The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: This 1926 novel, Christie's masterpiece, is a justly celebrated tour de force of misdirection, with Christie walking a highly risky tightrope. It is much to Christie's credit that she is able to play perfectly fair-or, as Poirot says, 'Of facts, I keep nothing to myself. But to everyone his own interpretation of them.' Of course, this being an Agatha Christie-and her masterpiece-the reader's interpretation is certain to be wrong. The solution is Christie' best known, and certainly her most ingenious, use of misdirection and playing on the reader's expectations. As well as being ingenious, it is also emotionally disturbing in a particularly subtle way.

The plot is-apparently-quite standard. The book is set in a small village, "King's Abbot, ... very much like any other village. Our big town is Cranchester, nine miles away. We have a large railway station, a small post office, and two rival 'General Stores'. Able-bodied men are apt to leave the place early in life, but we are rich in unmarried ladies and retired military officers. Our hobbies and recreations can be summed up in the one word, 'gossip'." This is the first depiction of village life-complete with gossip grapevine-in Christie, something that would become central to the long and indifferent series of Miss Marple novels. The squire, Roger Ackroyd, is stabbed to death in the study of his country house-although never stated as such, it is clear that the book is an effective parody of the generic detective story. Hercule Poirot, now in retirement and growing vegetable marrows, but growing disillusioned-'Can you figure to yourself, monsieur, that a man may work towards a certain object, may labour and toil to attain a certain kind of leisure and occupation, and then find that, after all, he yearns for the old busy days, and the old occupations that he thought himself so glad to leave?'-is called upon to investigate the case, assisted by the narrator, Dr. Sheppard, "a man of middle age, a doctor, a man who knows the folly and the vanity of most things in this life of ours", who, it seems to Poirot, "must indeed have been sent from the good God to replace my friend Hastings."

Poirot's statement that "everyone has something to hide" is borne out, as the little Belgian detective unravels a complicated strand of secret marriages, mysterious strangers, blackmail, and three village tragedies. Poirot's detection relies on physical clues, for "a tongue is not enough. [The walls] would have to have also eyes and ears. But do not be too sure that these dead things are always dumb. To me they speak sometimes-chairs, tables-they have their message!" The clues are chosen with skill, and it would be impossible to improve upon the masterly juggling with times and alibis-relying on the now worn-out Dictaphone gambit (which is more convincing than in THE CANARY MURDER CASE of S.S. Van Dine, published a year later).

Finally, Christie does not neglect the humorous side of the story. The tone is witty and malicious, and the characters vivid even for Christie: Miss Sheppard (a prototype for Miss Marple) and Mrs. Ackroyd are both genuinely funny, and the Mah Jong evening, where "a good deal of gossip is handed round at these evenings, sometimes seriously interfering with the game in progress", is a classic.

This, then, is one of Christie's masterpieces-if not THE masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: My favourite Poirot
Review: This was by no means my first introduction to Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie. _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_ is, however, my favorite. As another reviewer mentions, this and _Ten Little Indians_ (_And Then There Were None_) have some of the most startling endings in the Christie canon. I especially enjoy the 1920's/30's Agatha Christie works for their view of the last days of the British Empire.
In _Ackroyd_, suspicion is constantly rediverted. You have to be on your toes and track the timeline of the crime very closely. You'll find in this one that Poirot has known all along. This is in contrast to others where Poirot ("I am a thrice imbecile") is uncertain.
Finally, while A&E's adaptations of Poirot are usually quite good, avoid A&E's verion of _Ackroyd_. It can only be told in book form.

