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A Dagger & the Dictaphone


The Queen of Mystery is back at it again with another installment of the Hercule Poirot detective mystery series. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd takes place in King's Abbot, which is located in Great Britain. Both Mrs. Ferrars' and Mr. Ackroyd's deaths happen simultaneously after one another--one by an overdose and one by a dagger. Narrator Dr. James Sheppard is a physician who not only oversaw Mrs. Ferrars' death, but also Mr. Ackroyd's. It was shortly discovered after both murders that Dr. Sheppard's mysterious neighbor was the infamous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot! After being incognito for a time, Flora Ackroyd was able to persuade him to investigate her late uncle's murder. This mystery novel introduces a number of different characters that all hold specific roles to the background of the village and the murder itself. When reading it, I found everyone seemed to have a suspicious factor about them, but Hercule Poirot was able to weave between the suspects and discover who the true culprit of the crime was. I was completely taken aback by the ending of this novel--utterly speechless. I had slight suspicions as to who the culprit could have been, but I was not even close to the truth. I've only read two of Agatha Christie's novels (Murder on the Orient Express and this current read), but I find that Hercule Poirot's style of detective work is extremely intriguing and entirely understandable. Unlike other detectives, Poirot has a certain allure about him that keeps me as a reader wanting to hear what he has discovered next. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a worthwhile mystery novel and a relatable detective!

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