The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s great-grandson wrote that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was important because it showed that she had “the audacity to rip up the rule book and test the boundaries.” Along with Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None, she challenged the reader’s assumptions. This is a meta-mystery, where the interactions between Agatha Christie and the reader overshadow any between Hercule Poirot and the suspects.
Roger Ackroyd is murdered with a rare Tunisian dagger from his silver table, a display case containing “one or two pieces of old silver, a baby shoe belonging to King Charles the First, some Chinese jade figures, and quite a number of African implements and curios.” Poirot works to determine the time of death and the location of the people known to be present: Mrs Cecil Ackroyd – widow of Roger's brother Cecil, Miss Flora Ackroyd – Ackroyd's niece & Cecil's daughter, Major Hector Blunt – Ackroyd's friend & a guest of the household, Geoffrey Raymond – Ackroyd's personal secretary, Captain Ralph Paton – Ackroyd's stepson from his late wife's previous marriage, John Parker – Ackroyd's butler, and Elizabeth Russell – Ackroyd's housekeeper
Roger Akroyd leaves the largest share of his estate to Ralph Paton. The housekeeper receives 1,000 pounds. Flora receives 20,000 pounds. Mrs. Ackroyd receives a lifetime income. All these bequests suggest motives for Roger’s murder. Ralph is engaged to Flora, but the investigation discovered that he is secretly married to Ursula Bourne, Ackroyd's parlor maid.
Before Roger’s murder, Mrs Ferrars committed suicide because she was being blackmailed.
In the end, Poirot uncovers the actual murderer.
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