Archive for the ‘Quiz’ Category

A Mid Winter Quiz

Posted: December 21, 2014 in Quiz, Uncategorized

I haven’t posted one of my quirky quizzes for some time, probably because my old brain box has been creaking lately.

But knowing that this holiday period will last two weeks in the UK, and that readers might need some mental stimulation after friendly discussions with relatives and their third helping of turkey, I have therefore produced this effort for your amusement.

The prize is a copy of The Poisoned Chocolate Case by Anthony Berkeley, and all answers should be sent to thbear08@googlemail.com by midnight GMT on Sunday 11 January 2015. 

Good Luck!

1] Try this one without wikipedia. 😉

By what names are the following better known? [a] Salvatore Albert Lombino [b] Elizabeth Mackintosh [c] Daniel Nathan [d] Juliet Marion Hulme [e] Willard Huntington Wright [f] Edith May Pargeter [g] Janet Quin-Harkin

2] Who was “the man who could see round corners”?

3] Which detective found his perfect life partner in Enscombe?

4] Who cinematically linked a Hungarian born member of the Detection Club, with an aircraft, and a city chronologically between Barcelona and Sydney?

5] Who were married to [a]Heloise Plisson [b]Mary Marstan [c]Thomas Samuelsson [d] Dulcie Duveen?

6] How did a bleeding ulcer and a broken leg connect Christina Collins and Edward V?

7] Who noted a lack of any ornithological reference in the Memoirs of the Verney family?

8] Name a crime fiction author who has worked as [a] an osteopath [b] a forensic anthropologist [c] an eukaryotic archaeologist [d]  an architect

9] Identify the people in these photos.

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10] Andy Dalziel likes choosing nicknames for his colleagues, for example Shirley Novello naturally becomes “Ivor” after the actor and composer Ivor Novello.

How and why did Andy’s choice of nickname for Sergeant Whitby link an unfinished 1817 novel with a epistolary novel of 1897? 

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1]   Who are the people depicted in this print which resides in Torquay Museum? 

The clues were there in the Tom Adams print and the fact it resides in Agatha Christie’s home town. The people were Sherlock Holmes and a young Miss Marple.

2] What is the connection between a young pilchard, a Slovakian female, a small citrus fruit, and a South Slavic Viking?

This was easy for Danes as they refer to the four novels of Leif Davidsen. The Sardine Deception; The Woman from Bratislava; Lime’s Photograph; and The Serbian Dane. I can highly recommend these thrillers.

3] In what timely way is Gordon Daviot linked to Anne Neville?

This was more straightforward. Gordon Daviot was a pseudonym used by Josephine Tey, who wrote the brilliant novel The Daughter of Time [timely way]. The Daughter of Time is an investigation into the murder of the Princes in the Tower in which Tey clears Richard III of the terrible crime. Richard was married to Anne Neville. Richard III’s skeleton was recently discovered under a parking lot in Leicester.

4] Who lived or lives at: [a] Whitehaven Mansions [b] 221B Baker Street [c] The Larches [d] an old Brownstone on West 35th Street [e] 14 Farraway Street [f] a residential home in Marnas and [g] a studio apartment in Santa Teresa

These were the residences of  [a] Hercule Poirot [b] Sherlock Holmes [c] Hercule Poirot [d] Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin [e] Hercule Poirot [f] Gerlof Davidsson from the books by Johan Theorin [g] Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone

5] Who gives this valuable advice? ‘As a man gets older if he knows what is good for him, the women he likes are getting older, too.’

Lew Archer in Ross Macdonald’s The Zebra Striped Hearse, adding that “The trouble is that most of them are married.”

6] In which crime novel are the chapter headings taken from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens?

The novel is Recalled to Life by one of the greatest English crime writers Reginald Hill, who sadly passed away last year. 

7] In which novel is Kjell Eriksson murdered, and who is Holt’s best guy?

I have to admit this was difficult unless you had read the book, which was Another Time, Another Life by Leif G.W. Persson, who likes using the names of other crime writers in his novels.  Anna Holt’s best guy is her son, Niklas.

8] Make an “educated” guess as to the connection between Raymond Chandler and Dame Ngaio Marsh?

Raymond Chandler was educated at Dulwich College founded by Edward Alleyn, actor and proprietor of brothels and bear pits, and part of the same foundation was Alleyn’s School. Dame Ngaio Marsh named her detective Roderick Alleyn because her father had gone to Alleyn’s School. 

9] Which crime novel begins with a chapter one entitled November, and a quotation from La Rochefoucauld about  funerals? 

Colin Dexter’s The Secret of Annexe 3. Another great crime writer who despite only writing 13 Inspector Morse books, the last in 1999 still has a TV series running with Morse’s sidekick Lewis as the lead character.

