Penguin Readers Factsheets level

T e a c h e r’s n o t e s 1

K’s First Case

3

5
by L. G. Alexander
6

PRE-
INTERMEDIATE
S U M M A R Y
ir Michael Gray, a wealthy businessman, dies
S violently in a locked room. There is blood and water
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
on his shirt and a whisky glass on the floor near his
K’s First Case brings together two ingredients which have
hand.
recurred time and again in whodunnits – the country house
Everybody in the large country house at the time is a and the locked room.
suspect, from Sir Michael’s wife through his gold-digging
The story is a classic ‘whodunnit’(who has done it). This
secretary, Angela, to the housekeeper.
name is commonly applied to mysteries in which the
For Inspector Katrina Kirby, otherwise known as K, it is identity of the criminal is kept secret until the very end. But
her first case. She methodically questions all the suspects many whodunnits are, like this one, also whydunnits and
and then sets a trap for the murderer. Colonel Fawcett falls howdunnits (how was it done), since we do not know the
into the trap, but only apparently because, as an engineer, motive or even the means by which the murderer effected
he is curious to see the mechanism that killed a man whilst the crime.
the man was alone. The real murderer is listening at the
Many of the murder mysteries of that most famous
door. It transpires that Mrs. Flack, the housekeeper wanted
whodunnit writer, Agatha Christie, took place in country
to kill Angela Everett, Sir Michael’s secretary because she
houses. The large house offers atmosphere and a
thought Angela was a bad woman. She used one of her
contained environment. It enables the author to bring
beloved boss’s own mechanisms to fire an icicle into the
together a disparate group of people who could have a
heart of the first person who opened the freezer
variety of motives for the murder. We can be told which
compartment, believing it would be Angela. Unfortunately,
room each of the suspects was in at the time of the murder
it was Sir Michael himself, and he was killed. K’s first case
and we can check on each suspect’s story with another.
is solved. There will surely be many more.
There can, of course, be many red herrings – clues which
point to a person who is, in fact, entirely innocent. Finally,
the country house setting provides the opportunity for the
ABOUT L. G. ALEXANDER classic denouement, when the great detective brings
together all the suspects and reveals, piece by the piece,
Louis Alexander was born in London in 1932. He studied at
the crime and how he, or she, solved it. In this story, as in
London University and graduated in 1954. He taught
so many others of the genre, the butler – actually the
English as a Foreign Language in a number of different
housekeeper – did it.
countries.
K’s First Case is also an excellent example of the puzzle
He is best known as the writer of some of the best-
story. How could the man die violently in a locked room?
selling English language courses such as New Concept
One of the first murder mysteries, The Murders in the Rue
English (1967), Look, Listen and Learn (1971), Follow Me
Morgue, by Edgar Allan Poe, posed a similar problem and
(1980) and Direct English (1993–1998); practice books
most crime writers have tried their hand at the locked room
such as For and Against (1968) and grammars such as the
mystery at least once in their career. Time shift – so that
Longman English Grammar (1988).
the murder happened before the door was locked, arrows
Louis Alexander lives in London with his wife, Julia. through upper floor windows and electrified door knobs
have all been used in the past, but in this story the writer
adds an extra touch – the disappearing weapon, melting
away as the other country house guests were beating on
the door.

© Pearson Education 2001

 level
Penguin Readers Factsheets 3
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
Pages 30–59
Communicative activities
Ask students to work in groups. Do the activities on
The following teacher-led activities cover the same pages 41 and 42. Which is the best
sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reason for the murder for each person. Then check your
Reader and supplement those exercises. For ideas with K’s notes (page 43)
supplementary exercises covering shorter sections of the
book, see the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class Ask students to work in groups. They must work out
readers but, with the exception of the discussion and exactly why K. asked every person about whisky and ice.
pair/groupwork activities, can also be used by students Elicit the ideas and decide which group has the best
working alone in a self-access centre. explanation.

