Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Agatha Christie. 1926/2006. Black Dog & Leventhal. 288 pages.

Mrs. Ferrars died on the night of the 16th-17th September--a Thursday.

Someone has killed Roger Ackroyd, but who? The police are doing their best--no doubt. But one member of the family wants the best on the case, and the best would be Hercule Poirot, of course. Only he will be able to see through the holes of everyone's stories--their lies and half-truths. Only he will be able to piece together the strange motive for the crime. 

Dr. Sheppard narrates this Hercule Poirot mystery novel. And he's no Hastings, I'll tell you that now! I'll also admit from the start that I did not like this one at all. If I had been reading Christie's Poirot chronologically--there's a good chance I would not have continued on past this one. And I don't think Poirot is to blame. I just had a very difficult time with our narrator.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd made me appreciate Agatha Christie more. It made me thankful for the Poirot novels that I have enjoyed--really enjoyed. And it made me thankful for the Miss Marple books which--with one exception--I've loved and adored. I picked up A Caribbean Mystery after completing The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and I realized that I got more enjoyment out of that one chapter of a Marple novel then in the entirety of this one.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Part of my problem was that I didn't read this one until later in my reading life and it was after someone had given away the twist of the book. I might have enjoyed it more had I not known about...

Well, I don't want to ruin it for anyone else...LOL

Jennie said...

Ooooo... I really liked this one, but it's the only Poirot that I've read. Obviously, I need to go grab the others if this is the stinker of the bunch!

Shirley said...

Obviously I will have to read this mystery again as it's been quite a while and I don't remember it well. I am enjoying your Agatha Christie reviews!

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