The ABC Murders

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Take 2: A New Twist”

In this activity, students will test and debate whether Christie’s ending was the only possible or inevitable outcome for the story by suggesting an alternative ending that can also be supported by textual evidence and then attempting to support or disprove that ending.

The twist or surprise ending is a hallmark of mystery fiction. For a mystery to be satisfying to readers, it should give them all the information they need to solve the case but still surprise them with the solution. In The ABC Murders, the big twist comes when Poirot reveals that Franklin Clarke, not Mr. Cust, committed the murders. Regardless of whether you correctly predicted the murderer’s identity, you likely suspected various characters as you read the novel. The purpose of this activity is to test whether Poirot’s solution is the only and inevitable explanation or just one of many possible solutions for the evidence contained in the novel.

Work in a group of two or more. Each group will be responsible to come up with an alternate twist ending that makes sense of textual evidence. Start by selecting a different character (neither Franklin Clarke nor Mr. Cust) as the murderer. Then, use evidence from the text to build up your case in each of the following areas:

• Motive: What reason(s) did the character have for committing these crimes?
• Opportunity: Was it possible for the character to commit each of the crimes?
• Means: How did the character carry out their plans?

Be sure to make your case as airtight as possible, just as Poirot did when accusing Franklin Clarke. Once everyone has finished, each group will have a chance to present their alternate ending to the class. At that point, anyone listening can pose a question or give feedback to try to poke holes in the other groups’ proposed endings.

After everyone has had a chance to present, take a few minutes to journal about what you’ve learned. Which endings did you find the most or least believable, and why? How has your appreciation for or understanding of the original ending changed? Do you think that it is the only logical solution to the novel’s events? Why or why not?

Teaching Suggestion: To help students get started thinking creatively, it may be helpful to work through an outlandish scenario. For instance, you could pick a minor character from the text and come up with an elaborate backstory to give them context as the murderer. The more outlandish, the better, since it will open up possibilities for students as they break into their own groups. At the same time, be sure to model the use of textual details as a starting point for their creative process in order to keep the discussion rooted in the text.

Differentiation Suggestion: To motivate competitively minded students, consider awarding a small prize or bonus points to the group that devises the most plausible alternate ending, which you could select or determine by vote (not allowing students to vote for themselves).