The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Actually, I tell a lie. I had read crime before my honeymoon, but only Agatha Christie, whose whodunnits always feature murders that are tastefully described and over in a couple of lines.

With Christie, it’s all about the puzzle, and boy, is she good at that. Her characters are often a bit two-dimensional, but you forgive that for the sake of her plots, which always race along and convince, however unlikely in real life.

This is one of her most famous ones, and rightly so. No spoilers here, but if you read this as I did as a teenager (recommended… show more.

I love this 1926 Agatha Christie standout, famed for pioneering the use of red herrings and misdirection.

With Hercule Poirot at the helm, Agatha Christie's renowned detective delves into a case investigating a series of murders linked to the mysterious Roger Ackroyd.

As always, Christie delivers a captivating and confounding mystery that kept me on my toes throughout!

Long labeled Christie’s best work, I agree that this book is a top-notch read.

Christie’s mysteries set in the English countryside are always so refreshingly charming…even when dealing with murder. And Christie meticulously planned this one—a tangle of knots that no one should be able to untangle. Yet, the killer is battling wits and lives against the inimitable Hercule Poirot, who always catches his culprit.

I love this mystery because, once I’d read it for the thrill ride of discovery, I went back and wrote all the clues. Christie’s subtlety is one of her greatest strengths and one I hope… show more.

This book, to me, is the hallmark of unreliable narrators.

For its time and the fact that this book is in first person was the first attraction. From the get-go I was drawn to Dr. James Sheppard’s voice and followed his movements and thoughts as the action unfolded around him, sometimes participating, and sometimes, observing.

Christie is a master of red herrings, but this book is special because there’s a sea of them, and they’re all equally attractive, and I spent time tracking them, trying to work out who it could be when there were so many motives and weak… show more.

Not being a fan of detective stories, I came late to Agatha Christie, turned on to her by a neighbor whose taste generally runs to 19th-century British novels.

At first I was a little put off by the book. It sounded like a game of Clue: Colonel Mustard did it with a candlestick in the parlor, that kind of thing. But swept along by Christie’s descriptions of the eccentric Hercule Poirot, I got caught up in it, trying to figure out who the murderer was. I did not figure it out, and the surprise ending was brilliant.

I found… show more.

This one isn’t as popular as her more well-known novels like Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None, but it is one of my favorites.

I read it for the first time when I was sixteen, and I can still remember my initial shock at the twist ending. Christie was an expert at mystery tropes, but she was also adept at flipping them, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a prime example. There is also a radio recording of this novel you can find on YouTube that I also highly recommend.

This novel is one of my favourite Agatha Christie’s with its clever plot twists and turns as the reader tries to solve the murder of the wealthy businessman Roger Ackroyd.

The novel's narrator, Dr. James Sheppard, becomes an amateur detective getting involved in the investigation. The brilliance of the plot lies in the way Christie expertly misleads the reader, with a carefully crafted web of clues. As Sheppard delves deeper into the case, he discovers shocking secrets and lies, and the final reveal is both surprising and satisfying.

The novel's characters are quite complex which adds to the intrigue and… show more.

I know this title is old and overhyped, but I can’t leave out the book that made me want to become a writer. I picked The Murder of Roger Ackroyd off my parents’ bookshelf, thinking of it as just another cozy.  When the shock of an ending came along, I was totally unprepared. My reaction was to instantly re-read it, looking for places where the author might have cheated. She hadn’t. As far as character development goes, it’s on par with the usual Christie efforts. But it's the mystery that made her reputation, leading to Edmund Wilson’s comic essay, “Who… show more.

This is the first book I threw against the wall. It was so incredibly shocking, so surprising of an answer, that I almost felt duped. Almost. Except that the answer to the entire mystery was so brilliant that I could only stare at that thrown book in awe. To have the narrator—the main character of the entire book—actually be the murderer? And be helping with the investigation? I still can’t believe she pulled it off. That’s hundreds of pages of internal dialogue, reactions, and details the author had to cleverly manage to keep it a surprise. This upside-down, inside-out sort… show more.