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

Ask students to work in groups and discuss the following
questions:
1 Do you like murder mysteries? Why?/Why not?
Glossary
2 Why do some people like murder mysteries? It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.
They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections of exercises at
3 Who is your favourite detective? Why do you like the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the
him/her? Longman Active Study Dictionary.)
Pages 1–8
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION army (n) the part of a country’s military force that is trained to fight on
land
Pages 1–8 colonel (n) an officer with a high rank in the army
1 Ask students to work in pairs. dictaphone (n) a device for recording your voice, often used by a
boss to leave messages, letters, etc. for a secretary
Student A
carpet (n) a heavy woollen material for covering a floor
(a) Look at the plan of the rooms on page 5 for one
engineer (n) someone who designs the way roads, bridges,
minute. Then close your book and try to draw the
machines, etc are built
plan. Show it to Student A for checking.
fingerprint (n) the mark made by the pattern of lines at the end of
(b) Test Student B on the things in the study (picture someone’s finger
on page 6). housekeeper (n) someone whose job is to do the cooking, cleaning,
Student B etc, in a house or hotel
poison (n) a substance that can kill or harm you if you eat it, drink it
(a) Look at the picture on page 6 for 1 minute. Be
etc.
prepared to answer questions about the picture whisky (n) a strong, alcoholic drink made from grain and produced
from Student A. especially in Scotland
(b) Look at Student A’s plan of the rooms (page 5). If Pages 9–29
there are any mistakes, explain them – but don’t gamble (v) to try to win money by playing cards, etc.
show him/her the picture! ice-tray (n) a tray which is filled with water an put in a freezer to turn
the water into ice
Pages 9–29 inspector (n) a police officer of middle rank
jealous (adj) feeling angry or unhappy because someone else has
1 Ask students to work in pairs.
something that you want
Student A
will (n) a legal document in which you say who you want to give your
You are K. Give your boss your ideas on pages 9, 10
money and property to after you die
and 11.
Pages30–59
Student B
bow (n) a weapon used for shooting arrows
You are K’s boss. Tell her the problems with each of
icicle (n) a thin pointed piece of ice that hangs down
her ideas.
mechanism (n) the part of a machine that does a particular job
2 Ask students to work in groups to discuss these string (n) a thin rope made of several strands twisted together
questions:
(a) How does Kay start each interview?
(b) Why does she start each interview in this way?

Publis hed and d is tribu ted by Pearson Ed ucation

Factsheet written by Terry Philips
© Pearson Education 2001 Factsheet series developed by Louise James
Penguin Readers Factsheets level

Student’s activities 1

2
K’s First Case 3

Photocopiable 4
Students can do these exercises alone or with one or more
other students. Pair/group-only exercises are marked. 5

Activities before reading the book 6

1 What are the three questions that any detective (o) They saw Sir Michael’s body on the floor.
must answer after a crime. Discuss in groups? (p) Three other people knocked on the door and PRE-
2 Read the first part of the Introduction and check shouted. INTERMEDIATE
your answers. 4 Complete each of the sentences about the
information on page 7. Use a word or phrase from
the box in each case.
Activities while reading the book
blood and water
Pages 1–8 door and window
1 Make the correct names of the characters in the fingerprints
story. knife or a gun
(a) Sir (i) Cavell whisky
(b) Lady (ii) Everett secret doors or secret ways
(c) Colonel (iii) Elizabeth (a) There was a ... glass next to Sir Michael’s right
(d) Angela (iv) Fawcett hand.
(e) Andrew (v) Flack (b) There was ... on Sir Michael’s shirt and on the
(f) Nancy (vi) Kirby carpet.
(g) Katrina (vii) Michael (c) The ... were locked from the inside.
2 Match each person from Exercise 1 with a (d) There weren’t any other ... only Sir Michael’s.
description. (e) There wasn’t a ....
• A detective. (f) There aren’t any ... into the room.
• Lady Elizabeth’s brother. Pages 9–40
• Sir Michael’s friend.
1 Work in pairs. How much can you remember from
• Sir Michael’s secretary.
pages 12 and 13?
• Sir Michael’s wife.
a What did Sir Michael do on the evening of the
• The Gray’s housekeeper. murder?
• The rich boss of Cavell and Company. b Which of the actions in (a) does he always do?
3 Put these events from pages 3 and 4 in order. (i) He arrived home at 7.00.
(a) A police doctor looked at the body. (ii) He arrived home with his secretary.
(b) Kay arrived at Sir Michael’s house with the (iii)He went to his room for a bath at 7.05.
police. (iv)He changed for dinner.
(c) Lady Elizabeth called the police. (v) He had a drink with his wife in the library.
(d) Mrs Flack knocked on the door of Sir (vi)He had dinner at 8.00.
Michael’s study.
(e) Mrs Flack took some coffee to Sir Michael’s 2 Who gives Kay each piece of information (pages
study. 14 to 40). Tick one or more people in each case.
(f) Sir Michael didn’t answer the door. Nancy Flack, Lady Elizabeth, Remember! Kay
(g) Sir Michael died. talks to Mrs. Flack twice
(h) Sir Michael drank some whisky. Key:
(i) Sir Michael had dinner. MF = NancyFlack
(j) Sir Michael locked the door and the window. LE = Lady Elizabeth
(k) Sir Michael went into his study. CF = Colonel Fawcett
(I) The police took photographs of the study and AE = Angela Everett
the body. AC = Andrew Cavell
(m) The police took the body away.
(n) They broke down the door and went in.

