Staff Pick: Agatha Christie - 100 Years of Mystery (Part One)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)

“Mrs. Ferrars died on the night of the 16th–17th September - a Thursday” and so begins one of the most famous crime novels of all time. 

While “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” was only Agatha Christie’s sixth novel, the book demonstrates all the qualities why Agatha Christie’s writing is still loved today.

The book begins with Dr James Sheppard, the local village GP in King’s Abbot, and his sister Caroline discussing the recent death of Mrs Ferrars, believed to be from an overdose. Dr Sheppard becomes the narrator of this tale, taking on the role previously held by Captain Hastings, while his sister Caroline is often viewed as a forerunner to Miss Marple. She keeps her brother updated with all the news and gossip from the village to add to his own observations. 

Within a day, a further death has occurred in the village. Roger Ackroyd, who had been planning on proposing to Mrs Ferrars, is found murdered in his mansion. We are told quickly the motive for his murder – he has discovered the identity of the person blackmailing Mrs Ferrers, although the reader is not let in on the blackmailer’s identity.  

Fortunately, Kings Abbott also has a local retiree who is perfectly suited to probing these deaths. Roger Ackroyd's niece visits Hercule Poirot and persuades him to take time away from his vegetable marrows and to take on the case. 

The plot of this book moves briskly, and there’s sharpness and humour in the descriptions – as is typical in Agatha Christie’s writing, you can expect numerous suspects, plenty of intrigue, a somewhat bumbling police service and as ever, we culminate in the unmasking of the murderer… 

If you are still not convinced, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was voted the Crime Writers' Association Best Ever Novel in 2013 - a significant endorsement of a book that continues to surprise and delight readers a century after its publication.

Find a copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in the library

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd e-audiobook on BorrowBox

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ebook on BorrowBox

Submitted by Ciara D.

Death Comes as The End (1944)

As a life-long fan of Agatha Christie I’ve been familiar with Poirot and Marple for years. But this just heightens the excitement of finding a new-to-you title. Death Comes as the End is likely to have passed many people by, as it’s one of her only novels to have never received any kind of adaptation.  

Death Comes as the End is set entirely in ancient Thebes, revolving around an Egyptian family, the upheaval of their lives by their father’s new concubine and a series of increasingly mysterious deaths. Many of Christie’s later novels were inspired by her travels with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, and this feels incredibly well researched for the time. Thought to be one of the first historical fiction whodunit novels, the focus is still pure Christie, and the psychology of the characters makes it feel timeless. 

It’s a deadly book, in both senses of the word, with a high body count and a very unique perspective. It’s a gorgeous historical portrait of life in Thebes in the 11th Dynasty, a twisty and compelling whodunit and a little bit of a love story as well.  

Find a copy of Death Comes as The End in the library

Submitted by Esme.