The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks…including the unforgettable Hercule Poirot classic, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, one of her own ten favorite novels.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This novel, written in 1927, is considered the best and most successful of the early mysteries. It met with no small outrage when it appeared, as it uses a plot device many readers thought "unfair." There is a full complement of characters populating the cozy English village of King's Abbot: Major Blunt, Colonel Carter, Miss Gannett, the butler, the housekeeper, the narrator, Dr. Sheppard, and his know-it-all sister (the precursor of Miss Marple, according to Christie), and, of course, the redoubtable Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. There are clues with a capital C to mislead us, and the listener gets so involved with these red herrings (or not) that the very simple truth eludes the puzzler. Venerable reader Robin Bailey keeps the light, almost comic tone alive, although his voices are not particularly differentiated, and often he rushes the reading of dialog. A classic of the genre and essential for any fiction collection. Harriet Edwards, East Meadow P.L., NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Review
“A classic—the book has worthily earned its fame.” (Irish Independent (Ireland))
“One of the landmarks of detective literature.” (H. R. F. Keating, Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best Books)
“Agatha Christie had a mind like a mousetrap and taught me, in novels like The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the pleasure of literary surprise.” (William Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage Historical AdventuresWilliam Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage Historical AdventuresWilliam Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage)
“One of the landmarks of detective literature.” (H. R. F. Keating, Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best Books)
“Agatha Christie had a mind like a mousetrap and taught me, in novels like The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the pleasure of literary surprise.” (William Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage Historical AdventuresWilliam Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage Historical AdventuresWilliam Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage)
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More About the Author
Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the most controversial mystery novel of the 20th century. It nearly got Agatha Christie kicked out of the Detection Club (an organization of writers who agreed to play fair). It put her on the map. It's her best work - ever.
The book is a first person account of a Hercule Poriot mystery, done by Doctor James Sheppard, a country doctor serving his community. He was there from almost the beginning, and his narrative provides a wonderful account of the murder of his friend, Rodger Ackroyd.
Rodger Ackroyd's female friend took her own life. She wrote a letter to him before she did so, naming the man who ruined her life - a blackmailer who knew she killed her first husband. Rodger read the letter to Dr. Sheppard, but wouldn't continue when he realized a blackmailer would be exposed because of it. Dr. Sheppard begged him to continue and get the name - to no avail.
Ackroyd didn't comply. James Sheppard left and went home, only to get a myserious phone call telling him Rodger had been murdered. Murdered he was - and the letter was missing!
Enter Sheppard's neighbor, Hercule Poriot. Dr. Sheppard plays Dr. Watson, following the sleuth around and recording what he finds. From a missing son to a married maid; from the theft of household money.
In the end, Poroit invites all the cast to a room where he talks about the case, and says he has a solution - which he will reveal to the police in 24 hours. The only way for an innocent man to be saved was for the real killer to confess one way or another... and even though Dr. Sheppard has all the facts of the case, he can't see how Poriot could put them all together into a surprising solution of the case.
In short, if you want a book that will shock you, read this one.... Read more ›
The book is a first person account of a Hercule Poriot mystery, done by Doctor James Sheppard, a country doctor serving his community. He was there from almost the beginning, and his narrative provides a wonderful account of the murder of his friend, Rodger Ackroyd.
Rodger Ackroyd's female friend took her own life. She wrote a letter to him before she did so, naming the man who ruined her life - a blackmailer who knew she killed her first husband. Rodger read the letter to Dr. Sheppard, but wouldn't continue when he realized a blackmailer would be exposed because of it. Dr. Sheppard begged him to continue and get the name - to no avail.
Ackroyd didn't comply. James Sheppard left and went home, only to get a myserious phone call telling him Rodger had been murdered. Murdered he was - and the letter was missing!
Enter Sheppard's neighbor, Hercule Poriot. Dr. Sheppard plays Dr. Watson, following the sleuth around and recording what he finds. From a missing son to a married maid; from the theft of household money.
In the end, Poroit invites all the cast to a room where he talks about the case, and says he has a solution - which he will reveal to the police in 24 hours. The only way for an innocent man to be saved was for the real killer to confess one way or another... and even though Dr. Sheppard has all the facts of the case, he can't see how Poriot could put them all together into a surprising solution of the case.
In short, if you want a book that will shock you, read this one.... Read more ›
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By H. Lim
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the first Christie I ever read - and it's a real masterpiece. The ending is pretty horrifying, but read the book again, and you'll wonder why you didn't notice various things - things the Murderer/Murderess (I'm not saying which it is!)said and did during the novel, that one didn't notice at the time. Extremely good stuff.
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the Agatha Christie novel that had both her competitors and critics crying foul at the solution to the crime--but although the book has its weaknesses, the solution is not one of them. THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD remains one of the most startling novels in the entire murder mystery genre, and it should be very near the top of any murder mystery fan's reading list.
Told from the point of view of a village doctor, ACKROYD opens with a suspicious death--and this is followed by the murder of Ackroyd, a wealthy local who learns more about the suspicious death than it is wise to know, and whose death draws Hercule Poirot to investigate. This is not actually one of Christie's more smoothly written novels; most of the characters (excluding Caroline, the village gossip, who is a delight) seem more than a little flat, the narrative drags a bit here and there, and the plot is extremely tricksy... but the conclusion is a stunner, perhaps the single most famous plot twist of Christie's long and revered career. An absolute must read!
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This hardcover version of this famous novel is reasonably good except that the binding seems to come apart at around page 115 although the font size of the words seems to be just right for comfortable reading.
