The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Book Review
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a 1926 detective novel by Agatha Christie. It’s renowned as the best book by this author and I wholeheartedly agree with this view.
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“It is completely unimportant.
That is why it is so interesting“
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Poirot comes out of retirement to solve the eponymous murder in this famously twisty, groundbreaking novel. I am going to deal with some spoilers here, so this is a warning for those who haven’t read the book yet to not read this review. So, the book is undoubtedly iconic for that twist ending that changed the game for the detective genre. What Christie did with this twist was revolutionary and very much ahead of her contemporaries.
The novel is actually different from all the others in the Poirot series by not positioning Poirot as the protagonist, but Dr. Sheppard, a doctor who tries to help the Belgian detective solve this murder. Instantly, the novel differentiates itself from others by being told in the first person perspective, but still extensively focusing on the indisputably strong presence of Poirot and his little grey cells.
At the end of the novel it is revealed that the good old doctor is the murderer. Now, I have to give some self-praise to myself. As a voracious consumer of all content in general, I realized from very early on that Sheppard is the killer, so I ended up reading the book with this theory in mind, which led to my experience being very much that of a second read experience, which was strange, but also fascinating.
Even if I did realize this very soon, I still hugely appreciate Christie for giving this amazing twist to the world. It not only made sense, but it was also genuinely thrilling when it happened as the first person perspective made it emotionally rewarding. That final section was quite tragic and probably the best ending of any Christie novel.
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The doctor character worked because he was so well written, but also genuinely fascinating in his goal to write a book out of this mystery and to make fun of Poirot for not getting the real murderer. Of course that did not happen, but the idea itself was fantastic and intriguing. The whole interaction between these two was phenomenal and the highlight of the story.
Poirot is his usual silly, arrogant self, and seeing him through another person’s eyes made him even more competent, but also oddly dangerous. Another classic character from this book has to be the doctor’s sister Caroline. Her nosy behavior and constant gossiping was not only wildly amusing as the best source of humor in the book, but also very realistic in its portrayal of the highly inquisitive mentality of small town and/or village inhabitants.
My only issue with the novel is the problem of the side characters not being nearly as well developed as the above three. Also, they all got either great alibis or were downright excused, which led to the main twist being even easier to realize before it happens. The whole subplot with Charles Kent was interesting, though a bit soapy, while Parker was especially memorable as the very unlikable, complex butler.
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is typically intricately written in descriptions, but especially the dialogue, which is outstanding. The examinations of all people were still great, but this is the book where the interactions between various people were the standout sections as their differing personalities made for an amusing read. The tone, the mystery and the atmosphere all worked wonders to make this detective story exceedingly difficult to put down once you start reading it.
