The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is just fabulous. There's a reason it's a classic. The first time through, you'll be surprised by the twist. on rereads, you'll appreciate how clever Christie is and how entertaining her characters can be.
Hercule Poirot has retired to the country to live in anonymity and grow vegetable marrows, which I think are a type of zucchini. It's not going terribly well. But then we have a couple of deaths in town, a suicide followed shortly by a murder, and Poirot gets to put his little grey cells to work.
Our narrator is Dr. James Shepherd, the local doctor, who knew both of the dead people quite well. From him we learn about Mrs. Ferrars' suicide, which town gossip is sure was due to the guilt she felt from poisoning her husband. We also learn that she disclosed some information to Roger Ackroyd in a letter the night he was killed. Shepherd acts a little...