Reader discussion: The murder of Roger Ackroyd

Public reader discussion about The murder of Roger Ackroyd in the WeRead Catalog by Agatha Christie.

Finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

By greenCoin3990

Ugh, this just left a bad taste in my mouth. Like, I truly loved the book. But I feel like we were basically doing two totally different puzzles. I’m the kind of reader who actually likes the whole mystery part—jot down guesses, make theories, then wait for the reveal to see if I nailed it. I had notes on everyone, except one person. I mean, she’s part of the Detection Club and they’re big on that “play fair with the reader” idea, and one of the rules is that the narrator can’t be the killer (Knox). So when it ended the way it did, I just felt kind of cheated, even though the characters and everything were really great. I guess if you weren’t aware of the Knox rules—or if you just don’t automatically assume the book will be “fair”—then it wouldn’t bother you as much. Otherwise I’d probably have been way happier with the ending. Lesson learned. I’m definitely not trusting anyone anymore, including my dog. edit: sorry about the extra spoiler tags—I’m not sure how to get it down to just one.

Agatha Christie's Mysteries - The Times The Killer Escaped the Justice System

By atom_bison

Yeah, *Murder on the Orient Express* is probably the most famous one like this, for sure. But it shows up other places too. Sometimes the killer basically gets to just… finish themselves off. Like in *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd*, it feels like Poirot’s involved in making sure the killer’s identity stays quiet. In *Death on the Nile* the killer’s arrested, but Poirot still lets them end it. Same deal in *Peril at End House*—arrested, then permitted suicide. Even in that Poirot short story with the bull (where the guy seems guilty of what’s going on now), it ends in a hunting accident where the probable murderer dies. I’ll admit it’s weird to me: Hercule Poirot is Catholic, and at the time Catholics really did treat suicide as a mortal sin. People who did it wouldn’t get a church funeral or burial… but Poirot seems totally okay with it. There are also a few cases where Poirot kind of engineers things going wrong for the killer. In “Problem at Sea,” he supposedly causes the killer to drop dead from a heart attack. And Poirot’s whole “failure” thing is also confusing. He mostly cared about whether he could figure it out, not whether the person actually got convicted. So even when the killer never gets found guilty, he wouldn’t count it as failing. Like “The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge” — he figures it out, but it’s never proven, and the killers escape and later die in a plane crash. Same energy with “Five Little Pigs.” He plans to take it to the police, but then the killer confesses, and Poirot just doesn’t really trust the police will follow through. Then there are times he outright doesn’t act on what he knows. In “The Chocolate Box,” once the killer confesses, Poirot basically does nothing because the killer’s terminally ill. In “The Cornish Mystery,” he doesn’t have enough proof to convict, so he tricks the killer into signing a confession by promising not to hand it to the police for 24 hours. He does keep that promise, but we never really know what happens next. And sometimes it’s basically the killer getting away because Poirot chooses not to say. In “The King of Clubs” it’s not premeditated, but in the US you’d at least call it manslaughter—someone gets hit during an argument and dies because of it. Poirot knows who did it, but lets the police think it was some tramp, so the real killer walks free. Also: in *At Bertram’s Hotel* the wrong person gets blamed and then kills themselves right away, but Miss Marple and Davy don’t buy it. Davy acts like he’s going to hunt down the real person, but it’s never clear if it happens. In *The Mirror Crack’d*, the killer dies from sleep medication. Miss Marple suspects it wasn’t voluntary and that the spouse gave it, but she doesn’t seem to pursue it. I’m not counting *The Lemesurier Inheritance* since the killer was insane and basically locked up, where he dies. And I’m also not counting the ones where they’re already fleeing when it’s over, like in *They Do It with Mirrors*. Anyway, those are the ones I can think of where the killer gets out of the justice system in Agatha Christie. If anyone knows other examples, I’d love to hear them.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: I want to start this, but have a question before I do.