10] What nationality are these investigators?

a] Mario Silva [b] Mario Conde [c] Hector Salgado [d] Siri Paiboun

a] Brazilian [b] Cuban [c] Tricky this one because although the book The Summer of Dead Toys is set in Barcelona Salgado is Argentinean. This was the only question the winner got wrong. [d] Laotian

11] Who created these characters?

a] Anna Marie Mella [b] Ann Lindell [c] Annika Bengtzon [d] Hanne Wilhelmsen [e] Kimmo Joentaa [f] Jakob Skarre [g] Ingrid Sjostrom 

a] Asa Larsson [b] Kjell Eriksson [c] Liza Marklund [d] Anne Holt [e] Jan Costin Wagner [f] Karin Fossum [g] Andrea Camilleri

12] Who wrote:

[a] Summon Up The Blood [b] Blood of the Wicked [c] A Question of Blood

[a] R.N. Morris [b] Leighton Gage [c] Ian Rankin

13] Philip Glenister [star of TV series Life on Mars] also played the part of DCI Danny Lloyd, co-starring with Michelle Collins who played DS Judy Hill, in a pilot TV show. Is there a shred of evidence for a latin connection with a famous Oxford sleuth?  

Lloyd and Hill are the creations of the late Jill McGown. One of her later books is titled Shred of Evidence note the clue in the question. Jill attended Corby Grammar School where she was taught Latin by classics master, Colin Dexter creator of Inspector Morse, who put Oxford on the map. 😉

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I hope you enjoyed your attempts and congratulations to the winner, who was from British Columbia. A result that our dear Maxine would have predicted. 

Quiz reminder

Posted: January 14, 2013 in Quiz

P1040118A gentle reminder not to forget to send your Winter Quirky Quiz 2012-2013 answers to thbear08@googlemail.com by 20 January.

This photo was taken 1 January 2013 showing the first blue sky over our part of Devon for many weeks in what has been an incredibly wet year.

 

 

 

The New Winter Quirky Quiz 2012-2013

Posted: December 27, 2012 in Quiz

 I know some readers look forward to the annual quiz at Crimescraps, and interestingly I have noticed that there are always a lot more viewings of the answers  than there ever are of the questions.  So this year I have tried to create something with a range of questions from very easy to those that will test your little grey cells a little as well as hopefully entertain. So do have an attempt sending your answers to thbear08@googlemail.com by midnight GMT on 20 January 2013.

For the winner the prize is a copy of the CWA International Dagger winning novel The Potter’s Field by Andrea Camilleri. [If the winner has read this book there will be an alternative choice]

1] The first question is tricky.

Who are the people depicted in this print which resides in Torquay Museum? 

2] What is the connection between a young pilchard, a Slovakian female, a small citrus fruit, and a South Slavic Viking?

3] In what timely way is Gordon Daviot linked to Anne Neville?

4] Who lived or lives at: [a] Whitehaven Mansions [b] 221B Baker Street [c] The Larches [d] an old Brownstone on West 35th Street [e] 14 Farraway Street [f] a residential home in Marnas and [g] a studio apartment in Santa Teresa

5] Who gives this valuable advice? ‘As a man gets older if he knows what is good for him, the women he likes are getting older, too.’

6] In which crime novel are the chapter headings taken from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens?

7] In which novel is Kjell Eriksson murdered, and who is Holt’s best guy?

8] Make an educated guess as to the connection between Raymond Chandler and Dame Ngaio Marsh?

9] Which crime novel begins with a chapter one entitled November, and a quotation from La Rochefoucauld about  funerals? 

10] What nationality are these investigators?

a] Mario Silva [b] Mario Conde [c] Hector Salgado [d] Siri Paiboun

11] Who created these characters?

a] Anna Marie Mella [b] Ann Lindell [c] Annika Bengtzon [d] Hanne Wilhelmsen [e] Kimmo Joentaa [f] Jakob Skarre [g] Ingrid Sjostrom 

12] Who wrote:

[a] Summon Up The Blood [b] Blood of the Wicked [c] A Question of Blood

13] Philip Glenister [star of TV series Life on Mars] also played the part of DCI Danny Lloyd, co-starring with Michelle Collins who played DS Judy Hill, in a pilot TV show. Is there a shred of evidence for a latin connection with a famous Oxford sleuth?  

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There it is, some questions that may test your knowledge of crime fiction and could possibly keep you busy into the New Year. Good Luck.

Girl Power Identity Parade: an update

Posted: August 4, 2012 in Quiz

This proved to be my most popular post since I switched to WordPress, but still no one has identified number 6. 

