Hardcover, 334 pages
French language
Published Jan. 6, 1996 by Editions du Masque.
Cela fait tout juste un an que le mari de Mrs Ferrars est mort. D'une gastrite aiguë. Enfin, c'est ce qu'il semble. Après tout, les symptômes de l'empoisonnement par l'arsenic sont presque les mêmes...
Hier, Mrs Ferrars est morte à son tour. Une trop forte dose de véronal. Suicide ? Allons donc ! Elle était encore jeune et très riche...
Et puis, aujourd'hui, Mr Ackroyd a été assassiné. Cette fois, le doute n'est pas permis. Mais pourquoi ? Bien sûr, Mrs Ferrars et Mr Ackroyd paraissaient fort bien s'entendre. Surtout depuis la mort du mari. Mais de là à dire... Non, ce n'est pas possible... En tout cas, ce n'est pas si simple...
--back cover
Come mantenere l'attenzione del lettore, omettendo qua e là dei "dettagli".
Wow. This book is so good that I wish I could rate it higher than five stars. Agatha Christie has done with this book something that I have never seen done with any mystery I have ever read in the past. I'm not going to say what for the sake of spoilers, but the impossibility of what she did is just stunning. But it makes sense.
OK, I'm probably so excited that it's hard to understand what I'm saying, but my point is this: Read the book. You'll love it.
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.
