The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

• Read: 2 Sep 2026 - 5 Sep 2026

• Author: Agatha Christie

• Year: 1926

• Pages: 200

• Remarks: Hercule Poirot Series Book 4

• Synopsis:

  • When wealthy country gentleman Roger Ackroyd was found stabbed to death in the locked study of his estate, suspicion immediately fell upon his household and close associates, all of whom harboured secrets and financial motives. Local physician Dr James Sheppard, who had attended the crime scene, agreed to assist Hercule Poirot after the renowned Belgian detective emerged from retirement to investigate at the request of Ackroyd's niece. Together, they unravelled a tangled web of blackmail, hidden relationships, and conflicting alibis in their search for the elusive killer.

[5 Sep 2026] ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ (1926), by Agatha Christie.

-

Reading Background:

• Read a chapter or two of this book in June 2026, but I was experiencing a "reader's burnout" and I just couldn't bring myself to continue. Fortunately, I managed to get back to reading it in September 2026!

• In fact, I was just diagnosed with slipped discs last week, and was given a month of HL. So far I have been following my doctor's and physiotherapist's advice to jog, walk, swim and do physio exercises for my back. Other than that, I have been more too, now that I have more time.

What I enjoyed about the book:

• The brilliant twist.

  • The plot twist at the end really blew my mind! I kept trying to guess who the murderer was but my guesses were completely wrong lol. 

  • When I read the ending, I was like "OMGGG", and felt so shocked and amazed that I had to put my Kindle down for a while to take it all in!

• The pacing.

  • I really liked the pacing of this book and the chapters were of a comfortable length for me. 

  • The story progresses at an even pace, like the introduction was ample and not too drawn out before the murder, and the investigations were neither rushed nor stalled. Furthermore, the dénouement post-climax was sufficient for decompression, resolving and ending the story comfortably and nicely.

What I found less enjoyable about the book:

• The French peppered throughout.

  • I am nit-picking here. To be honest, there isn't much that I don't like about this book. However, if I had to pick something, it would be the French uttered by Poirot every now and then. Not knowing what the words mean doesn't obstruct my understanding of the plot, but it's just mildly frustrating not knowing what was said. I had to keep using my Kindle's built-in function to translate those French phrases, and the tool isn't very user-friendly. 

My overall thoughts:

• My review above regarding what I enjoyed about this book does not fully reflect how strongly I feel that it is the best and most enjoyable Hercule Poirot book thus far!

• IMO, this book felt like a complete package, and everything was beautifully on point. This includes the number of characters and their stories acting as red herrings; the perfect pacing; the tone and humour; and most of all, the brilliant and utterly unexpected revelation!

• I read somewhere before that this book was considered one of Christie's masterpieces, and I didn't pay it much heed. Now I understand why! Have already recommended G and Joy to read this book haha. 

• Initially, I was intending to read other books before revisiting Poirot again sometime in the future, but after this book, I have a newfound love for the Hercule Poirot Series, so much so that I shall move on to its fifth book next! 

-

• Chapter 1: Dr Sheppard At The Breakfast Table

  • Dr James Sheppard returned home to King's Abbot at nine o'clock on Friday, 17th September 1926, after attending the death of Mrs Ferrars at King's Paddock. She had been dead for several hours. His inquisitive sister, Caroline, questioned him over breakfast about the cause of death. Caroline possessed a formidable local intelligence network and maintained that Mrs Ferrars had poisoned her husband, Ashley Ferrars, a year earlier and had now committed suicide out of remorse. Sheppard admitted privately that Mrs Ferrars died from an overdose of Veronal, though he tried to discourage Caroline's gossip. He had already quietly inquired whether Mrs Ferrars had left a confession letter, finding none.

• Chapter 2: Who's Who In King's Abbot

  • Sheppard outlined the local social landscape of King's Abbot, noting that the two principal residences were King's Paddock and Fernly Park. Fernly Park belonged to Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy and popular manufacturer who had previously married a widow named Mrs Paton. Mrs Paton was an alcoholic who died four years after their marriage, leaving a young son, Ralph Paton, whom Ackroyd raised as his own. Following Ashley Ferrars's death, Ackroyd and Mrs Ferrars became very close, and a marriage was widely anticipated. Later that morning, Sheppard met Ackroyd, who looked visibly shaken and invited Sheppard to dine at Fernly Park at half past seven that evening. Sheppard also encountered Miss Russell, Ackroyd's formidable housekeeper, who came to his surgery pretending to seek advice for a knee injury but steered the conversation towards drug addiction, Veronal, and rare poisons such as curare.