From the left top the writers were: 

Frances Fyfield, Liza Marklund, Asa Larsson, Karin Alvtegen

Mari Jungstedt, number 6, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Camilla Lackberg

Karin Fossum, Esther Verhoef, Dominique Manotti, Helene Tursten

Agatha Christie, Val McDermid, Saskia Noort, Fred Vargas

Six Swedish, two English, two Dutch, two French, one Norwegian, one Icelandic, one Scotttish and one ?? female crime writers.

Who is number six? 

GIRL POWER IDENTITY PARADE

Posted: July 31, 2012 in photo essay, Quiz

I wondered if anyone could identify all the ladies in this photo montage of Female Crime Writers. I am sorry no prizes so just stick your answers in the comments, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for all the authors to be identified.

There were some very good entries to the Diamond Jubilee Quiz, with some contestants doing a lot of research. It was very difficult to pick a winner as no one got every question completely correct. Sometimes the answer was a bit simpler than it seemed at first glance sometimes a bit more complex. 

Here are the answers:

1] What is the “Royal” connection with an Old  Brownstone House at West Thirty-Fifth Street ?

Detective Nero Wolfe lived in that Old Brownstone House, and the royal connections I wanted were that:

 The books were written by Rex Stout, “Rex” is Latin for King, Nero was an Emperor, and one of Rex Stout’s well known novels is Some Buried Caesar. But I also learned that there are  omnibus editions of the books entitled Royal Flush and Kings Full Aces.

2] Where is the “Queen of Watering Places”?

This question refers to opening sentences of The Majestic Hotel, Chapter 1 of Peril at End House by Agatha Christie.

“No seaside town in the south of England is, as attractive as St Loo.  It is well named the Queen of Watering Places and reminds one forcibly of the Riviera.”

3] How Royal are Daniel Nathan and Emanuel Lepofsky?

Quite royal. Daniel Nathan was the real name of Frederic Dannay and Emanuel Lepofsky of Manfred B. Lee. Dannay and Lee in their writing used the pseudonym Ellery Queen.

4] Who did Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein employ, and what is the Royal connection?

This comes from Conan Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia. Wilhelm von Ormstein, aka Count von Kramm, employed Sherlock Holmes to retrieve a photograph of himself with Irene Adler.  Wilhelm von Ormstein was in fact the hereditary King of Bohemia and his marriage plans would be ruined if that photograph was circulated.  

5] How are a Cornish Duchess and a Frozen Princess linked?

The name Camilla. The Duchess of Cornwall is the former Camilla Parker-Bowles, and the frozen princess comes from The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg.

6] Which novel features an assassination attempt on a Crown Prince, and a criminal known as the Prince?

The novel is The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo.

The winner came from British Columbia, but thanks to those who took part and better luck next time.  [photo of Royal Crescent , Bath]

A gentle reminder that the deadline for answers to the Diamond Jubilee Quiz is midnight BST Sunday 13 May.

Send your answers to thbear08@googlemail.com and perhaps claim the prize as the winner. 

 

 

Extended Quiz Deadline

Posted: April 27, 2012 in Quiz, Uncategorized

My apologies but I blundered [put it down to my age and inability to grasp modern technology] with an incorrect email for replying with answers to the Diamond Jubilee Quiz .

The correct email address, now modified at the quiz, is thbear08@googlemail.com so the deadline for answers is extended to 13 May.

Diamond Jubilee Quiz

Posted: April 18, 2012 in Quiz

Events, dear people, events have blown my blogging off course, and even marooned my reading in a dark place.

But I have returned hopefully with something that will interest and amuse. 2012 is the year of the Olympics [more on that in a future post] and also of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Therefore to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth I have constructed a Jubilee Quiz to test your crime fiction knowledge with  a book prize to the winner.

I think the Queen, whose birthday is on the 21st April, does a fantastic job, and although her potential successor does not impress, the idea of a President Blair, or President Kinnock, or even a President Bercow is horrifying enough to turn me into a monarchist.

The Queen has reigned for 60 years, so there are 6 questions with 10 marks each. Your answers should be sent to thbear08@googlemail.com and the closing date for entries is 1 May, 2012. Here we go:

1] What is the “Royal” connection with an Old  Brownstone House at West Thirty-Fifth Street ?

2] Where is the “Queen of Watering Places”?

3] How Royal are Daniel Nathan and Emanuel Lepofsky?

4] Who did Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein employ, and what is the Royal connection?

5] How are a Cornish Duchess and a Frozen Princess linked?

6] Which novel features an assassination attempt on a Crown Prince, and a criminal known as the Prince?

Good luck.