The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

Despite having many books of my own that I have yet to read, and even more on my list to read again, I decided to borrow a book from the library.  After reading my last book I was in the mood for something a little smaller but that would still get me thinking, and Agatha Christie seemed to fit the bill.  When I mentioned to some friends a while ago that I was reading several Poirot books, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was recommended to me as one of the best.

The story is based in a sleepy English village and, like most sleepy English villages in books, there is a collection of strange characters with complicated lives and plenty to hide.  Given the title, it probably doesn't give too much away to say that the victim this time is a Mr Ackroyd.  After his murder a moustached Belgian detective is found to be taking it easy in the village, and so the classic grey cells of Monsieur Poirot get to work.

I always enjoy the fact that Poirot takes seemingly unconnected events and pieces them together in a jigsaw that to most would be like a baked beans impossipuzzle.  As the plot evolves you are introduced to more and more of the characters' secrets and the events that surrounded the murder, but are never quite given enough information to get the full picture.

The recommendation was, in my eyes, correct.  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was really, really good. I could probably say it's the best one I've read so far, but actually my favourite Poirot books are all so different that it's hard to compare them.

It's fair to say that I was completely in the dark about who did it.  In fact I didn't have a clue who to suspect in the slightest until two paragraphs before it was explicitly stated (thankfully I did at least work it out to be the right person at that stage!).  The fact that I've been really tired for the last few days may have contributed to my lack of clue, but mostly I think it was the wonderful way in which the story was crafted.

If you haven't read any Poirot books before then I'd recommend reading one or two of the earlier ones before you read this, just to get your eye in really.  But once you have got your head into the world of Hercule Poirot then this is really one you HAVE to read.