Dirty Trick or Surprise Ending Quiz

Answer: The novel's narrator is guilty.

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is a highly controversial mystery, which caused many readers to cry "foul". Dr. James Sheppard narrated the story, which began with the suicide of Mrs. Ferrars. Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy landowner, told the narrator that he had been engaged to Mrs. Ferrars; and she had admitted that she had poisoned her husband. Ackroyd told him and other members of a party that she was being blackmailed, and he would name the blackmailer the next day.

The next morning Ackroyd was found dead, stabbed with his own dagger; and suspicion was cast on several residents of the village. Eventually Hercule Poirot confronted Dr. Sheppard, proving his guilt in Ackroyd's murder, and offered him the option of taking his own life to spare his sister from shame. The narrator concluded by writing with the final chapter as his suicide note.

The novel was written after Christie and other major mystery writers had formulated rules for mystery writers to follow, which provided readers with the same information as the detective possessed and that these clues were sufficient for the reader to identify the killer. Most readers viewed the narrator of the story as a neutral observer, in the same manner as Dr. Watson was for Holmes, and not an active participant in the mystery. Hence the controversy.

Answer: Poirot reported that a stranger had done it and left before the snowstorm.

In "Murder on the Orient Express" an American businessman, Samuel Ratchett, had been receiving death threats and attempted to hire Hercule Poirot for protection. Poirot refused, and the next day Ratchett was murdered in his coach compartment. The train became stuck in a snowstorm, and Poirot was asked to investigate. He discovered twelve separate and distinct stab wounds, along with several conflicting clues that made finding a solution difficult.

One of clues was a charred paper with the words "remember little Daisy Armstrong". Poirot discovered that Ratchett was actually an American gangster named Casetti, who had kidnapped and murdered the child Daisy Armstrong. All the passengers in the train had a connection to the case and participated in the revenge with one exception.

Poirot offered the passengers two options for his report to the police. They accepted his proposal to report that a stranger had killed Ratchett and left the train before it was trapped in the snow.

Answer: Faked his death and committed suicide after the others died

Agatha Christie felt that her book "And Then There Were None" was her most difficult mystery to write. The plot and manner of death of each person followed the minstrel song "Ten Little Indians", which proved to be difficult. (Note an even more offensive title was used for the song and changed to "Indians" in the initial publications.)

In the mystery, eight people received unexpected invitations to a nearly-deserted island off the Devon coast. These eight and the two permanent residents on the island heard a record after gathering together, which accused each of them of committing a murder from which they had escaped punishment.

Immediately they started to die in the same manner and order as in the minstrel song until all had died. When Scotland Yard arrived later, they found ten bodies and no indication that anyone else had been on the island. Eventually a confession note arrived on the shore in a sealed bottle. One of the guests, Judge Wargrave, had invited himself to the island, along with seven others. He suffered from a terminal illness and his strong sense of justice led him to inflict vigilante justice on people who had not been punished for murder before his death.

While on the island, Wargrave had tricked Doctor Armstrong, another guest, to fake Wargrave's death by claiming that would force the murderer to incriminate himself. Judge Wargrave killed Doctor Armstrong soon afterwards by pushing him off a cliff into the ocean. After the remaining guests had been murdered, Hargrave committed suicide in the manner of the song.

Answer: Rusty was found not guilty and discovered that his wife murdered Carolyn

Prosecuting Attorney Rusty Sabich was assigned the case of the murder of his associate Carolyn Polhemus. The case was complicated by the facts that Sabich's supervisor was running for election as District Attorney and Sabich had had a brief affair with the murder victim.

The newly-elected District Attorney charged Sabich with the murder, based on evidence supplied by the head of homicide, Tommy Molto. The most incriminating evidence was sperm found in the murder victim, which may have been Sabich's.

Sabich's attorney, Sandy Stern, discovered that the judge in the case, Larren Lyttle, had conspired with the murder victim in a bribery scheme to rule in favor of defendants. Faced with the threat of exposure, the judge made favorable rulings that led to the dismissal of the case against Sabich.

Sabich eventually determined that his wife Barbara, who knew of his affair, committed the murder. She had used the contents of a condom from their marital intercourse to plant evidence against Sabich. However, he decided to remain in their marriage for the sake of their young son.

Answer: No one, Deacon died in the church bell tower from the the bells' ringing.

Sayres' book was heavily involved in bell-ringing (campanology), which her detective Lord Peter Wimsey was knowledgeable. The term "nine tailors" refers to the nine bell strokes used to announce the death of a man. (Sorry ladies, you only get six bells). This gave a hint of the importance of bells in the eventual resolution.

The emerald jewels of Lord Henry Thorpe's wife were stolen by their butler Geoffrey Deacon and his accomplice Nobby Cranton. Both were imprisoned, but Deacon escaped to France. Later the body of a dead man in prison clothes was found and thought to be Deacon. The supposed identification of Deacon made his wife Mary free to marry William Thoday.

Lord Peter Wimsey stayed in the village when his automobile was being repaired after a crash during a snowstorm. While he was there, Thoday caught influenza; and Lady Thorpe died from it and was buried in the family grave.