• Chapter 3: The Man Who Grew Vegetable Marrows

  • Sheppard informed Caroline that he was dining at Fernly Park. Caroline shared the village rumour that Ralph Paton was staying at the local inn, the Three Boars, rather than at Fernly, and had been seen meeting a young woman secretly in the local woods. Sheppard then met his new next-door neighbour at The Larches, a short Belgian man with an egg-shaped head and remarkable moustaches, who accidentally hurled a vegetable marrow over the garden wall in a fit of frustration. The neighbour introduced himself as Mr Hercule Poirot, a retired detective living incognito. Poirot revealed that Ackroyd had told him about Ralph Paton's secret engagement to Ackroyd's niece, Flora Ackroyd. Caroline later told Sheppard that she had overheard Ralph arguing in the woods with an unidentified girl about his financial troubles and his fear that his stepfather would cut him off. Sheppard visited Ralph at the Three Boars, where the young man confessed to being in a serious predicament.

• Chapter 4: Dinner At Fernly

  • Sheppard arrived at Fernly Park just before half past seven, bringing his medical bag. In the hall he saw Geoffrey Raymond, Ackroyd's secretary. Entering the drawing room, Sheppard heard the lid of a silver curiosities table close and encountered Miss Russell, who appeared out of breath. He inspected the silver table, which held various items including African weapons and Chinese jade. Flora Ackroyd joined him and displayed her new single-pearl engagement ring, announcing her upcoming marriage to Ralph Paton. Mrs Cecil Ackroyd, Roger's widowed sister-in-law, arrived and hinted about financial settlements. Major Hector Blunt, a famous big-game hunter and old friend of Ackroyd, was also present. After dinner, Ackroyd led Sheppard into his study, locked the door, and made sure the window was closed. Ackroyd confessed that Mrs Ferrars had admitted to him the previous day that she had murdered her husband with arsenic and was subsequently blackmailed for enormous sums of money. She had promised to write naming her blackmailer. During their conversation, the butler, Parker, brought in the evening mail, which contained a blue envelope from Mrs Ferrars, posted before her suicide. Ackroyd began reading the letter aloud, but stopped when he reached the section containing the blackmailer's name, insisting on reading it alone later despite Sheppard's urgent pleas. Sheppard left the study at ten minutes to nine, noticing Parker standing close to the door as if eavesdropping. Outside the lodge gates at nine o'clock, Sheppard encountered a young stranger with an American accent asking the way to Fernly Park. Sheppard arrived home at a quarter past nine. At a quarter past ten, the telephone rang; a voice claiming to be Parker announced that Roger Ackroyd had been murdered.

• Chapter 5: Murder

  • Sheppard drove back to Fernly Park and confronted Parker, who denied making any telephone call. Concerned, Sheppard and Parker went to the study and found the door locked from the inside. They broke the door down using a heavy oak chair and discovered Ackroyd sitting dead in his armchair, stabbed in the neck from behind with a dagger. Sheppard ensured nothing was touched and sent Parker to alert the police, Raymond, and Blunt. Upon inspecting the room, Sheppard noticed that the blue letter from Mrs Ferrars had disappeared. Inspector Davis arrived and discovered that the study window was unlocked and raised, with footprints from shoes with rubber studs visible on the sill pointing both inside and outside. Sheppard described the stranger he had met at nine o'clock. Raymond reported that he had heard Ackroyd's voice inside the study at half past nine discussing requests for money. Parker added that Flora Ackroyd had seen her uncle at a quarter to ten when she went to say goodnight, at which point Ackroyd had requested not to be disturbed further. Upon learning of her uncle's murder, Flora fainted.

• Chapter 6: The Tunisian Dagger

  • Inspector Davis examined the murder scene and questioned the household. Sheppard disclosed that Ackroyd had been receiving information regarding Mrs Ferrars's blackmailer. Davis extracted the weapon from Ackroyd's neck, identifying it as an ornate Tunisian dagger with an exceptionally sharp blade. Geoffrey Raymond recognised the dagger as a curio given to Ackroyd by Major Blunt, which was normally stored in the silver table in the drawing room. Sheppard recalled hearing the silver table lid drop when he had arrived for dinner, and Miss Russell admitted that she had closed the lid earlier that evening after finding it open. Raymond and Sheppard allowed their fingerprints to be taken to eliminate themselves from suspicion. Upon returning home, Sheppard recounted the events of the evening to Caroline, though he omitted the details surrounding the blackmail. Caroline dismissed the police's suspicion that Parker was the culprit.

