Book Quiz with 10 questions about Genre

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Books Quiz - Genre - Crime Fiction (Questions)

Crime fiction stories focus on mysteries, investigations, and justice, inviting readers to follow clues, question suspects, and try solving the case before the detective does.

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Fascinating Fact:

Plots in crime fiction rely on clues, red herrings, and surprises. Writers control the release of information to build tension and maintain suspicion.

In Specialist Books quizzes on crime fiction, you examine how writers create mystery, pace, and tension, looking at structure, character roles, and viewpoint to see how readers are guided through a case.

Key Terms

Crime fiction: A genre that centres on a crime, such as a theft or murder, and follows an investigation towards a solution.
Detective: The character who investigates the crime, gathers information, and works to explain what really happened.
Suspect: A character who might be involved in the crime, giving readers reasons to doubt or trust them as the story unfolds.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is crime fiction as a genre?

Crime fiction is a genre of storytelling that focuses on a crime and its investigation, using mystery, tension, and character clues to lead readers towards a final explanation.

How do writers create tension in crime fiction?

Writers create tension by limiting what readers know, shifting suspicion between characters, varying pace, and placing the detective under pressure from time limits, danger, or conflicting evidence.

What are common features of crime fiction quizzes?

Crime fiction quizzes often ask about plot structure, character roles, setting, clues, and themes such as justice or truth, helping you practise analysing how the mystery has been built.

Try These Related Quizzes

What pseudonym was used by HC McNeile, creator of Bulldog Drummond?

[ ]	Dapper
[ ]	Flapper
[ ]	Sapper
[ ]	Tapper

Which fictional detective has a secretary called Miss Lemon?

[ ]	Mike Hammer
[ ]	Philip Marlowe
[ ]	Hercule Poirot
[ ]	Sam Spade

What is the name of the 'holistic detective' created by Douglas Adams?

[ ]	Dirk Friendly
[ ]	Dirk Gently
[ ]	Dirk Kindly
[ ]	Dirk Lively

Ian Rankin's creation Inspector Rebus was born in which area of Scotland?

[ ]	The Borders
[ ]	Fife
[ ]	The Highlands
[ ]	Perthshire

What is the name of Sherlock Holmes's landlady?

[ ]	Mrs Hanson
[ ]	Mrs Henson
[ ]	Mrs Hodgson
[ ]	Mrs Hudson

Which detective did Roger Moore play on TV from 1962 until 1969?

[ ]	Lew Archer
[ ]	Charlie Chan
[ ]	The Saint
[ ]	Lord Peter Wimsey

What is the title of Agatha Christie's 1942 novel featuring Miss Marple?

[ ]	The Body in the Conservatory
[ ]	The Body in the Kitchen
[ ]	The Body in the Library
[ ]	The Body in the Study

Sax Rohmer, the creator of Dr Fu Manchu, was born in which country?

[ ]	England
[ ]	Canada
[ ]	Scotland
[ ]	Wales

What is the name of Perry Mason's secretary?

[ ]	Debbie Street
[ ]	Della Street
[ ]	Dinah Street
[ ]	Donna Street

10.

What is the first name of the Amsterdam detective Van der Valk, created by Nicolas Freeling?

[ ]	Edgar
[ ]	Marco
[ ]	Piet
[ ]	Wim

Books Quiz - Genre - Crime Fiction (Answers)

What pseudonym was used by HC McNeile, creator of Bulldog Drummond?

[ ]	Dapper
[ ]	Flapper
[x]	Sapper
[ ]	Tapper

His first Bulldog Drummond book was published in 1920

Which fictional detective has a secretary called Miss Lemon?

[ ]	Mike Hammer
[ ]	Philip Marlowe
[x]	Hercule Poirot
[ ]	Sam Spade

Poirot describes her as being 'unbelievably ugly and incredibly efficient'

What is the name of the 'holistic detective' created by Douglas Adams?

[ ]	Dirk Friendly
[x]	Dirk Gently
[ ]	Dirk Kindly
[ ]	Dirk Lively

Adams was working on a third Gently novel, The Salmon of Doubt, at the time of his death

Ian Rankin's creation Inspector Rebus was born in which area of Scotland?

[ ]	The Borders
[x]	Fife
[ ]	The Highlands
[ ]	Perthshire

Rebus' parents are buried in Fife

What is the name of Sherlock Holmes's landlady?

[ ]	Mrs Hanson
[ ]	Mrs Henson
[ ]	Mrs Hodgson
[x]	Mrs Hudson

Watson said of Mrs Hudson 'Not only was her first-floor flat invaded at all hours by throngs of singular and often undesirable characters but her remarkable lodger showed an eccentricity and irregularity in his life which must have sorely tried her patience. His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and often malodorous scientific experiments, and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London'

Which detective did Roger Moore play on TV from 1962 until 1969?

[ ]	Lew Archer
[ ]	Charlie Chan
[x]	The Saint
[ ]	Lord Peter Wimsey

The Saint is the nickname of Simon Templar, created by Leslie Charteris. The first novel featuring The Saint was Meet the Tiger, published in 1928

What is the title of Agatha Christie's 1942 novel featuring Miss Marple?

[ ]	The Body in the Conservatory
[ ]	The Body in the Kitchen
[x]	The Body in the Library
[ ]	The Body in the Study

Miss Marple went on to appear in twelve of Agatha Christie's novels and in twenty of her short stories

Sax Rohmer, the creator of Dr Fu Manchu, was born in which country?

[x]	England
[ ]	Canada
[ ]	Scotland
[ ]	Wales

Dr Fu Manchu was a criminal mastermind and the archetypal evil villain