The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

One of the most ingenious (or infuriating, depending on your point of view) of Christie's novels. Narrated by a Doctor Sheppard, who takes the place of Hastings (now living in Argentina with his wife) in assisting Poirot. A wealthy widow in the village of King's Abbott, Mrs. Ferrars, is found dead, and Dr. Sheppard suspects suicide until Roger Ackroyd, a widower who was expected to marry her, is also killed. Poirot is Sheppard's new neighbor, and is relieved to escape the boredom of the vegetable marrows he has been growing by investigating the case. Most of the suspects were Ackroyd's house guests, including Ackroyd's niece, Flora; Major Blunt, a big-game hunter romantically interested in Flora; Geoffrey Raymond, Ackroyd's secretary; Ursula Bourne, a parlormaid; and Ralph Paton, an adopted son with gambling debts. Poirot is also assisted by Sheppard's sister Caroline, a middle-aged village spinster who anticipates Miss Marple's character. Both a play (1928) and a film (1931) were made of the story, both called "Alibi". There is apparently a more recent film version from 2000.

If you only read one book by Agatha Christie, make it this one. Published in 1926, this story of Poirot is one of the best written. All the clues are there, if only you could see them the way that Poirot sees them. The book is seen through the eyes of Dr. Sheppard - Captain Hastings being in the Argentine. We start, unsurprisingly with a death. An apparent suicide, if you believe Dr. Sheppard's nosy sister, Caroline. She believes that Mrs. Ferrars [and there's a nod to Jane Austen even] killed herself because she was overcome with remorse as she murdered her husband. It's not the death of Mrs. Ferrars that pulls Poirot into the mix - it's the death of Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy inhabitant of the small town. What's the significance of the chair? What is Miss Russell [the housekeeper - very lucky to have an alibi, according to Caroline] up to? And most importantly - if all the evidence points to Ralph Paton, surely he's guilty? And if he's not guilty, where on earth is he? Fantastic, unexpected and obvious all at once.

A number of criticisms have been levelled at this book, relating to internal consistencies and the fact that some people just couldn't handle having the rug pulled out from under them. No book will be completely consistent in every way, but the minor inconsistencies in this book, can be easily explained away. Utterly fantastic, read it, read it, read it.

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