KS1 (Age 5-7)KS2 (Age 7-11)11 Plus (Age 7-11)KS3 (Age 11-14)GCSE (Age 14-17)PSHE A.I.ESL Spanish Specialist Games

Need help with Genre - Crime Fiction? Ask our AI Tutor!

AI Tutor - Lucy

Connecting with Tutor...

Please wait while we establish connection

Hi! I'm Lucy, your AI tutor. How can I help you with Genre - Crime Fiction today?

now

Hercule Poirot's secretary is called Miss Lemon.

Genre - Crime Fiction

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.

Explore the Topic →

(quiz starts below)

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

1 .

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

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

2 .

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

England

Canada

Scotland

Wales

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

3 .

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

Edgar

Marco

Piet

Wim

Freeling wrote eleven novels with Piet Van der Valk in them

4 .

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

Dapper

Flapper

Sapper

Tapper

His first Bulldog Drummond book was published in 1920

5 .

What is the name of Perry Mason's secretary?

Debbie Street

Della Street

Dinah Street

Donna Street

The first time she appears, in The Case of the Velvet Claws, we are told that Della came from a wealthy family whose fortunes were lost in the stock market crash of 1929, forcing her to get a job as a secretary

6 .

Which fictional detective has a secretary called Miss Lemon?

Mike Hammer

Philip Marlowe

Hercule Poirot

Sam Spade

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

7 .

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

Lew Archer

Charlie Chan

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

8 .

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

The Borders

Fife

The Highlands

Perthshire

Rebus' parents are buried in Fife

9 .

What is the name of Sherlock Holmes's landlady?

Mrs Hanson

Mrs Henson

Mrs Hodgson

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'

10 .

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

Dirk Friendly

Dirk Gently

Dirk Kindly

Dirk Lively

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

Author: Tony Rennick (Art and Literature Critic)