THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD
UK publication: 1926 (Collins)
US publication: 1926 (Dodd, Mead)
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Genre: Novel
Plot summary and comments: One of the most ingenious (or infuriating, depending on your point of view) of Christie's novels. Narrated by a Doctor Sheppard, who takes the place of Hastings (now living in Argentina with his wife) in assisting Poirot. A wealthy widow in the village of King's Abbott, Mrs. Ferrars, is found dead, and Dr. Sheppard suspects suicide until Roger Ackroyd, a widower who was expected to marry her, is also killed. Poirot is Sheppard's new neighbor, and is relieved to escape the boredom of the vegetable marrows he has been growing by investigating the case. Most of the suspects were Ackroyd's house guests, including Ackroyd's niece, Flora; Major Blunt, a big-game hunter romantically interested in Flora; Geoffrey Raymond, Ackroyd's secretary; Ursula Bourne, a parlormaid; and Ralph Paton, an adopted son with gambling debts. Poirot is also assisted by Sheppard's sister Caroline, a middle-aged village spinster who anticipates Miss Marple's character. Both a play (1928) and a film (1931) were made of the story, both called "Alibi".
Courtesey of: http://stout.physics.ucla.edu/%7eyoder/mystery/christie.html
::READERS REVIEWS::
Ingenious
"WOW! That was my conclusion when I read this clever book. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd may not have the glamour of Murder on the Orient Express or Death on the Nile, but it more than makes up for this by the stunning ending. Immensley enjoyable. If you want to try Agatha Christie, try this one.
The Best
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of the best Agatha Christie has ever written. When you finish it, you are just stunned. I had to read it three times before I got over my amazement. I loved ever minute of it. It is a must read."
"This is the first Christie I have ever read, and I should preface this review by saying I'm relatively new to the genre. The plot was great, and while going through the book one will inevitably wonder who committed the crime. But I think the ending is pretty easy to guess around Chapter 23 as the characters gradually reveal what they know, but when it hits you it is quite a shock. Complaints that her writing is not advanced should be ignored in my opinion, I don't like suffocating writing (example, Poe). The detection in my opinion is not great though - Sherlock Holmes actually seemed to figure things out, Poirot seemed to get lucky more often than not. He has ideas that pop into his head, and upon further investigation they prove to be accurate, but he didn't actually deduce all that much. Still, a great read for the plot itself."
"Only the brilliant mind of Agatha Christie could have thought of this ingenious murder mystery. The facts are all there but who would have guessed. Being British myself this book describes the setting as well as the language of the characters and surroundings to a tee. An emotional ending which leaves one thinking about life in Kings Abbot after....Must read to fill in my missing words.Its appeal still holds even after reading it so many times since its publication in 1926. After reading the book perhaps you will agree with me that to create this into a movie (which I would hope one day to be possible) would be a great challenge."
"Personally, I come from the Sherlock Holmes school of detective fiction, but I found The Murder of Roger Ackroyd highly entertaining. What makes the story enjoyable is that there are many extraneous sub-plots that confound the mystery and draw attention away from the actual murder. Each chapter reveals a new twist in the plot which only seems to add to the list of suspects. The most enjoyable aspect of the book is the rather unexpected and unconventional ending. As it turns out, a seemingly minute and overlooked detail turns out to be the case cracker for Hercule Poirot. If I had any complaint about this book, it would be about Poirot himself. Being somewhat biased towards the Sherlock Holmes character, I was somewhat stunned at Poirot's abrasive lack of modesty. Holmes is not modest, but this is because he believes modesty interferes with one's own mental processes. Poirot's seems to use his egocentric attitude to bully his suspects. He claims to know all, but much of this so-called knowledge seems more like guesswork. But as a whole, I liked the novel, because all the cards were on the table and I was capable of putting the pieces together myself (although I did so just a paragraph before the murderer was actually revealed). I you have any free time (which I have a lot of or I wouldn't be writing this review), read this book. You will probably like it. If you don't you will at least appreciate the work done by Christie to pull this story off"
::YOUR OPINION::
