Yellow Iris'.

Answer: The Tuesday Night Club

The stories in 'The Thirteen Problems' are connected by an overarching narrative which serves to introduce each tale. 'The Tuesday Night Club' introduces us to the narrators of these tales, each of whom considers his or herself peculiarly well-qualified to solve mysteries.

The idea is that each will take it in turns to tell the tale of a mysterious happening they happened to be involved with and the others must try to solve the problem. At first the other participants think Miss Marple will have little to offer to the proceedings but, as she successfully solves each case, they are convinced otherwise.

In 'The Tuesday Night Club' Sir Henry Clithering recounts the curious case of Mr and Mrs Jones and Mrs Jones' companion Miss Clark who all ate the same meal and all developed food poisoning.

When Mrs Jones is the only one to die her death is initially attributed to natural causes but, when rumours begin to spread that Mr Jones had killed his wife so he could inherit her fortune and marry someone else, Mrs Jones' body is exhumed and it is discovered that she died of arsenic poisoning. Miss Marple deduces that the arsenic must have been placed in the hundreds-and-thousands sprinkled on the trifle because these would have been easy for the guilty husband to avoid eating and the companion, who was on a diet, did not eat them. For anyone who has not come across the term 'hundreds-and-thousands', they are known as sprinkles in North America.

Answer: Sad Cypress

In this atmospheric novel, Poirot is called in by Dr Lord to help acquit a young woman, Elinor Carlisle, who is standing trial for murder. Elinor is accused of having murdered her rich invalid aunt, Mrs Welman, in order to inherit her fortune and of murdering Mary Gerrard out of jealousy after Elinor's fiance, Roddy Welman, had fallen in love with Mary.

It is believed that Elinor had stolen the morphine from the bag belonging to Nurse Hopkins, which she had left unattended while visiting Mrs Welman.

However, as Nurse Hopkins apparently ate and drank the same things as Mary there is considerable confusion over how the purloined morphine was administered. Poirot must race against time to prove Elinor's innocence and bring the true culprit to justice.

Answer: Five Little Pigs

Poirot is drawn into re-opening this case when he is visited by Carla Lemarchant, the daughter of the victim and of his wife Caroline who was convicted of his murder and died in prison shortly after. Carla was a small child when the events surrounding her father's murder occurred and has little memory of that time.

However, before Caroline Crale died she sent a letter to her daughter protesting her innocence which Carla believes to be true. Carla is engaged to be married and is keen that Poirot should clear her mother's name so that her fiance will not have to worry that he is marrying a woman who has a family history of murderous insanity.

Unfortunately, this is a tricky case for Poirot as he must track down and interview the five people who were nearby when the murder took place and might have conceivably had a motive for killing Amyas Crale and persuade them to recount their, often painful, memories for him.

Answer: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

Poirot's services are called upon to help deal with a delicate diplomatic matter when a young eastern prince has lost a priceless ruby, a great treasure from his country, which he lent to an attractive young woman who turned out to be a thief. The discovery of this loss would cause scandal in the prince's country and could lead to an international incident.

It is therefore up to Poirot to retrieve the jewel and hush the matter up as soon as possible. Poirot is informed that the principal suspect will be spending Christmas with a family in a grand country house and it is arranged that Poirot will join the family under the premise of experiencing an 'old-fashioned English Christmas'. Poirot is intrigued after receiving a note warning him against the titular pudding and when, on Christmas Day, the ruby is found in the pudding, the plot thickens considerably. Can Poirot work out who the jewel thief is and just how the ruby ended up in the pudding? 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' was first published in the UK in 1960 in the short story collection 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees'.

This particular collection was unusual in that it included a mixture of stories featuring Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.