Chapter 1 -3

Question 1

Raises initial mystery; introduces doubt and invites the detective process central to crime fiction.

Answer 1

‘Why on earth would Mrs Ferrars wish to commit suicide?’

Question 2

Highlights the narrator’s authority and reliability, yet later subverts this—key to the novel’s twist on traditional detective narration.

Answer 2

‘As a professional man’

Question 3

Celebrates amateur detection; parodies the village gossip as a detective figure—nod to Miss Marple type.

Answer 3

‘Caroline can do any amount of finding out by sitting placidly at home’

Question 4

Depicts the closed community where secrets circulate; ideal setting for crime to unfold and be investigated.

Answer 4

‘Our hobbies and recreations can be summed in the one word ‘gossip’’

Question 5

Shows the communal obsession with the victim’s private life; builds tension and potential motives.

Answer 5

‘We have discussed Ackroyd and his affairs from every standpoint’

Question 6

Undermines the idea of motive for suicide; sets up suspense and deeper psychological mystery.

Answer 6

‘A widow, fairly young still, very well off, good health and nothing to do but enjoy life’

Question 7

Hints at hidden guilt or trauma; foreshadows secrets—common in suspects in crime fiction.

Answer 7

‘She was a mass of nerves’

Question 8

Creates irony and shock when such a figure is murdered; plays on the disruption of peace in crime stories.

Answer 8

‘He is in fact the life and soul of our peaceful village of King’s Abbot’