The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

When the wealthy Roger Ackroyd is found stabbed in his study, hours after learning that a blackmailer had driven a local widow to suicide, the retired Hercule Poirot is coaxed out of his village garden to investigate. The case is narrated by Dr. Sheppard, the country physician who becomes Poirot’s companion through a household crowded with suspects, secrets, and debts. Christie’s third Poirot novel is famous for a twist that changed what a detective story could do, provoking arguments about fair play that have never quite died down. Beyond the trick, it is a tightly plotted village mystery with sharp characters and a needling wit, and it is regularly named among the finest crime novels ever written. Free PDF and EPUB edition.