The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

by Agatha Christie

English language

Published April 28, 2013 by HarperCollins.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-752752-6

(58 reviews)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in June 1926. It is the third novel to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective. Poirot retires to a village near the home of a friend, Roger Ackroyd, to pursue a project to perfect vegetable marrows. Soon after, Ackroyd is murdered and Poirot must come out of retirement to solve the case.

10 editions

nerd teacher [books] reviewed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Enjoyable.

4 stars

This is probably one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels, and it's largely because of the structure. I absolutely adore the style of this one, especially because it was rarely a common form for the genre even though it is definitely something that I would've thought was done far more than it ever has been.

All of that sounds vague, and that's because to explain it would be to spoil the story itself.

It is definitely slow-moving at the beginning, but once it picks up? It keeps going and builds a lot of good suspense. It forces you to ask a lot of questions and to figure out which questions aren't being asked or even considered. What's not being said, even though it's being hinted at? Honestly, I adore it.

(The one thing I'd love to do, since I skimmed them, is remove the introductory texts that were inserted in …

All of that sounds vague, and that's because to explain it would be to spoil the story itself.

(The one thing I'd love to do, since I skimmed them, is remove the introductory texts that were inserted in republication of the novel. All of them. They're just... a waste of paper, especially as they try to make things more important than they really are rather than just allowing people to enjoy what's there. That kind of thing always annoys me.)

georgewhatup reviewed Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #4)

Review of 'Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Fantastic book and somehow perfect for the current times.

I listened to this on audiobook and it turns out this might be the perfect genre for audiobook. It felt like an old play you listen to on the wireless.

Such a brilliant ending, when the reveal came I actually paused the reading so I could spend some time gasping in wonder.

ManyRoads reviewed Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #4)

Review of 'Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A rather blasé novel. It seemed a bit like Agatha changed her mind after having sent Capt. Hastings off to the Argentine. His "temporary replacement" was not a success... and not for the reasons you might expect. A very quick but, sadly, uninspiring tale.

Matthew Royal reviewed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Review of 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Not one of my favorites due to its shortness -- too much is crammed in too little time, unnecessary narrative frame, very similar in structure to other short stories of hers.

Jill reviewed Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #4)

Review of 'Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Hugh Fraser, who played Captain Hastings on Poirot did a great job narrating the audiobook.

Zéro Janvier reviewed Le Meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Le Meurtre de Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce roman d'Agatha Christie qui avait fait polémique à sa sortie à cause de l'utilisation par la Reine du Crime d'une astuce d'écriture qui sort des "règles" du genre.

govmarley reviewed Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #4)

Review of 'Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Oh, Agatha, you sly minx. Once again, Poirot solves the case before I have even narrowed down the suspects.

Really well done in a classic Christie style. Poirot is now retired and growing "the vegetable marrows" without success. He gets pulled into the case--not exactly reluctantly, as it is Poirot--but realizing the quiet village life is not for him. The case takes twists and turns, and you may find yourself switching your prime suspect by the minute. When you hear the clues you missed along they way, you will just shake your head and say, "Agatha, you sly minx. You've done it again." A unique mystery and one of my favorites. I would rank this one up with "And Then There Were None". 4 stars.

Dustin reviewed Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #4)

Review of 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

As usually, Christie was able to deceive me until the very end. A really great book!

Balise reviewed Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, #4)

Review of 'Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

One of the classics. I probably read it several times when I was a kid (I read a lot of Agatha Christie), and I rediscovered this one with great delight. It's an Agatha Christie, there's not much more to say. And this one is particularly good.