“The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it.”

– Hercule Poirot, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Agatha Christie is a celebrated name across the world for her works in the mystery genre that usually involved detectives. She is the best-selling novelist of all time according to Guinness Bookook of World Records. The book that brought her into the limelight was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, published in 1926.

The story starts with Dr James Sheppard, the narrator of the story, discussing the suicide of Mrs Ferrars who had a secret affair with Roger Ackroyd, the wealthiest man in King’s Abbot. Ackroyd is found dead the following evening in his locked study. The prime suspect is his stepson who had disappeared mysteriously from King’s Abbot. Roger’s butler and his sister are also under the scanner of Hercule Poirot, the famous detective. Poirot has to solve the case with aids from Dr Sheppard and his sister.

The story is told in the first person, varying from her usual third-person narration of the story. If you are a fan of slow and leisurely reading, you are about to get surprised. Even the laziest of readers can’t help themselves to put the book down before completing the novel. This mystery goes down to the last page. The soul of the book lies in the unforeseen twist that comes at the end. The end will force you to re-read the book to discover the clues which you will certainly overlook in the first reading. This book will make you fall in love with Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha’s main characters recurring in many novels.

If you are a fan of mystery and want to read something that will knock your socks off, then The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the obvious choice.