• Chapter 7: I Learn My Neighbour's Profession

  • On Saturday morning, Flora Ackroyd visited Sheppard and implored him to accompany her to see Hercule Poirot at The Larches. Flora revealed that Poirot was a famous private detective and expressed grave concern that the official police, led by Inspector Raglan from Cranchester, were focusing their suspicions on Ralph Paton. Ralph had vanished from the Three Boars after nine o'clock on Friday night, leaving all his luggage behind. Sheppard and Flora met Poirot, who agreed to undertake the investigation provided that Flora truly desired the full truth. Poirot, Sheppard, and Chief Constable Colonel Melrose inspected the study at Fernly Park. Poirot noted that the fire in the grate had burned down very low by the time the body was discovered, and observed that a large grandfather chair had been drawn out from the wall. Colonel Melrose received word that the telephone call to Sheppard at a quarter past ten had been made from a public call office at King's Abbot railway station, just minutes before the departure of the night mail train to Liverpool at twenty-three minutes past ten.

• Chapter 8: Inspector Raglan Is Confident

  • Inspector Raglan expressed confidence in solving the crime, believing Ralph Paton was the murderer. Lodge keeper Mary Black confirmed seeing Ralph enter the grounds at twenty-five minutes past nine and take the path towards the terrace. Raglan demonstrated that a pair of Ralph's shoes obtained from the Three Boars matched the rubber-studded tracks on the windowsill. Poirot conducted his own search of the grounds and visited a small summerhouse near the path. Inside, Poirot discovered a small piece of starched white cambric and an empty goose quill, which he identified as a device used by drug addicts to inhale heroin or cocaine.

• Chapter 9: The Goldfish Pond

  • Poirot and Sheppard walked through the Fernly grounds and observed Flora Ackroyd conversing with Major Blunt near a paved recess with a goldfish pond. Flora appeared unusually joyous and explained to Blunt that Ackroyd's lawyer, Mr Hammond, had informed her that she inherited twenty thousand pounds under her uncle's will, giving her complete financial freedom. Blunt noticed a bright object shining at the bottom of the goldfish pond. Poirot waited until the others moved away and then reached into the water, secretly retrieving a woman's gold wedding ring inscribed with the words From R., March 13th.

• Chapter 10: The Parlourmaid

  • During lunch at Fernly, lawyer Mr Hammond summarised Roger Ackroyd's will. The estate provided legacies of one thousand pounds to Miss Russell, fifty pounds to the cook, five hundred pounds to Geoffrey Raymond, an income on ten thousand pounds to Mrs Cecil Ackroyd, twenty thousand pounds outright to Flora, and the residue of the fortune and property to Ralph Paton. Mrs Ackroyd voiced disappointment at her share. Geoffrey Raymond then discovered that forty pounds in cash was missing from a collar box in Ackroyd's bedroom drawer, where a hundred pounds had been placed on Friday evening. Inspector Raglan questioned parlourmaid Ursula Bourne, who had submitted her resignation on Friday afternoon after a thirty-minute confrontation with Ackroyd regarding disarranged papers on his desk. Poirot noted that Ursula lacked an alibi between half past nine and ten o'clock, and he requested Sheppard to visit Mrs Folliott in Marby to make discreet inquiries about her.

• Chapter 11: Poirot Pays A Call

  • Sheppard travelled to Marby Grange to interview Mrs Folliott regarding Ursula Bourne. Mrs Folliott became visibly uneasy and flustered upon hearing Ursula's name, giving evasive and guarded answers. When Sheppard returned home, Caroline told him that Poirot had spent the afternoon at their house, charming her with stories of his cases. Caroline had supplied Poirot with a complete list of all the patients who had visited Sheppard's surgery on Friday morning, highlighting the presence of Miss Russell. Sheppard pondered Miss Russell's earlier queries regarding poisons and drug addiction.

• Chapter 12: Round The Table

  • Following the joint inquest on Monday, Inspector Raglan remained convinced that Ralph Paton was the killer due to his flight and the matching shoe prints. Poirot suggested examining the fingerprints on the dagger to determine if they belonged to Ackroyd himself, theorising that a murderer wearing gloves might have pressed the victim's hand against the hilt post-mortem to create confusion. Poirot convened a meeting at Fernly with Mrs Ackroyd, Flora, Blunt, Raymond, Sheppard, and himself. Poirot appealed for Ralph's whereabouts and warned the gathered group that he intended to uncover the truth at all costs, noting that everyone present was concealing something from him.

