Saturday, September 13, 2008

A Household Name

Agatha Christie has proved herself to me to be a great author in And Then There Were None, a book which I consider one of the best books ever written. The plot was excellent, and it just showed the great mind that Christie had.

Again she shows her talent in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the book which claims to be "the book that made Agatha Christie a household name."

The book opens with the death of Mrs. Ferrars, an old widow. She was accused of killing her husband Ashley, and then committing suicide years later. Dr. Sheppard, the narrator of the book, goes to his friend Roger Ackroyd's house for dinner one night, and they talk over the death of Mrs. Ferrars. Later that night, Mr. Ackroyd, a widower, is found dead in his house, a dagger in his neck.

The suspects include many people: all of Ackroyd's servants, especially Parker, the butler; Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd, Roger's sister-in-law; Flora Ackroyd, Mrs. Ackroyd's daughter; Ralph Paton, Roger's stepson; and Hector Blunt, another one of Roger Ackroyd's friends and a big-game hunter. The evidence does not seem to point to anyone in particular, and almost everyone seems to have a motive, but no one the opportunity. Enter Hercule Poirot.

Poirot, Christie's most famous detective, comes out of retirement to inspect the case. He is a small Belgian who speaks French very often, and is confident in his skills. With Poirot on the case, some very astonishing things are found out.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is an excellent story that shows Christie's ingenuity at finding a good case and an even better investigation. The story has suspense, humor, and many quirky characters that make it a very good book that every mystery novel epicure would enjoy. Small wonder it made Christie a household name.

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Roger-Ackroyd-Christie-Collection/dp/1579126278/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221346239&sr=1-1

Grade: 9

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