'The Murdere of George Ackroyd

Assignment for class. As usually it is extra copy (and it will be easier to print it if I copy it from here while using other computer >:D).

Review ‘The Murdere of George Ackroyd’

King’s Abott - small village in England in which widow suddenly dies. Her death may have not risen any suspicions, if it wasn’t for rumors that she poisoned her husband. However, lack of evidence seems to suggest that both of them died naturally. That is, untill George Ackroyd receives a letter containing the truth about her and her husband. Unfortunately, several hours later George is found dead and letter disappeared without trace. Who was it that betrayed Mr.Ackroyds earnest trust and killed him? Will Dr. Sheppard, his meddlesome sister and Poirot – detective in retierment manage to solve this mystery?

The ‘The Murder of George Ackroyd’ may not look too encouraging as title basicaly screams who is going to be the main victim. I bought it almost accidentally, only because I was searching for some other work of Agatha Christie and since it couldn’t be found, shop assistant who happened to be a huge fan of criminal stories recommended this to me. She claimed it had great plot and is definitely worth reading. I must admit she was right.

What surprised me that most, when I started to read the book, was the usage of first person narrative. I can only recall one other Christie’s book I read where it was used. Aside from that everything else seemed typical at first glance – Watson-like Dr. Sheppard who fulfills the role of narrator, gossip-loving sister of his whose information may be crucial for finding the murderer and last, but not least eccentric Belgian detective Poirot. Bit by bit they discover hidden truths and lies of Ackroyd’s family and friends; neverthless, it isn’t untill last chapter that we learn the identity of the culprit. Only after realising the final plot-twist we can appreciate the splendidly written plot and detailed description of characters behaviour. Author managed to present readers with all knowledge they needed  in such subtle and seemingly innocent way that they can remain completely unsuspecting untill the truth is drawn out.

I can recommend this story to all criminal lovers. It’s a must read which introduced one of most interesting plot devices to this genre and a well-written story.