Rating:  Summary: Wow! My first Agatha Christie, and certainly not the last! Review: Having to read this book for my Crime Stories class at my college, I knew that I should read it before it was assigned so as to actually enjoy it and not have the classic case of "assigned-book-equals-boring-book"-syndrome that too many students have to suffer. I read it about two weeks before it was assigned, and finished it today. Oh my god, that was amazing!Written in a complex (not to mention dated) style, this book is narrated by one James Sheppard, a small-town doctor in Victorian England. He introduces us to the town and its characters (which, I might add, there are a LOT of), and the whole mystery itself. It also features the super detective Hercule Poirot, in his fourth adventure (yes, this is part of a series...fortunately it doesn't seem to involve any of the other books except through vague mentions). As to the mystery, I won't get too into it, it involves the suicide and possible blackmail of a woman, a wealthy man's murder, and...okay, just read it and find out for yourself. It's just so interesting; it's a quick read, and once you put this book down...just...I can't begin to describe it. Let's just say that I could not believe how everything turned out in the end. Read it, and I hope you enjoy it as much.
Rating:  Summary: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Review: Agatha Christie is the world's best-known mystery author, and she is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. In her lifetime she wrote 79 crime mysteries and her books have been translated into more languages than Shakespeare. Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890, and she died in 1979, after a lot of written novels and plays. The plot takes place in a small village, called King's Abbot, and the book features one of Christie's most famous characters, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Even though Poirot wants to retire after a long career, he becomes involved in a strange and mysterious murder. The victim is Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy man who knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband, and also suspected that someone had been blackmailing her. After she commits suicide he gets a letter where she has written some fatal information. Unfortunately, before he can finish the letter, he gets stabbed to death. This confusing murder, which takes place in a large mansion, causes everyone at the crime scene to become a suspect. Poirot, who is assisted by the village doctor, Dr. Sheppard, have this magical way to collect all the clues he is after. You get really surprised that he finally gets all the clues together and also how he can think of and see all things you do not even have thought of. You read this book mostly through Dr. Sheppard's eyes and he tries to understand all the clues that Poirot gets, but he does not. Hercule Poirot unravels a lot of complicated secrets about all the suspects and you, through that, get to know the characters. You read the book, through clues and reveals, until of course he finds out who the killer is. My personal reaction over this book is that it is very well written. All the clues and all the descriptions are very thought through. I got really surprised and shocked over the ending of the book. Actually I never suspected the person who eventually turns out to be the murderer. The thoughts that Poirot had never entered my mind, and I think this was the thing that made this book good, the astounding end.
Rating:  Summary: .....the story just wasn't entertaining Review: 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.
Rating:  Summary: This is why Agatha Christie is the 'Queen of Crime' Review: 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.
Rating:  Summary: A landmark in murder mystery Review: Only the brilliant mind of Agatha Christie could have thought of this ingenious murder mystery. The facts are all there but who would have guessed. Being British myself this book describes the setting as well as the language of the characters and surroundings to a tee. An emotional ending which leaves one thinking about life in Kings Abbot after....Must read to fill in my missing words.Its appeal still holds even after reading it so many times since its publication in 1926. After reading the book perhaps you will agree with me that to create this into a movie (which I would hope one day to be possible) would be a great challenge.
Rating:  Summary: .....the story just wasn't entertaining Review: 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.
Rating:  Summary: Ingenious! Review: 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.
Rating:  Summary: Agatha Christie Has Done It Again Review: 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.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderfully woven novel with shocking twist Review: "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.
Rating:  Summary: read the book BEFORE you read the reviews Review: Even I would have had trouble solving this mystery had I not skimmed these reviews first. Just read the book, my dear Watson.
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