Preamble
Take a look at my short story collection of cosy mysteries featuring Victorian “lady detective” Meinir Davies; order now!
Review
I read this some time ago, before I had started (somewhat) diligently writing reviews of the crime and detective fiction that I was reading. I have come to Christie, and to Poirot, in an entirely disordered way, and you can read my review of a much later novel, Hallowe’en Party, elsewhere.
For those entirely unaware, this is Poirot’s third outing, and the narrator of the preceding two novels, Captain Hastings, has departed Europe for South America, leaving Poirot a retiree in a quiet English village and his next-door-neighbour, the village doctor, as a Boswell when the titular murder of Roger Ackroyd occurs. We have here some stock figures: the spinster sister to Dr Sheppard, the hot-headed young man whose temper makes him prime suspect, in the form of Ralph Patton, and the young lover who cannot help but believe in his innocence, in Flora Ackroyd. We see these sorts of figures again and again.
This novel is renowned for its other innovations, however, in particular its use of the unreliable narrator trope (inspiring countless detective stories thereafter) and the technological aids deployed by the killer. We also see the moral dubiousness of the great detective at work. Again, not novel in and of itself—”what is justice?” is always a question worth interrogating—but put to an impressive test here.
I have a vague sense that I have once seen the David Suchet TV adaptation of this, and recall a young Jamie Bamber’s turn as the young hot-head, but have not seen the various film and theatre alternatives, and although I had a rough sense of where the plot was likely to go, it was a joy to read, and no doubt would be a joy to re-read. The plot is pacy, Poirot (and his occasional discomfort with the English) amusing, and there are some excellent moments of tension. Fascinating too, for me, as an early Christie novel, is its connection to criminological history, particularly the 1876 poisoning of Charles Bravo (the murder at The Priory), which makes several other appearances in Christie’s œuvre. It is always interesting to see how historical cases (and speculation about their solutions) make their way into fictional stories.
See also
These lists capture other stories and characters that I thought of as I was reading this piece. I won’t explain why, to avoid spoilers, but they’re associations and not ‘if you liked this, then you’ll love…’ recommendations!
- Magpie Murders (Anthony Horowitz)
- Eight Detectives (Alex Pavesi)
- “The Eyes of Tiresias” (Jonathan Creek episode)
- The Shooting Party (Anton Chekov)
Take a look at my short story collection featuring Victorian “lady detective” Meinir Davies; order now!
Dominique Gracia 
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