By memory_string7

In my copy, there’s a character list right at the beginning with short descriptions and page numbers for when they show up. But it’s weird—the early characters are like pages 1 through 15, and then later ones jump way up to around 100, and even one around 150. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to read through all those descriptions first or just start the book and figure it out as I go. Any idea what the right approach is?

i just finished reading the murder of roger ackroyd for the first time ever, and I. AM. SHOOK.

By SedulityLake

This book is from Nineteen Twenty-Six… and I’m here in 2023 like “OH SH*T” because Agatha Christie has me seriously confused. What even is this? What am I reading right now?

Which book from the Hercule Poirot series did You enjoy reading the most? Why?

By apple_winter2000

I’m pretty new here, so I’m not sure if it’s okay to throw out random questions like this, but this one feels a bit too specific for that kind of thing. Right now I’m reading a book by H. Poirot and I’m really curious to hear what other people think, and if anyone has recommendations too.

I just read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie!

By sunnyDreams

I basically tore through this in two sittings—it was seriously hard to put down. The suspense and mystery kept me hooked the whole time. And that ending? I’m still kind of stunned. I honestly just blurted out “what” and had to pause reading for a second. I really didn’t see it coming at all. Probably the best plot twist I’ve ever read. Now it’s one of my favorite books, and it was also the first thriller I’ve read, so that makes it even better. Agatha is just amazing. Next up I’m planning to read *Then There Were None* and *Murder on the Orient Express*.

I didn't understand the ending of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" from Agatha.

By amberShelf97

Hi everyone! I know it’s kind of strange, because I keep seeing people act like the ending totally blew their mind, but honestly I was just really lost. I also read it in my native language, not English, so that might have something to do with it. Can someone clarify: was the doctor the one who committed the murder, or was it his sister? And what was their motive? I can’t quite piece it together. Also, I’m not sure why I got downvoted so much when I posted this 😅 Is it really that bad that I didn’t fully get the mystery? Thanks to anyone who actually took the time to explain—it’s nice talking to people who are into the same kind of stuff.

I just read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and oh my..!

By nebula-apple41

I really hope I’m not adding yet another post about this book, but I just had to say something because I thought it was genuinely great—plot twist or not. I used to just grab random Agatha Christie books from the local library and they always worked for me. That was before I started relying on book recommendations and basically seeing everyone hype this one up because the twist is supposed to be super unexpected. So when I started it, I was like… okay, who’s the least suspicious person here? I’ve read a few Christie books where the narrator kind of hides things or straight-up lies, so I wasn’t totally shocked that I could figure out the “real” culprit early. I guessed it would be Dr. Sheppard, but the thing is, it felt way too obvious—like the story kept pointing at him, which just made my guess keep getting confirmed. What also threw me was how the clues played out in that mahjong setup. When Caroline talks about who saw Roger last and is probably the most suspicious, my brain went straight to Flora. And honestly, it sounded right for a minute—nobody really confirms she saw him alive, and she closes the door right before Parker shows up. Then it turns out she was lying about something pretty petty (the money), which basically flips everything. So then it’s like… who actually saw him last? Dr. Sheppard. Of course. The doctor wasn’t really on my radar at first, but once you think about it, he could’ve done it, especially if he wanted. The part I couldn’t wrap my head around was the motivation though. Why would he kill Roger if he wouldn’t really gain anything from the inheritance or Ackroyd’s death? It didn’t seem like the kind of person that would be involved in blackmail or whatever led to Mrs. Ferrars’ suicide. Still, when Poirot started laying out the criteria, I kept internally freaking out about Dr. Sheppard—especially because he seemed to know the mechanic side of things. And when the final reveal came, I was stressed out and sweaty (not kidding), but also kind of euphoric? Like, I couldn’t believe it but I also felt so right it was kind of ridiculous. Honestly, this feels like some of her best writing so far, at least from what I’ve read. I’m still missing Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, but this was a really fun reading session.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Novel and Suchet's adaptation

