Madhumita Bhattacharyya, author of Dead in a Mumbai Minute, asks 20 questions to do with detectives in literature, cinema and the small screen. Answer them correctly to win exciting prizes from Pan Macmillan.

1 Edgar Allen Poe is credited with creating the first detective in literature. Who is it?

2 Cormoran Strike is the private eye created by which famous writer who adopted a pen name for her debut crime novel?

3 Naked Heat, Heat Wave and Heat Rising are among the published novels supposedly written by which fictional detective?

4 Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath aren’t the only detective novels Satyajit Ray adapted for the screen. Name the other one.

5 Who does Sherlock Holmes refer to as ‘The Woman’? This elusive character appears in only one Holmes story. Which one?

6 The life and books of which Canadian writer form the inspiration for the crime show Bones?

7 What vegetable is Poirot said to grow after his retirement, in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?

8 In which Raymond Chandler novel did private eye Philip Marlowe first appear?

9 Rituparno Ghosh directed a film based on an Agatha Christie novel. Name the film and the novel it was based on.

10 Nick Halden, Neal Armstrong and Steve Tabernacle are aliases for which TV character who ably assists the FBI solve corporate crime?

11 Die Hard’s John McClane and GoldenEye’s James Bond both shot to fame as TV detectives. Name the actors and the shows they starred in.

12 Actor Rajit Kapur played this famous Bengali fictional detective on the small screen.

13 Sue Grafton has been working her way through the alphabet following the detective Kinsey Millhone. What letter has she reached?

14 In the first Kay Scarpetta novel Postmortem, the killer suffers from Maple Syrup Urine Disorder with a strange symptom that allows her to catch the killer. What is the symptom?

15 In David Suchet’s Agatha Christie debut, he is said to have acted very badly. Nevertheless, he caught the attention of Christie’s granddaughter, paving the way for his landmark role as Hercule Poirot. Who did he play?

16 Name the three actors who have played Tapesh Ranjan Mitter in film.

17 Fill in the blank: “High-functioning ______” is how Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock describes himself.

18 Joel Dicker’s French mystery novel has taken the literary world by storm. What is its English title?

19 In the original films, what is the Pink Panther?

20 Prakhar Rudra is the character created by which fictional detective sidekick?

Send in your replies by the end of the day to mumbaiminute@gmail.com with name, address and phone number