Customer Reviews

The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Even I would have had trouble solving this mystery had I not skimmed these reviews first. Just read the book, my dear Watson.

I'm sure that I read "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," by Agatha Christie, decades ago, but I'd more or less forgotten the plot when I picked it up again at the beginning of February. This is from 1926 and is one of the early Hercule Poirot tales, in which our Belgian sleuth has retired to a small village, King's Abbot, to grow marrows. His quiet retirement is interrupted by the sudden murder of the wealthy local man, Roger Ackroyd, and he has no shortage of suspects in his quest to solve the case. In fact, there may be too many motives for him to be able to sort it all out....Agatha Christie is, of course, considered the Queen of Crime and this book is the one that truly cemented her popularity among readers; as such, it is of course a classic. The plotting is tight, the characters are well-drawn (if a bit stereotypical for the period) and the clues (or "clews" as they're called here) are fairly disbursed. I'm pleased that I figured out - or remembered - who the murderer was, but really one reads Christie for comfort more than to test one's deductive abilities. Recommended, especially on a cold winter's night!

This is the very first Agatha Christie book I ever read. I have to admit that I was completely surprised by its ending. I did not cast any suspicions to the real murderer at all until the plot was revealed. Lots of seemingly irrelevant facts are pieced together logically at the end. Highly recommend this book and will get more Agatha Christie books to read.

The plot is awesome and it contains a great ending - that I did not see coming. A few things that make Agatha Christie great are: (1) her writing is lean and spare; (2) her characters all have an important role to play; (3) she has a sense of humor; and (4) there are no silly chase scenes or senseless violence. A thoughtfully written mystery.

When I first reached for the book I didn't expect it to be a controversial read. Six hours later, I was agape, in denial and most certainly scandalized. Without giving away the plot, suffice to say that Dame Agatha had written her ultimate masterpiece when she decided to write "...Roger Ackroyd".

For first-time readers: Don't be fooled by the length of the novel. The clues are there, sprinkled neatly and merrily along with the darned red herrings. You have to read it slowly, as it was with most of her novels.

The story: a doctor was called by Roger Ackroyd to discuss an important matter, but before he could divulge it further he was interuppted by the evening post. The matter was left there, and the doctor went home, seeing his host a bit disturbed. When he got home another call came in and announced that Mr Ackroyd was dead. Thus Poirot came into the scene and began nosing around. The solution was truly one of the most surprising in literature history.

The novel became the measuring rod for future mystery and detective novels, although its controversy is undeniable. My suggestion is that you ignore the controversy for the moment and concentrate on the story.

Being a fan of past mystery book I have read, especially "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie I had no trouble picking up "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" The plot became a monotonous listing of facts and clues through dialog. It would've been almost impossible to predict the mystery through nearly the entire story with the given information. The end finally picked up and kept me interested, but the rest of the story just wasn't entertaining.

Hercule Poirot has lost interest in the dective business since the departure of Hastings to South America. He has retired to a small village to grow vegetable marrows and live a quiet life. He discovers that vegetable marrows do not grow in an orderly manner and that crime does not limit itself to the city.

The village is buzzing with gossip about the suicide of a local well to do widow and then is sent reeling by the murder of Roger Ackroyd, the wealthiest man in town. Poirot is drawn into these problems by Ackroyd's niece, Flora and finds himself not only dealing with murder but also with blackmail, petty theft and romance.

In Hastings absence the story is told by the local doctor who is also a next door neighbor of Hercule Poirot.

When this novel came out in 1926 it was immensely popular and somewhat controversial in that it broke one of the 'rules' for a good dectective novel (and you will have to read the book to find out which one). THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD ranks with AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (AKA TEN LITTLE INDIANS) and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS as Christie at her most orginal.

This story is also significant in that one of the characters, Caroline, the doctor's sister, has been credited by Christie as being the forerunner of Miss Marple. The soon to be familiar Christie theme of small towns as hot beds of intrigues both large and small is seen here for the first time.

This book has aged very gracefully, the first time reader of today will probably be just as surprised as the readers of the 1920's were. As always with a Christie the clues are all there fairly laid out for the reader to follow.

Having been gripped for two days by THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, I can say that it is a superbly written novel. It certainly is ingenious the way Agatha Christie conceals the identity of the murderer from the reader until the final chapters. The last chapter of all is chilling. As a narrative and as a mind-puzzle, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD is a great detective story...possibly one of the greatest ever written.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of Christie's better mysterys, I strongly recommend it to Christie's fans and also to those who are being introduced to her books. The end leaves you surprised and shocked. Hercule Poirot is at his smartest, if not very modest, leaving no clue untouched or unlooked upon. Once you pick this book up, its not going to get put down until the end. Christie is most definitely a genius, stunning readers once again.

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is nothing less than excellent. It is fast-paced and never boring. The clues areways intriguing and the mystery is done well. A very likable, though always suspicious, cast of characters rounds out this amazing book. The final plot twist is shocking, but welcome. "Murder" is one of the best mystery novels I have read. Clearly 5 stars.