Reviews

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

its_kievan's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Deeply underwhelming. Lacks the character depth of Death on the Nile or Murder on the Orient Express - let alone the masterpiece that is And Then There Were None - and without that there wasn’t really anything to carry me through to the ending. An ending which was unexpected, sure, but felt redundant and anticlimactic. Christie’s writing is still good, and there’s something I find so fascinating about the little slice of mid century English country life that she portrays, but this might be the last one of her books I try for a while. At least Poirot wasn’t too annoying in this one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism

becca_g_d's review against another edition

4.0

I figured it out

meltates's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nic_na's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

svershon's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

hsasaki853's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

toadmato's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

3.0

thaurisil's review against another edition

5.0

I've wondered why, of all of Agatha Christie's mystery novels, this one tends to be the one that shows up on recommended book lists. Well, I wonder no longer. This is a masterpiece of a mystery book. Like all of Christie's novels, the characterisation is good, with each character having a distinct personality and an interesting story of his/her own, but the focus is on the mystery itself and side plots only occur where necessary. What makes this stand out is the difficulty of solving the mystery. There are plenty of misleading red herrings that nevertheless all get tied up and make sense at the end. I was kept guessing right till the end who the murderer was, and yet, although I pretty much suspected every character except Poirot himself, and although I had already been told beforehand that the ending had a twist, the twist still surprised me – the murderer is

Spoiler

the narrator!

Unlike many other whodunnits, this one is difficult to solve not because clues are hidden from us. Every detail needed to solve the mystery is laid bare for us, and where details are hidden, Christie actually makes it pretty clear that there is a hidden detail, and that is a clue in itself. The problem is that I didn't recognise Christie's intention in hiding these details, and so don't treat them as clues. The murder actually happens before our eyes, hidden between two sentences, and if you read carefully, Christie places plenty of clues around it, but I missed all of them! She certainly won that game.

This is one of the best mysteries I've read. It stands out not because of gimmicks or fancy writing. It's excellent in the best way possible, because of its pure merit as a mystery story.

cawilliams29's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This may be the most spectacular Christie novel of them all! Wow!

'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' is set in the peaceful English village of King’s Abbot is stunned. The widow Ferrars dies from an overdose of Veronal. Not twenty-four hours later, Roger Ackroyd—the man she had planned to marry—is murdered. It is a baffling case involving blackmail and death that taxes Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells” before he reaches one of the most startling conclusions of his career.

The ending is stunning. This story claims all of Christies best writing elements: complex characters, interesting plot, red herrings, Poirot!, clues everywhere! And a twist no one has seen coming!

This novel has been called one of Christie's greatest and most controversial novels and I can definitely see why. Officially one of my top two Christie novels!

Classic Christie brilliance, with the addition of an especially stunning twist. Ingenious, unique and thrilling! It can only get better on reread, where you can really appreciate the brilliance of this novel!

antaresrises's review

mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0