By CHRIS SURPRENANT
Arts Editor
Agatha Christie is the reigning Queen of Crime. An expert at her craft, Christie creates such complex stories of mystery and suspense that few, if any readers can guess the ending. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be offering a quick glimpse at some of my favorite Christie novels, for your enjoyment, of course.
The Murder
of Roger Ackroyd
In what is perhaps her best-known novel, Christie tells a tale of love, murder and deception. Opening with the death of the wealthy Mrs. Ferrars, narrator Dr. James Sheppard learns that her death was not an accident, but rather a suicide. Upon further investigation, Dr. Sheppard learns that she was being blackmailed, and revealed the name only to Roger Ackroyd. Later, Ackroyd too is found dead.
With a small pool of suspects, lots of red herrings, and clues so obvious that they are easily overlooked, Christie weaves an instant classic. Set in the small town of King’s Abbott, Christie lays the foundation for the “typical” country-house murder mystery.
Including the town gossip, the stuffy army colonel, courtly gentlemen, and jaded offspring, it sounds like a soap opera, but it a thousand times better. Plus, Agatha Christie’s lovably uppity detective Hercule Poirot makes an appearance. The novel becomes sets the standard for the dysfunctional family. The interaction between Poirot and his characters is fascinating. Dr. Sheppard’s busybody sister Caroline is perhaps the most entertaining of all the characters. Christie crafts the first “typical” spinster, in that Caroline amuses herself with mahjong and spying on others without caring about the consequences. She is absolutely taken with the funny mustachioed Belgian sleuth Poirot, who charms her so much that she has no qualms about reporting what she has seen. It’s truly entertaining to read their conversations.
It may sound like a generic read, but Christie set the bar as high as it could possibly go with her surprise ending. Readers will either admire her cleverness, or be filled with contempt, even going as far as accusing her of “cheating.” However you feel after reading, know that Christie’s ending to her most famous novel is by-far the best of its kind. You’ll hit yourself for not guessing. Go make a fool of yourself and try to figure out who killed Roger Ackroyd. You’ll never guess, and I’ll never tell.
