The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot # 4)

In the spirit of a good mystery, I feel like I finally solved one myself: 

Why is Agatha Christie so popular?

I can’t speak for everyone else, but after this first try with one of her books I can only say what impressed me:

1. A winning protagonist in the form of the delightful Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. How can you not love this guy? He’s so kind and affable, yet don’t let that exterior fool you. He’s incredibly smart and laser-focused so you’re not going to get anything past him!

2. Christie’s “Jenga” level mastery of all the puzzle pieces. There’s a reason mystery/thriller writers emulate her so much. She knows how to throw all the breadcrumbs out there for you to solve the puzzle, yet is so effective with misdirection that she still fools you.

3. She didn’t create the cozy mystery genre, but she was hugely influential in popularizing it. When you see books with diverse casts of characters, a charming setting and an exploration of each of the characters as potential suspects you largely have her to thank.

At his home Fernly Park in the English village of King’s Abbot, Roger Ackroyd is found murdered in his locked study. He was about to discover the identity of the person who’d been blackmailing his betrothed before her untimely death. Now Ackroyd’s new neighbor, Hercule Poirot, takes it upon himself to find the culprit with the help of Dr. James Sheppard, the book’s narrator and Ackroyd’s friend. 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the 4th book in the Hercule Poirot series and one of her most highly regarded. I read a lot of mystery thrillers, and I can see where the final twist in this book paved the way for a couple of my favorite ones in more contemporary reads. Only because I’ve read so much in the genre was I not that surprised by the big twist, but had I read this back in the day it would’ve knocked me on my rear! It was still extremely clever!

I’m not a big fan of locked room mysteries, so while I highly respect Christie’s talent in coordinating all the elements of this mystery and thought it was so smartly written, I can’t say that I LOVED it. What did I love? Richard Armitage’s brilliant narration in this Audible exclusive audio. It was so, SO good and I can’t recommend it highly enough! I followed along in my purchased physical copy and found both formats to work well together.

I have all the respect for Agatha Christie’s talent and what she’s done for the mystery genre. It definitely helps me see contemporary efforts in a new light, now that I can see her influence!

★★★★ (3.5 for the story and 5 for the narration)