by Agatha Christie
Genres: Crime, MysteryPages: 308
Series: Poirot #4
Rating:
Synopsis:Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with an apparent drug overdose.
However the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information, but before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death. Luckily one of Roger’s friends and the newest resident to retire to this normally quiet village takes over—none other than Monsieur Hercule Poirot.
If you can read Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd fresh, without knowing anything about it, I recommend you do! It’s a very clever story, and the reveal often surprises people.
That said, don’t let knowing the solution spoil it. For me, this time was a reread, but with enough time in between that I’d forgotten the significance of the clues, so that was a lot of fun too, trying to piece together the puzzle and remember the meaning/significance of the clues, while knowing the end result.
It’s a merciful break from my pet hate, Poirot’s friend Hastings. The book is narrated rather by a local man, James Sheppard, and though he also indulges himself sometimes in thinking that Poirot’s ridiculous, it’s less prominent. (I know some people feel fondly that Hastings is a himbo, and I can see that, but… he’s not my cup of tea.)
I don’t want to say too much about it, but it’s definitely my favourite of Christie’s work so far, even now I’ve read more of them (it was also the first of her books I read, back when I studied the development of crime fiction for a course at university).
Rating: 4/5
One of her best books, in my opinion. It’s hard to say anything more without spoilers, but all I can say is this: I definitely did not see it coming!