The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
I started reading this because of a student. This is not uncommon, of course – I’m an English teacher, so a lot of what I read these days is because of my students. But this time, rather than trying to find a book to teach, I was actually looking for a book to enjoy.
This student came to me asking if I had any book recommendations, which is an awfully broad question. So I asked her what she liked, and she said “Mystery.”
Mystery, unfortunately, is a genre in which I have little real experience. I read some Raymond Chandler a long time ago, but that’s about it, so I had no recommendations for her. Another English teacher, though, recommended this book and in doing so, planted the tiniest suggestion that led me to figure out who the killer was before Poirot go there.
That in no way took away from the fun of the story, of course. The whole point of reading one of these mysteries is not just to find out who did the terrible deed, but to see how the detective – the famous Hercule Poirot – works out all the details for himself.
And that is what Christie accomplished. The Very British Village of King’s Abbot has seen its share of tragedy. The wealthy widow Mrs Ferrars has died, most likely by her own hand, following the death of her terrible husband. And while the town is reeling from this news, another unnatural death visits them. The titular Roger Ackroyd, a widower himself and a confidante of Mrs. Ferrars has been murdered with a knife to the neck!
The suspects are, of course, various. Was it the butler, looking for some scheme to blackmail money out of him? Was it Ackroyd’s stepson, looking to inherit his stepfather’s well-guarded wealth? Was it his niece, hoping to marry the stepson against Ackroyd’s wishes?
The cast is large, and the story is told through the eyes of the village’s doctor, James Sheppard. With his gossip-hungry sister Caroline prodding him along, he accompanies Poirot through his investigations, looking to find out who was in the summer house, what color the stepson’s boots were, who moved a chair a few inches, so as to discover the true identity of the murderer.
There’s not a whole lot more to say about the plot or some of the narrative choices by Christie without spoiling the ending, so I won’t. What I can say is that Christie’s reputation as one of the great British mystery writers is certainly well-deserved, and there’s a reason why she is one of the best choices for a beach read or a long airplane trip.
The book is fast-paced and very readable, and if the plot does get somewhat convoluted at times, she makes sure to have Poirot (or someone similiar) re-familiarize us with the details of what is known and what is yet unknown, so that we may follow along in the same way that Dr. Sheppard does.
That doesn’t mean we can deduce things the way Poirot does – there are plenty of details that we would consider insignificant that only carry true weight once all has been revealed in a classic Drawing Room, “One of you is the murderer” scene at the end.
What’s more, Christie has carefully built the story to be re-readable. Once you know everything at the end of the book, you can go back and see characters and events in a whole new light. No detail, however insignificant, is wasted. While I think this is often the case for a murder mystery, it is done especially well here.
This book has been in publication so long that I think it’s actually in the public domain now, so you don’t really need me to recommend it. At one point there was a whole literary society dedicated to discussing Christie’s work – my praise of the book isn’t going to move too many needles.
If you want an entertaining mystery with lots of suspects, twists, turns, and surprises, though, you can’t go wrong with this one. It’s a mystery that respects the reader, rewards close attention to detail, and is still surprising readers.
For those of us who are not regular visitors to the Mystery genre, this is a great place to begin. Christie’s careful and methodical storytelling have kept generations of readers enthralled, and will no doubt make her one of your favorites as well.
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