Now to the novel itself: we get a retired Hercule Poirot agreeing to distract himself from his new hobby of gardening to try and find out who killed a well-known and respected gentlemen, Mr. Roger Ackroyd. The novel is typical Christie but is not the best one that she's written. For that you'd have to read "And Then There Were None." Even "Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile" and "Something Evil This Way Comes" are much, much better overall works but this novel's claim to fame is really the unexpected and previously unused formula for the ending. Otherwise, the rest of the novel is pretty boring as every evidence seems to point to an obvious culprit who, thanks to the brilliant Poirot, is exonerated. If you are a fan of the detective, whodunnit genre, then read this as essential reading for the genre but just know that Agatha Christie has written better novels and if you decide to never ever read another Christie novel, you must at least read "And Then There Were None" or any of the others listed above.
Now to the novel itself: we get a retired Hercule Poirot agreeing to distract himself from his new hobby of gardening to try and find out who killed a well-known and respected gentlemen, Mr. Roger Ackroyd. The novel is typical Christie but is not the best one that she's written. For that you'd have to read "And Then There Were None." Even "Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile" and "Something Evil This Way Comes" are much, much better overall works but this novel's claim to fame is really the unexpected and previously unused formula for the ending. Otherwise, the rest of the novel is pretty boring as every evidence seems to point to an obvious culprit who, thanks to the brilliant Poirot, is exonerated. If you are a fan of the detective, whodunnit genre, then read this as essential reading for the genre but just know that Agatha Christie has written better novels and if you decide to never ever read another Christie novel, you must at least read "And Then There Were None" or any of the others listed above.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By rita
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Agatha Christie is recognized throughout the world as being the "Queen of Crime". It is undoubtable that this holds true, especially in her ingeniously written, classic mystery novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The story is told through the 1st person point of view, so the narrator, James Sheppard ( the local doctor ), is one of the main characters. He introduces all the characters in the small English town of King's Abbot, where the story is set: Mrs. Ferrars, Flora, Ralph Paton, Ursula Bourne, Hector Blunt, Colonel Carter, the formidable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, and many more.
The story begins with the suicide of Mrs. Ferrars, which stirrs confusion; Rumors say that she poisoned her first husband, that someone was blackmailing her, and that she had a secret liaison with Roger Ackroyd. The mystery surrounding her death appalls everyone even more when Roger Ackroyd is brutally stabbed to death a few days later. Hercule Poirot, accompanied by Dr. Sheppard, set out to trace the tracks of a very sharp and devious killer.
I found it extremely captivating up to the very end, which I found was the best part of the novel. There are so many twists in the plot, red herrings, clues, and foreshadowing, yet the solution to the crime completely eludes the reader until told. All the characters and their different possible motives, which Agatha Christie carefully presents, are subject to questioning; therefore, at one point or another, I suspected almost everyone to have committed the murder.
What I loved most is that I was caught off-guard many times while reading. I have a vague idea in my head and then when I turn the next page, I'm proved wrong.... Read more ›
The story begins with the suicide of Mrs. Ferrars, which stirrs confusion; Rumors say that she poisoned her first husband, that someone was blackmailing her, and that she had a secret liaison with Roger Ackroyd. The mystery surrounding her death appalls everyone even more when Roger Ackroyd is brutally stabbed to death a few days later. Hercule Poirot, accompanied by Dr. Sheppard, set out to trace the tracks of a very sharp and devious killer.
I found it extremely captivating up to the very end, which I found was the best part of the novel. There are so many twists in the plot, red herrings, clues, and foreshadowing, yet the solution to the crime completely eludes the reader until told. All the characters and their different possible motives, which Agatha Christie carefully presents, are subject to questioning; therefore, at one point or another, I suspected almost everyone to have committed the murder.
What I loved most is that I was caught off-guard many times while reading. I have a vague idea in my head and then when I turn the next page, I'm proved wrong.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it
Since Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors, there is nothing I can say that will do her work justice!! Read more
Published 1 day ago by Josephnatdog
5.0 out of 5 stars
review of "The Murder of Roget Ackroyd"
excellent, crafty and different novel. very well done. I almost guarantee the
reader will not figure out the villain in advance.
reader will not figure out the villain in advance.
Published 5 days ago by Leonard A Yerkes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revisiting the past
Each of the items I ordered (except the Chanel No. 5) was a book or a record (CD, etc.) that I had owned in the past, but lost track of over the years. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Ted Joseph
5.0 out of 5 stars
The clues are all there...
I should start by saying that while I am a fan of the Poirot mysteries, I have not read all of them. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Tim
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent story
I've seen the Poirot movies and loved them, but this is the first Poirot story I've read. I wasn not disappointed.
Published 25 days ago by RJK
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrilling, suspenseful, and delightfully unpredictable
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is one of the best books I have read the month. Christie's witty dialogue and character development are sure to keep any reader amused... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Daniel Mackay
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love it
Standard Poirot, captivating, fun. Easy to figure out some parts but always a few surprises. Fun easy read. Will keep reading Christie novels.
Published 1 month ago by Marci
5.0 out of 5 stars
As usual, worth every penny
A suicide and a murder in a small English village brings Hercule Poirot out of retirement. Is the heir Ralh Patton really the murderer? Or is it the butler? Read more
Published 1 month ago by vinayjap
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great read...
Bought this thinking I hadn't read this particular story. However, I have read it before - somewhere. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rick Mclaughlin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never saw it coming!
If you like mysteries and you have never read "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" --- then you must have been locked up in a closet for most of your life. Read more
Published 2 months ago by AB
