Retro Book Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the sixth of Agatha Christie‘s Hercule Poirot novels. In this one, Poirot has given up solving murders and retired to the countryside, totally unaware of how many novels were yet to come… Since there were already several Poirot novels out, most readers would have gone into this one with some expectations of how the story would play out: Poirot would make some cryptic remarks about an odd detail and using one’s little gray cells, and would finally gather everyone into the drawing room for a big reveal of the guilty party. Look, I’m not knocking the formula, I really like it! These are some of my favorite books! But I like even more when Christie uses those expectations and plays with them.

In the beginning of the book, a widow named Mrs. Ferrars dies suddenly, with the possibility of suicide and some questions raised around her late husband’s death. Almost immediately after that, Roger Ackroyd, a widower who was dating Mrs. Ferrars and wanted to marry her, is found dead. There are loads of possible suspects with good motives, like in all the Christie inheritance murders, including relatives and employees. (Again, I’m not knocking the formula! I love the servants with questionable backstories and the disreputable younger son/stepson/nephew in desperate need of cash!) Poirot is talked into leaving his retirement to investigate all the half-lies and unrelated secrets to find the real killer.

The most intriguing part of this novel is the use of the local doctor, James Sheppard, as the book’s narrator. He’s present for most of the key events, and then accompanies Poirot as he investigates. What he doesn’t witness himself, his gossipy sister Caroline has already heard from a friend of a friend, and recounts to him. This unusual first-person narrator lets Christie play with the usual expectations and keep surprising the reader.

There’s one thing I didn’t love in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. There’s a reference to a certain character getting scammed on bad investments, and Dr. Sheppard is quick to announce that all the scammers, although described as Scottish, with Scottish surnames, are probably really Jewish. “They are usually Scotch gentlemen, but I suspect a Semitic strain in their ancestry.” Ugh, really? It’s so unnecessary! I’d like to say this is just an unpleasant character trait of Dr. Sheppard, but this attitude popped up on The Mystery of the Blue Train and many other Christie novels, too.

Overall, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a well-written mystery that keeps the reader guessing from a wide list of suspects until the final reveal. This is a solid mystery for anyone, but Christie fans will get some extra enjoyment out of how she plays with the conventions and expectations of her other novels.