The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 9 out of 10

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Nine out of 10

The Crime Writers ‘Association has voted this book the Best Crime Novel ever!

Agatha Christie is not just the most brilliant, acclaimed, creative, intriguing author of detective stories; she was quite an outré character herself, considering her disappearance and the mystery surrounding it.

In The Murder of Roger of Roger Ackroyd, although some would say that they knew it all along or they have guessed at one stage in the narrative, we have one of the most unexpected developments, if not the murderer that no one thought of, except for Hercule Poirot of course.

This crime story is included on Le Monde’s 100 books of the Century List, at number 49 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Monde%27s_100_Books_of_the_Century – and The Guardian 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction

This excellent detective story is written by Dr. James Sheppard, who would have a few roles in the narrative and who lives with his sister, Caroline, is well acquainted with all the figures of this plot, even the best friend of some of them, confidant and physician for others.

Early on, we learn about the death of Mrs. Ferrars, a rich widow that Caroline Sheppard suspects had killed her husband one year before, a woman who was on very intimate friends of the other rich personality of the village, King’s Abbot, Roger Ackroyd, who would also die, as we know from the title.

Doctor James Sheppard is invited for dinner at Fernly Park the ample, rich residence of Roger Ackroyd, where his sister in law, Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd and her daughter, Flora, live and the big game hunter Major blunt is a guest, Geoffrey Raymond is a secretary and various other men and women serve as butler – Parker – parlourmaid – Ursula Bourne – and housemaid, miss Russell.

They would all become crucial figures in the detective story, for they all have a role to play, deposition to give, details that could lead to the exposure of the killer and they hide different aspects and are suspected that they might have committed the terrible crime.

However, for a long time, the main suspect captain Ralph Paton, Roger Ackroyd’s stepson, a young man who has lived beyond his means, accumulated debts, as the reader discovers gradually, he has become romantically involved with a woman “beneath his station” which at that time was a serious offence.

On the night of his murder, Roger Ackroyd has had a conversation with his confidant, Dr. Sheppard, informing him of the fact that the late Mrs. Ferrars had told him she had killed her husband – an alcoholic and a nuisance – and someone who knew of her crime had blackmailed her.

After returning to his home, the doctor receives a telephone call from someone claiming to be Parker – which would later be proved to be a lie – instructing him to go to Fernly Park because Roger Ackroyd has been murdered and this last information is correct, as the butler and the physician would discover the body, stabbed in the neck, in the study of the mansion, where footprints are discovered on the window, which would be matched by the shoes belonging to Captain Paton, the prime suspect for most of the investigation.

Flora Ackroyd, the fiancée of the missing suspect, hires the joyous, retired, flamboyant detective Hercule Poirot who happens to be the neighbor of the Sheppard family and who takes the task of finding the killer of Roger Ackroyd and untangle a very complex, intricate web of lies, misinformation, missing details, false witnesses, stolen money, misleading fingerprints and more.

A stranger has arrived at Fernly Park on the night of the murder, but when the police detain him, Poirot discovers that he is the estranged son of the housemaid, Miss Russell – an aspect that the famous detective might have guessed from the start, given his propensity to untangle the whole mystery before anyone else.

All those associated in some way with Roger Ackroyd, relatives, guests and even employees have mysteries, secrets to hide, but there is nothing that the “little grey cells and the ideas” of Hercule Poirot cannot decipher and he learns that Major Blunt is in love with Flora Ackroyd, the latter, although engaged to the younger, allegedly more suitable Captain Paton is actually inclined to favor the major.

Both Mrs. Ackroyd and her daughter have been aggravated, infuriated by the manner in which the late relative treated financial matters concerning them, forcing the two women to humiliate themselves and accumulate debts for bills that the rich man would not cover.

The butler, Parker, has some skeletons in his cupboard, Poirot discovers that in his previous position, the man had learned compromising details about his master and blackmailed him, making now his attitude ever more suspicious and he is presumed to have been involved in blackmailing the late widow.

The timing of the murder is changing, different witnesses make mistakes or lie about the information they give, for instance Flora Ackroyd states initially that she had seen her uncle at a quarter to ten on the night of the killing, when in fact she had not, she just tried to cover for the fact that she had gone to his bedroom and stolen forty pounds from his room.

Captain Paton has been secretly married to the parlourmaid, Ursula Borne now Paton, and this alters her initial claim that she had mishandled some papers on the desk of her master, he was angry for this reason and wanted her gone, therefore she presented her resignation…the confrontation is now revealed to have been over the matter of the secret wedding.

As for The Murderer of Roger Ackroyd…well, for the under signed he is the most unexpected of all…perhaps with the exception of Hercule Poirot…