The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

by Agatha Christie

In the quiet village of King’s Abbot, wealthy widower Roger Ackroyd is found murdered in his study shortly after learning that his fiancée, Mrs. Ferrars, poisoned her husband and was being blackmailed. The story is narrated by the local physician, Dr. James Sheppard, who becomes the 'Watson' to the legendary detective Hercule Poirot, recently retired to the village to grow vegetable marrows. The central conflict involves a web of secrets held by Ackroyd’s household, including his niece Flora, his secretary Geoffrey Raymond, and his missing stepson Ralph Paton, who is the prime suspect. As Poirot meticulously peels back the layers of deception, he discovers that nearly everyone has something to hide, though not necessarily the murder. The arc follows the investigation from the discovery of the body to a dramatic 'reunion' where Poirot reveals the truth. The tone is classic drawing-room mystery—intellectual, observant, and seemingly polite—leading to a shocking subversion of the genre's conventions. Ultimately, the narrator himself is revealed as the blackmailer and murderer, having manipulated the narrative to hide his own guilt.