© Pearson Education 2001

 level
Penguin Readers Factsheets 3
Student’s activities

M L C A A (vi) You were worried about the £100,000. You

F E F E C wanted to save the company. Sir Michael
(a) Lady Elizabeth Michael had a fight in ✓ spent money on women and you didn’t like it.
the library after dinner. The reply
(b) Angela Everett didn’t go to Sir • (No answer)
Michael’s study that evening. • He was my friend.
(c) Angela Everett was in the garden • I did it. You think that, don’t you policewoman?
(d) Sir Michael liked other women. Well, I didn’t!
(e) Lady Elizabeth went to the living • I loved him.
room to speak to her brother, Andrew • Oh, miss, I didn’t, miss, really I didn’t. I didn’t
(f) Angela Everett is a bad person. do it.
(g) Colonel Fawcett and Sir Michael 3 Complete these sentences from the information
were very good friends. on pages 50–52. Use words from the box.
(h) Sir Michael lent Colonel Fawcett £50.
(i) Sir Michael and Colonel Fawcett had arms bed chair door fndge house light
a fight about money. man mechanism morning noise police
room shape study wall watch
(j) Colonel Fawcett went to the library to
read. (a) K. looked at her …
(k) Sir Michael loved Lady Everett. (b) ‘We must all go to ... ,‘ she said.
(I) Lady Elizabeth hated Sir Michael. (c) ‘I can’t leave this ...
(m)Sir Michael left Angela Everett (d) ‘You can’t leave. There are ... all around.’
£I00.000 in his will. (e) ‘I don’t want to stay in this ...
(n) Andrew Cavell didn’t like Sir Michael. (f) They all left the.. and went upstairs.
(o) Sir Michael and Andrew Cavell had a (g) At three o’clock in the .... K went downstairs
talk before dinner. quietly.
(p) Lady Eizabeth loved Sir Michael. (h) She sat in Sir Michael’s ... and waited.
(i) Suddenly, she heard a ....
(j) The ... opened very quietly.
Pages 41–59
(k) K saw a ... in the dark.
1 Work in pairs. Answer these questions about the
information on pages 44 to 47. (I) It was the shape of a ....
(a) Which question does K answer in the study at (m) The person went to the ....
1.30? (n) He pulled it from the ....
(b) How did X murder Sir Michael? (o) Then he pulled out the
(p) K jumped on the man and held his ....
2 On page 48 Kay does not know who murdered Sir
(q) K turned on the ... and saw Colonel Fawcett.
Michael. But she can think of a reason for each
person. Match the person, the reason and their 4 Work in pairs. Make sure you both understand
reply to K. One person does not reply. how the mechanism worked.
Person
5 Answer these questions from pages 55–58.
(a) Lady Elizabeth
(a) Who was listening outside the door.
(b) Colonel Fawcett
(b) Whose bow was it?
(c) Angela Everett
(c) Who killed Sir Michael?
(d) Andrew Cavell
(d) Who did she want to kill?
(e) Mrs. Flack
(e) Why did she want to kill that person?
K’s reason
(i) He changed his will and perhaps he left you
£100,000. Activities after reading the book
(ii) He lent you money. You gambled it on horses
Work in pairs. Write the plot of the story in one
and lost it. He wanted it back.
paragraph.
(iii) You read his letters. You wanted to punish
him.
(iv) You were jealous of Sir Michael’s secretaries.
You hate Angela Everett and you want to
punish your husband.

Published and d istributed by P ear son E d ucat ion

Factsheet written by Terry Philips
© Pearson Education 2001
F act shee t s eri es d evel ope d by L ou ise J ames