The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – A Review

The Plot at a Glance

A man stabbed to death inside a locked room, a set of footprints below an open window, a blackmailing scam about to be revealed, nine people with motive and an overly clever sleuth. That more or less covers the entire plot of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

This book has cooked up a whirlpool of controversy. Yet, this one is regarded as Agatha Christie’s masterpiece and a treat for any mystery lover.

A Glimpse of the Story

The story opens up with a death. It is a suicide. But, there is always a big but in every mystery story and nothing happens without a reason. The cause of death is blackmailing. The woman fails to deal with the continuous pressure for money and kills herself.

The next evening, right after dinner a letter from the deceased woman arrives at Roger Ackroyd’s doorstep. The first few lines promise the disclosure of the blackmailer’s name. But, Mr. Ackroyd dies before he gets to finish the mail. Few hours later Mr.Ackroyd’s family doctor discovers the body but not the letter.

Hercule Poirot takes the matter in his own hands and begins the investigation. What follows next is a torrent of clues, along with revelations of secrets. Each one of the nine suspects has got something to hide and it is up to Poirot to unearth the secrets one by one.

The Conclusion

Agatha Christie wrote this book to fool the readers. Every mystery writer wants to do that. But, everyone does not fulfill the task as effectively as Agatha Christie did in this book. Poirot reveals the name of the murderer in the last chapter. Before that it will be a guessing game for the readers. Each character as a suspect has played the role well. Each one of the motive is so strong that only an airtight alibi can save the suspect.

Finally, the red herring, the major weapon of any mystery writer, is so wonderful that you will see through the misleading clues, you will know that the particular character is being framed, but alas, the face behind the mischief remains hidden.

I sat in dumb silence for a long time after finishing the book. I was disgusted with the author. I was enthralled by her also. It was a kind of a grudging admiration which she won that day. She did her job and fooled me. She also did another thing – she churned my curiosity and made me crave for more of her.