The following Easter, Lord Thorpe also died, and the mutilated body of an unknown man was found in the family grave. Wimsey was asked to investigate. He found the stolen emeralds hidden in the church and deduced that the first dead man was Deacon's accomplice Cranton and the man in Lady Thorpe's grave was Deacon.

William Thoday, Mary Deacon's new husband, had discovered Deacon prowling around the church and locked him in the bell tower, planning to bribe him to leave the country to avoid the scandal of the bigamous marriage. Unfortunately, Thoday was unable to meet Deacon the next day due to his illness; and Deacon perished from the effects of the loud bells. Thoday's brother, James, was told what had happened and discovered Deacon was dead and buried him in Lady Thorpe's grave. Both brothers remained quiet, since each thought the other had murdered Deacon.

Answer: Romaine stabbed Leonard when he left with his mistress.

Christie modified her original story over time, later adding the murder scene after the acquittal. Romaine (also named Christine in later version) volunteered to be a witness against her husband. She offered very strong evidence against him, but deliberately impeached herself with further testimony. As a result, the prosecution's case was severely weakened, leading to Vole's acquittal.

It was revealed later that Vole had been conducting an affair with a younger women, and he informed his wife that he was leaving her. Enraged, she then stabbed him.

Answer: The Adventure of the Speckled Band

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", twin sisters Julia and Helen Stone lived with their violent stepfather Grimesby Roylott. After becoming engaged, Julia Stoner confided to her sister that she heard whistling sounds at night. Soon thereafter, Helen woke to screams from her sister, who warned her of the speckled band before dying. An inquest failed to determine the cause of her death.

Two years later Helen also became engaged and had to move into her sister's old room while house repairs were occurring. After hearing the same whistling sound that her sister had, she contacted Sherlock Holmes for help. The stepfather threatened Holmes if he interfered.

However, Holmes refused to back down and discovered that the contents of the will of Helen and Julia's mother was unfavorable towards the stepfather if the girls remarried. He sent Helen back to her original room, while he and Watson examined the room where she had been staying. They discovered a vent from the stepfather's room that had been used by a snake kept in his room. Holmes was able to frighten the snake to return to Roylott's room where it inflicted a fatal bite.

Answer: Rachel's former husband Tom, who impregnated Jess

Rachel was a disturbed woman who suffered from alcoholic binges. This cost her both her marriage to Tom and her job. In a state of denial, she still rode the London subway to and from her old workplace. She saw a young couple every day whom she named Jason (actual name of Scott) and Jess (actual name of Meagan) and constructed a fantasy life for them. They lived near Rachel's old home, where her former husband Tom lived with his new wife Anna and their daughter Eve.

One day she saw Jess kissing a stranger, who was later revealed to be Doctor Kamal Abdic, Jess's therapist and sometimes lover. Later Jess went missing and was found dead. The police discovered that Jess (Meagan) was pregnant, and neither Jason (Scott) nor Kamil was the father.

Rachel remembered that she had seen Jess get into a car with Tom (Rachel's former husband) and warned Anna (Tom's current wife) about a possible affair. Tom confessed the murder to Anna and intimidated her to remain quiet. When Tom tried to silence Rachel by attacking her, she stabbed him with a corkscrew. Both women delayed enough to ensure that he died and developed corroborating stories of self-defense.

Answer: The Murder in the Rue Morgue

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murder in the Rue Morgue", Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter Camille were brutally murdered in their fourth floor room. Madame suffered several broken bones and a deep slash to the throat that nearly decapitated her. Camille had been strangled and stuffed in the chimney. The room had been locked from the inside with very little evidence of anyone else's presence.

Initially, a gold dealer, who was the last person known to have seen the women, was suspected. However, Poe's detective, C. Auguste Dupin, deduced that the hair found at the scene was not from a human; and the killer had gained entry to the fourth story apartment by climbing a lightning rod to leap into the open windows.

He deduced that an orangutan killed the women. He was able to find the owner, a sailor who had purchased it in Borneo and brought it back to sell. The orangutan had a razor and was imitating the sailor shaving when it escaped. It entered the women's apartment and became upset when Madame L'Espanaye screamed.

Answer: Poirot murdered X.

Poirot attended a gathering at Styles Court to identify a suspected killer who had cleverly avoided detection by using psychological methods to induce others to murder.

Incidents soon happened. The owner of the hotel, Colonel Luttrell, wounded his wife after an argument. Poirot's friend, Colonel Hastings, became upset that his daughter Judith was seemingly enthralled by Major Allerton, a married man; and only a drugged drink from Poirot saved him from murdering Allerton. Barbara Franklin was poisoned by a drug her husband was working on.

To prevent further murders, Poirot met with Stephen Norton, the killer. Poirot drugged and then shot Norton. He then ceased taking his heart medicine, dying the next day.

Four months later Hasting received a manuscript Poirot had written before his death, which explained the events and suggested the recently-widowed Hastings woo one of the other guests, Elizabeth Cole.