• Chapter 13: The Goose Quill

  • On Monday evening, Sheppard visited Poirot's house. Poirot explained his analysis of the case, pointing out that the stranger met at the gate was an American drug user who had dropped the goose quill in the summerhouse during a planned rendezvous with someone from Fernly. Poirot outlined three distinct potential motives: the retrieval of Mrs Ferrars's letter, blackmail, and the vast inheritance left to Ralph Paton. Despite the accumulating suspicion surrounding Ralph, Poirot declared his belief that the young man was innocent.

• Chapter 14: Mrs Ackroyd

  • On Tuesday morning, Mrs Ackroyd summoned Sheppard to her bedroom. She confessed that on Friday afternoon she had searched Ackroyd's desk for his will in the hope of ascertaining her financial prospects, but had been interrupted by Ursula Bourne. She also confessed to having left the silver table lid open after attempting to inspect a piece of silver to have it valued in London. Later, Ursula Bourne approached Sheppard in the hall to ask if there was any news of Ralph Paton, insisting that he ought to return. Meanwhile, Caroline tasked Sheppard with determining whether Ralph's footwear at the inn consisted of black or brown boots; inquiries established that they were black.

• Chapter 15: Geoffrey Raymond

  • Geoffrey Raymond visited Poirot to admit that he had been heavily in debt prior to Ackroyd's death and that his five hundred pound legacy saved him from financial ruin, though he pointed out his solid alibi in the billiard room with Blunt from a quarter to ten onwards. Poirot and Sheppard returned to Fernly to reconstruct Parker's movements on the night of the murder. Parker confirmed that he was carrying a tray with two glasses when Flora delivered her uncle's message outside the study door.

• Chapter 16: An Evening At Mah Jong

  • Sheppard and Caroline hosted an evening of Mah Jong with Miss Gannett and Colonel Carter. Throughout the game, the guests gossiped about the murder. Miss Gannett suggested that suspicion might fall on Flora, or that Ackroyd had been secretly married to Mrs Ferrars. Caroline expressed her theory that Ralph Paton was hiding in the nearby town of Cranchester. In a moment of triumph over a winning hand, Sheppard accidentally revealed the discovery of the gold wedding ring inscribed From R., March 13th, sparking intense speculation among the players.

• Chapter 17: Parker

  • Poirot summoned Parker to his house and confronted him regarding his past employment with Major Ellerby, whom Parker had blackmailed over a hushed-up death in Bermuda. Parker admitted listening at Ackroyd's study door after hearing the word blackmail, hoping to obtain a share of the money, but he swore he had no part in the murder. Parker produced his bankbook to show that his funds derived from Ellerby and successful horse racing bets. Poirot and Sheppard then visited Mr Hammond, who revealed that Mrs Ferrars had drawn out twenty thousand pounds over the previous year to satisfy her blackmailer. Later, Poirot described to Sheppard a psychological profile of an ordinary man with a hidden weakness who enters into blackmail, grows greedy, and ultimately resorts to murder when faced with exposure. Shortly afterwards, news arrived that a man named Charles Kent had been detained in Liverpool.

• Chapter 18: Charles Kent

  • Poirot, Sheppard, and Inspector Raglan travelled to Liverpool to examine Charles Kent. Sheppard identified Kent by his voice as the stranger he had met at the lodge gates at nine o'clock on the night of the murder. Kent, a drug addict in possession of a goose quill, admitted visiting Fernly to meet someone, but insisted he had left the premises by twenty-five minutes past nine and was drinking at the Dog and Whistle pub a mile away by a quarter to ten. Poirot noted that Kent was born in Kent, England, hinting at a connection to someone in King's Abbot.

• Chapter 19: Flora Ackroyd

  • Inspector Raglan verified Charles Kent's alibi at the Dog and Whistle. Poirot then revealed to Raglan and Sheppard that Flora Ackroyd had lied about seeing her uncle at a quarter to ten. In reality, Flora had been on the stairs after stealing forty pounds from Ackroyd's bedroom drawer to pay her pressing personal debts, and had merely pretended to emerge from the study when Parker appeared with the tray. When confronted at Fernly, Flora confessed in tears to the theft and her deceit. Major Blunt attempted to protect her by claiming Ackroyd had given him the money for a special purpose, but Poirot advised Blunt to express his true feelings to Flora directly.