By IvoryStone2006

This was one of the first Agatha Christie books I read way back, so I decided to reread it now. Second time around, I’m still impressed, but it’s not really one of my personal favorites. It’s definitely up there as one of the best classic detective novels—because the plot is so twisty and clever. But to me it doesn’t have that cozy, fun Christie vibe you get in stuff like *Death on the Nile* or *Evil Under the Sun*. And the characters/thoughts don’t really stick with me the way they do in books like *After the Funeral* or *Crooked House*. The whole thing feels so wrapped up in the clever plot that it kind of swallows everything else, even the care she put into the writing. Also, there are way too many red herrings. Like, the pavilion is packed on the night of the crime—everyone’s suddenly having secret meetings there, somehow not running into each other, and timing it perfectly. If you stop and think about it, it doesn’t feel that believable. I honestly feel like Christie’s written better plots elsewhere (again, *After the Funeral* is a good example). In the book, the “new Hastings” is actually the murderer, and that’s a pretty big literary challenge. I get why it works and why it’s such a great mystery on paper. I even really like some of the murder setup details—the dictaphone, the chair thing, all that—so it’s not like I don’t appreciate it. I just don’t feel it in the way I do with my “top tier” Christie favorites. The TV adaptation isn’t terrible either, but they have to change the core idea (since the murderer is the narrator in the novel). That’s probably impossible to pull off cleanly on screen without almost giving it away right away. In the show, Poirot is reading from Sheppard’s journal, and I’m not sure every fact actually lines up the same way. Sheppard also has a smaller role—more like just another suspect instead of the big “new Hastings” situation. Japp’s basically Poirot’s helper. They made some plot tweaks that I can live with. What I liked is that Suchet’s version cuts down on a bunch of the red herrings by removing some characters. The butler subplot (in the show) feels like a weird choice, but I don’t think it ruins everything. The ending, though… that was the part that really bothered me. The journal being left in the car with all those “evil plans”? And then the sister reads it, hands over the gun, the brother runs off, and then he kills himself right in front of her. Then Poirot kind of explains it like the journal was hidden from her sister so she wouldn’t get upset. That felt like a total mess to me—really not a good ending. Overall, turning *TMORA* into a movie while keeping the clever heart of the book seems brutally hard, so I still respect how skilled Christie was to make it work in the first place.

Question about the ending of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

By Otter_Raven7336

Hey everyone, I just finished TMoRA and I’m kind of annoyed because I already got spoiled about the ending, so I didn’t really get that “wait, what?!” moment for myself. I still ended up enjoying it though—I was talking with my dad about it. He’d read it recently and he basically figured out who the murderer was based on how Poirot explained it (the whole big bag / old enough to remember doctors carrying those heavy things). But now I’m stuck on one thing: Why did Poirot suggest Sheppard should “end it” instead of just calling the police and letting him deal with what he did? He killed Ackroyd and blackmailed that woman—so why all this special consideration for him (and his sister)? And the bit with Sheppard taking way too many sleeping pills “by accident” so Ralph Paton becomes the only suspect… how would Paton even prove he didn’t do it if Poirot’s trying to protect Sheppard’s name? Also, please don’t spoil the endings for other AC books—I’ve only read a few so far. Thanks!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

By little_wonder2

Just wrapped up this Agatha Christie book after seeing a bunch of recommendations here—so thanks for pointing me toward it. I honestly thought I could guess where it was going, but it ended up going somewhere totally different than I expected. Has anyone read other mysteries (or books in general) that kind of throw you off mid-book or in the ending? I’d love to hear suggestions. Thanks!

