A review by snazzysie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

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

3.0

This book was the second Agatha Christie novel I had ever read, and I wasn't aware that Hercule Poirot has multiple stories based around his fictitious crime investigations before reading this particular one. I can see that he would be an interesting character to have as an inspector for these mystery novels, but having no prior knowledge of this going into this book, I immediately fell into step with Dr. Sheppard's narration, and the suspenseful, yet comfortable setting of the story. *Spoiler* >> Although arguably the main character, as Poirot later pointed out Sheppard didn't put a lot of his own personality into his writing, which did make him suspicious, but I never truly pieced together that he was the murderer until it was revealed. This being said, not that I had been expecting something obvious, but throughout the story, Sheppard and Poirot are theorizing and inspecting the evidence, and it feels as if the reader is part of the investigation. So to be completely blindsided at the end as we realise we have been observing the events through the eyes of the culprit, while perhaps a good twist, was a little disappointing. Also, I was kind of frustrated that Poirot seemed to know everything but never revealed it, making the book feel slow-paced and like every clue was a dead-end. I did enjoy the light-hearted banter of Caroline, and all in all, I give this book 3 stars.
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