Fortunately words, ingeniously used, will serve to mask the ugliness of naked facts.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
About: It started when Mrs Ferrars died. The neighbourhood of King's Abbot were quick to gossip that it must have been suicide. But when Roger Ackroyd is found with a dagger in his throat, it's clear that's something deeper going on. A mystery of the like that only a retired Belgian detective, growing marrows in house not ten minutes from the crime, can solve.
The Good
This is hyped as being Agatha Christie's greatest work and it lives up the very high bar she set. I'm stupid for spoiling myself before I read it but even so, it's suspenseful, full of infuriating little puzzle pieces, and quite simply: genius. James Sheppard's narration is really well done. The facts climb into place slowly but, by the end, it's clear the picture was there all along. There are some great characters - I particularly enjoyed Caroline. There's also a sweet side romance that gets in my feels.
The Bad
It is necessary for the story but there's one character who disappears for most of the action and then when they reappear, it feels sort of rushed. Perhaps in a TV series it works better with flashbacks and the ending is more dramatised, but in the novel it doesn't have quite the impact it possibly could have.
The Somewhat Iffy
I do think that one of the character's hobbies could have been mentioned earlier as it came a little late in the novel to be entirely fair on the reader for solving one particular point.
Overall
The mystery is not overly complicated once you know the full facts, but the way it's told is perfect. Absolutely one of her best. Loved the tone, loved the twist, loved how layered the writing is.
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