Oh my god ‘and then there were none’ by Agatha Christie had me throwing the book across the room 🤯🤯

By Mystax

Just finished *And Then There Were None* and I’m still kind of sitting here like… what did I just read?! It’s genuinely the best mystery book I’ve ever come across. I’ve been trying to work out how she set everything up for like half an hour and I can’t really get it into words other than it was absolutely nuts. Seriously, you have to read it. Christie is just unreal at this. For anyone who doesn’t know it, it’s basically 10 strangers brought to an island, they’re cut off, and then people start disappearing one by one. It felt way more grim and unsettling than a lot of her other stuff too. The whole mystery/suspense thing was woven together so well, and that little nursery rhyme vibe just makes the doom feeling hit harder as you go. And the ending? Yeah… that one punched me in the gut. Also I’m not even a little surprised it’s the top-selling mystery of all time. Edit: thanks for all the other recs in here! I’ve got like 40 books on my list, but once I’m through those I’ll definitely get to these because they all sound so good. Edit 2: I’m really happy people picked it up because of me 😅 hope everyone enjoys it. If you’ve never read Christie before, I’d start with *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* first—it’s a better intro—then go to this one. Edit 3: some folks thought I spoiled something even though I didn’t, so I removed that bit to shut it down. And to the trolls… come on, shush. Edit 4: thanks for suggesting the BBC/Charles Dance version too. It was decent, Charles Dance was great, but I do wish it matched the book more. Still enjoyable though. It didn’t feel quite as chilling as the book for me, but that’s probably because I already know how it ends lol.

Agatha Christie

By gooseOcean4698

Finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd last night and wow, that was really good—like, seriously great. It’s another reminder why they call her the “Queen of Crime,” because that ending genuinely caught me off guard. I also liked how she took something from Sherlock Holmes and then flipped it. If you try to figure out the killer, it’s the kind of thing where you’re supposed to look in the one place nobody thinks to look, even though it’s staring you in the face. What really got me was how she built everything up and let the layers fall into place slowly. You can almost spot the culprit, but you still can’t quite guess right, because you end up suspecting everyone except the actual person. Overall, it was such a fun read—I’d give it 11/10 just for making a fool out of me and everyone else who’s read it.

Do you think the solution to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is becoming more and more obvious for new readers?

By reedPrologue

I mean, everyone knows *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* has that huge twist, and it feels like people talk about it more and more now. But if you already know there’s a twist coming, does that actually spoil anything? Or is it still basically “safe” since you don’t know what it is? Also, I keep thinking about the killer, Dr. James Sheppard. He’s Poirot’s companion in the story, and I don’t think he shows up in any of the other books. With that in mind, a new reader might already be thinking, “Okay, so who else could it really be?” Like, maybe it’s even possible that people would assume the companion is the murderer just because it’s such a known twist. I’m not totally sure what I think—what do you all think?

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By SarahReads1983

Looks like this sidebar hasn’t been updated—might be best to use the latest reddit interface to find info on r/bookclub.

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By TinyChapter

The sidebar here doesn’t seem updated—maybe use the newest version of the site to find out more about r/bookclub.

AGATHA CHRISTIE ANTAGONISTS DISCUSSION

By pencil_button44

If you’ve read *The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* and *Endless Night*, which unreliable narrator do you like the most, and what’s your reason? Also—if you’re gonna talk about favorite villains, please censor both the book title and the antagonist’s name too, so you don’t spoil it for people who haven’t read everything yet.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

By WalksLetter

Just finished the book and I’m not even sure how I feel, like I loved it but my brain also went completely off the rails by the end. The whole time I was reading it the suspense just kept ramping up, and it’s honestly such a perfect mystery/detective setup. No spoilers, but when I went back through it, it clicked for me that Agatha Christie was really doing something special—dropping clues from the start without making it obvious. This was my first one, so now I get why people put her up on that pedestal… and yeah, it’s kind of easy to see how it turns into a cult thing.

Which Agatha Christie book had the most unexpected ending in your opinion?

By honest_tower

The murder of Roger Ackroyd felt like straight-up genius to me.

Finished my 2nd book (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)

By winddusty

Got up early today just to wrap this up. Honestly didn’t think I’d ever finish it—I'm the kind of person who usually never gets through a book—but somehow I managed to finish two books in two weeks lol. Really liked the whole thing, especially the ending. I’d definitely recommend it!