We last saw you dealing with all those short story cases in Poirot Investigates, two years previously for a full length novel we had to go back three years for The Murder on the Links. So welcome back, Hercule Poirot, we’ve missed you. Coincidentally, Lord Mountbatten, too, had written to Christie in 1924 suggesting a similar storyline and structure, although she was so overworked at the time that she forgot to reply. However, it was her brother-in-law, James Watts, to whom she had dedicated The Secret of Chimneys, who actually gave her the inspiration for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. But that’s the baggage I bring with me from my childhood, and I guess I must be mistaken, or else the book wouldn’t be held in the great esteem that it enjoys.Ĭhristie dedicated the book to “To Punkie, who likes an orthodox detective story, murder, inquest, and suspicion falling on every one in turn!” Punkie was the family nickname for Christie’s big sister Margaret, and in fact it was Margaret who originally inspired Agatha to write The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Whenever I read it, I always feel that the identity of the murderer is, in fact, pretty obvious. Because I’ve always known whodunit, I find it hard to imagine reading it without knowing. In 2013, the British Crime Writers’ Association voted it the best crime novel ever. Many critics and observers cite this book as Christie’s masterpiece. I read it of course, but there was no sense of mystery for me. I still think that was one of the rottenest things to do to anyone. It makes me feel a little deprived of one of life’s most exciting surprises, as, just before I read this as a lad, a “friend” told me who the murderer was. It’s been a fascinating nostalgia trip to re-read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
And, despite the enormous difficulty in doing so, I’ve written this blog post so that you can still read it without finding out whodunit! In which we become reacquainted with Christie’s most renowned detective, Hercule Poirot, and witness him solve the murder of Roger Ackroyd, as narrated by Dr Sheppard, in the absence of Poirot’s usual narrator, Captain Hastings.
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