Rating:
Summary: One of Agatha Christie's best
Review: Agatha Christie wrote mysteries in which the detective is almost never in danger,. There are seldom any car chases, shootouts, fist fights or explosions. There is no bad language or graphic sex. Christie's great talent was in putting together word puzzles. She puts all the clues in front of us and then devotes her considerable talent to confusing and misleading us as to the identity of the murderer. And she does it so wonderfully and so completely that we love her. Go figure. If you are new to the mystery genre, start with another book. This one was written for experienced mystery readers. If you are an avid reader of cozy mysteries, you will love The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Rating:
Summary: A "Keep-You-Guessing" Mystery
Review: I have never read an Agatha Christie novel before this, and I must say that she does live up to all the hype and talk I have heard. The book was absolutely fabulous -- with an intriguing and engaging plot, surprising moments, and good insight into the characters and motives. I found myself continually replaying the events of the novel in my head after reading the novel in wonder and awe of how such a murder could take place. I also fell in love with the cute Belgian invesigator, Hercule Poirot -- who in some ways seems to possess a certain instinct and subtlety in his manners which many other detectives seem to lack. The books is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to expose himself to one of the foundations of the mystery genre.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, It *Really* Is As Good As People Say
Review: This book! Don't just take my word for it. In a college-level series on British murder mysteries, this one rated a whole lecture all to itself (still available from The Teaching Company). And, if you know Dennis Potter's classic "The Singing Detective," a reference is made to this novel (in passing) right near the end (it's a clue, if you can understand it, re: the resolution of Potter's own story). This is an early Poirot story. Captain Hastings does *not* appear. In fact, it seems as if Christie actually tried to put Poirot into retirement, only to have this story occur. At the time, it was a completely innovative approach to what a murder mystery could be. Even today, though, it will still surprise you.

When A&E came out with their recent feature-length adaptation of this book, I found myself holding my breath. How on earth could this one *ever* be made into a film? Well, the short answer is: it couldn't...and it wasn't. If you haven't seen that Poirot TV production, DO *NOT* WATCH IT BEFORE READING THE BOOK!

Have I been direct enough, or is this too subtle? You, of course, are free to do whatever you want in your life. Just don't ever tell me that I *never* offered any of the advice that you'll find just above. Who, indeed, murdered who?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading of a very amusing murder novel
Review: When <The Murder of Roger Ackroyd> appeared in 1926, it was Agatha Christie's sixth novel under her real name and the third to feature Hercule Poirot, not counting a collection of short stories about the Belgian sleuth. It also caused a storm of controversy at the Detection Club, of which she was a member, because she broke one of their prime rules of detective fiction writing. (The trouble is, I cannot tell you what rule that was without ruining the solution for you.) But even if you disregard the twist at the end, you still have a thumping good murder yarn that concentrates very closely on Poirot's methods of ignoring nothing and--how I wish many of us were like this--refusing to twist the facts to fit his theories.

This novel benefits further from the supremely comic (and believable) character of Caroline Sheppard, the narrator's sister. (This book is in the form of a journal kept like those of Dr. Watson by a participant in the events and therefore is in the first person. This gives Christie the right to keep Poirot's thoughts unknown to us until they are revealed to the center of consciousness.) The other characters, save that of Poirot, of course, are given just enough personality to make the plot work; but this is also expected in Christie's works.

If you saw the dramatization of this book on A&E, you will see how badly they bobbled the "surprise ending" and even changed Caroline's character in a totally unnecessary way. It does, however, pare away some of the really extraneous business that Christie added to make her plot more complicated.

Nevertheless, here we are dealing with an excellent READING of the entire original work on six cassettes published by Audio Partners. In "Death on the Nile" and "Murder on the Orient Express," which I have already reviewed, Audio Partners has David Suchet reading all the parts, using a different voice for each. Here we have actor Robin Bailey doing the honors and he is quite good. Of course, we might quibble that the character he is really playing, Dr. Sheppard, the writer of the journal, could not be quite so good a mimic; but as a reading, we suspend disbelief and enjoy Bailey's talent.

What more to say? A very amusing novel read excellently is all one needs to give this Audio Partners offering a five-star rating.

Rating:
Summary: it all depends...
Review: it all depends on how you read AC's books. if you like action and a lot of murders...then i would suggest "and then there were none" or my favorite, "the big four". this is unusal b/c it is told in first person. i love how AC writes, using psycology, etc. if you do too, you'll like this book. most of it's charm is in the ending...one of the best AC endings on any of her books! all in all, i really enjoyed reading this book and following along w./ the adventures of Hercule Poirot. this is GREAT the first time...but it doesn't keep the suspense effect that is so important to the book after you've read it a few times.

Rating:
Summary: when i took book
Review: when i took my hands this book,i wouldnt think it was a cool and bewildering book.if you new-starter for A.C ,firstly try this ,later crooked house.

Rating:
Summary: Ingenious
Review: WOW! That was my conclusion when I read this clever book. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd may not have the glamour of Murder on the Orient Express or Death on the Nile, but it more than makes up for this by the stunning ending. Immensley enjoyable. If you want to try Agatha Christie, try this one.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of the best Agatha Christie has ever written. When you finish it, you are just stunned. I had to read it three times before I got over my amazement. I loved ever minute of it. It is a must read.