The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
by Agatha Christie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Agatha ChristieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-03-01
ISBN: 0425173895
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
Book Review: "I know the murderer is in this room...All the facts lead indisputably to one person."
Summary: 5 Stars
As seductive as a sudoku puzzle, with all the facts of a devilish murder laid out for the reader to solve, if only s/he reads carefully enough, this 1926 mystery is still captivating new readers. A contemporary of popular mystery writers Dorothy Sayers and Marjorie Allingham, Christie writes novels which are less character-driven than Sayers's novels and less elitist (and sometimes satirical) than Allingham's. Instead, Christie carves out a niche writing mysteries with unusually clever plots, even if, as in this case, she has to violate the conventions of the mystery/detective genre to make them work.
No spoilers. When Hercule Poirot, the French detective who uses his "little gray cells," retires and moves to the small rural village of King's Abbott, he quickly learns of the death of Mrs. Ferrars, who, after her husband's mysterious death, had intended to marry Roger Ackroyd. Soon, however, Roger Ackroyd himself is found dead, stabbed in the back in his study.
An unusual number of complications make this mystery particularly challenging. The disappearance of Ackroyd's stepson (his major heir) is thought to signal his guilt, but there are others who also have motives. A maid has been dismissed under mysterious circumstances, Ackroyd's sister-in-law has serious debts, a stranger has appeared at Fernly Park at the time of the murder and has then disappeared, and Ackroyd himself has been trying to control his estate by securing the marriage of his niece to his stepson.
Details of the mystery are not unique. Christie also uses the attempt of a wealthy man to control his heirs' marriages in _Dead Man's Mirror_, for example, along with the familiar concept of a murderer entering and leaving a locked room via a window. Mysterious strangers are a cliché, as are dismissed maids who have secrets. Throughout, the characterization extends only as far as is necessary for the plot. Told by Dr. James Sheppard, a friend and frequent visitor of Ackroyd's, the novel is justifiably one of Christie's most famous, however--and its creative conclusion revolutionized mystery writing not only in its time, but forever. Don't miss this one. n Mary Whipple
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