The Murder of Roger Ackroyd embodies everything that I love about
Agatha Christie mysteries! Especially the ending…
But
let’s start at the beginning. The village
of King’s Abbot is rocked
by the apparent suicide of Mrs. Ferrars, a wealthy widow, and the murder of
Roger Ackroyd, a widower who hoped to marry Mrs. Ferrars. The deaths occur just
one day apart and pulled into the center of both cases is Dr. Sheppard, the
good country doctor. He is invited to dinner at Ackroyd’s home the night after
Mrs. Ferrar’s death to be told by Ackroyd that the women he loved had confessed
to him that she had poisoned her late husband and that she was being
blackmailed. She did not reveal the identity of her blackmailer and died of an
overdose of veronal that evening.
Before
Dr. Sheppard departs Ackroyd’s home, Fernly Glen, the butler hands Ackroyd a
blue envelope from Mrs. Ferrars! A note from the grave and perhaps revealing
the identity of her blackmailer. Ackroyd decides he wants to read the letter
alone and Dr. Sheppard takes his leave, returning to the home he shares with
his sister, and inquisitive spinster who doesn’t miss anything that goes on in
the village and fancies herself a bit of a detective later on in the story.
(Interesting side note: In Agatha’s autobiography, she credits Dr. Sheppard’s
sister as being the inspiration for Miss Marple.)
Dr.
Sheppard is called back to Fernly Glen just two hours later after Ackroyd is
found stabbed in his study – and the blue letter is gone. The house is full of
suspects with motives and opportunity. Miss Russell, the housekeeper, who had
hopes of one day marrying Ackroyd herself. Major Blunt, who clearly was
distracted during his visit to Fernly Glen, and who had given Ackroyd the small
dagger from Tunis
that eventually killed him. Geoffrey Raymond, the young secretary, who is a
little too efficient, and parlormaid Ursula Bourne, who has a mysterious
background, are also suspects. As are Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd and her daughter
Flora, Ackroyd’s sister-in-law and niece who are financially dependent on him,
and Ralph Paton, Ackroyd’s adult adopted son, who is secretly engaged to Flora.
Paton was estranged from his father because of gambling debts and was staying
the village at the time of his father’s murder.
Flora,
dismayed that Paton soon becomes the prime suspect, implores Hercule Poirot,
who has recently retired to King’s Abbott, to clear his name. Poirot agrees and
Dr. Sheppard takes the place of Hastings
as his partner in the investigation as well as the narrator of the story.
A
discarded ring, a chair moved every so slightly and a phone call all lead
Poirot to the thrilling conclusion. I literally gasped when the murderer’s true
identity was revealed. Agatha at her finest.
I give The Murder of Roger Ackroyd five out of
five stars.