• Chapter 20: Miss Russell

  • Poirot arranged a private meeting with Miss Russell in Sheppard's surgery. Poirot announced Kent's arrest and stated that Ackroyd had been killed earlier than previously thought. Terrified that her son would be blamed for the murder, Miss Russell broke down and confessed that Charles Kent was her illegitimate son. She explained that she had met him secretly in the summerhouse at ten minutes past nine to give him money, and that he had departed by twenty-five minutes past nine. Poirot reassured her that her son was cleared of the murder.

• Chapter 21: The Paragraph In The Paper

  • A false news item planted in the newspaper by Poirot claimed that Ralph Paton had been arrested in Liverpool. Upon reading it, Ursula Bourne arrived at Sheppard's house in great distress and revealed to Poirot and Sheppard that she was secretly married to Ralph Paton. She explained that Ralph had agreed to the fake engagement with Flora to satisfy Ackroyd and secure financial help, but Ursula had confessed the secret marriage to Ackroyd on Friday afternoon. Ursula had then met Ralph in the summerhouse at half past nine, where they had argued bitterly until twenty-seven minutes to ten before she returned to the house.

• Chapter 22: Ursula's Story

  • Ursula concluded her narrative, detailing her final conversation with Ralph in the summerhouse. Poirot noted that the circumstances surrounding Ralph appeared increasingly grave, as he lacked an alibi for the crucial window between a quarter to ten and ten o'clock. Poirot requested Sheppard to hand over his written journal of the investigation for review.

• Chapter 23: Poirot's Little Reunion

  • Sheppard presented his twenty-chapter manuscript to Poirot, who praised its accuracy and reticence while noting its deliberate omissions. Poirot gathered all the key individuals at his house: Mrs Ackroyd, Flora, Blunt, Raymond, Ursula, Parker, and Miss Russell. Poirot formally announced Ursula's marriage to Ralph Paton. He then revealed that Ackroyd was already dead by half past nine, and that the voice heard inside the room was actually a dictaphone playback. Finally, Poirot dramatically produced Ralph Paton himself, whom Poirot had located in a mental nursing home near Cranchester where Sheppard had hidden him.

• Chapter 24: Ralph Paton's Story

  • Ralph Paton explained that after parting from Ursula at twenty-seven minutes to ten, he had wandered the lanes in distress. Upon learning of Ackroyd's murder, he had panicked and gone into hiding with Sheppard's assistance, fearing that either he or Ursula would be blamed. Sheppard admitted assisting Ralph to conceal him. Poirot revealed that a wireless message from a ship steward confirmed the truth regarding the dictaphone. Poirot granted the murderer a final opportunity to confess before delivering the evidence to Inspector Raglan in the morning.

• Chapter 25: The Whole Truth

  • Remaining behind with Sheppard, Poirot explained his complete deductions step-by-step. He revealed that the telephone call at a quarter past ten was engineered to give the killer an excuse to return to Fernly and retrieve the dictaphone hidden behind the pulled-out grandfather chair. Sheppard had taken Ralph's shoes from the inn to create false tracks, murdered Ackroyd with the Tunisian dagger before leaving the study at ten minutes to nine, set the dictaphone timer for half past nine to establish an alibi, and arranged for an American ship steward to make the phone call from the station. Poirot confronted Sheppard as the blackmailer who had driven Mrs Ferrars to suicide and killed Ackroyd to avoid ruin, suggesting that Sheppard take an overdose of sleeping draught to spare Caroline the disgrace.

• Chapter 26: And Nothing But The Truth

  • Poirot detailed Sheppard's exact timeline and actions on the night of the crime. Sheppard tried to deny the accusation, but Poirot showed him the wireless telegram from the American ship steward confirming that Sheppard had instructed him to make the telephone call from King's Abbot station. Poirot urged Sheppard to complete his written narrative and choose a quiet way out before morning.

• Chapter 27: Apologia

  • At five o'clock on Wednesday morning, Sheppard completed his manuscript, revealing his full confession. He admitted that he was the blackmailer of Mrs Ferrars, that he had stolen the dictaphone, killed Roger Ackroyd with the Tunisian dagger at ten minutes to nine, and systematically manipulated the evidence to frame Ralph Paton. Expressing satisfaction that Caroline would never learn the truth, Sheppard resolved to commit suicide by taking an overdose of Veronal, leaving his completed manuscript as a testimonial to Hercule Poirot's genius.