The Murder of Roger Ackroyd paperback
Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners.Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully adapted versions are shorter with the language targeted at upper-intermediate learners (CEF level B2).Each reader includes: - A CD with a reading of the adapted story
- Helpful notes on characters
- Cultural and historical notes relevant to the plot
- A glossary of the more difficult wordsRoger Ackroyd is a man who knows too much.He knows the woman he loved poisoned her first husband. He knows someone was blackmailing her - and now he knows she killed herself.When Roger Ackroyd is found murdered, the famous Belgian
detective, Hercule Poirot, is called in to find out who the killer is.
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Community Reviews
Such a smart and delightful read! Although not my first time enjoying what fans say is one of Dame Agatha's most witty plots with its clever and inventive narrative style - it is however, Poirot's ingenious ability to outmanoeuvre the murderer with his tried and tested methodology while cunningly remaining his confidant that pulls me in every time! A definite must-read for all fans of the mystery genre - :)
Village rumour hints that Mrs. Ferrars poisoned her husband, but no one is sure. Then there's another victim in a chain of death. Unfortunately for the killer, master sleuth Hercule Poirot takes over the investigation.
Sent to me as a twitter prize by the lovely people at Harper Collins to mark a republish (different cover to one shown, but I cant find the latest image).
This is number 4 in the Hercule Poirot series, and it finds him retired in the countryside and keeping a low profile - so low, he doesnt appear for the first few chapters. The story is narrated by the local doctor and starts with the apparent suicide of Mrs Ferrars believed to have poisoned her husband the year before. Then Mr Ackroyd is found murdered in his study just a few days later. There are plenty of suspects - everyone is hiding a secret from Poirot and it takes him some time to work out just who did it.
If you've ever watched the TV adaptations, or read this before, the killer of Ackroyd is well known. However it's Christie's presentation of the narrative (as written in chapters by the doctor who has an eye on writing a book in the future a la John Watson about Sherlock Holmes) that keeps it all going. One advantage of Poirot books is that they are rarely (I dont think *ever*) written from the perspective of Poirot himself, and therefore we are safe in the knowledge that we are given the same information as Poirot, and it's just that everyone has their own interpretation on the information.
So: lovely edition of a book I havent read for a long time, and enjoyable to see how it completes, even if you do think you know who did it!
Sent to me as a twitter prize by the lovely people at Harper Collins to mark a republish (different cover to one shown, but I cant find the latest image).
This is number 4 in the Hercule Poirot series, and it finds him retired in the countryside and keeping a low profile - so low, he doesnt appear for the first few chapters. The story is narrated by the local doctor and starts with the apparent suicide of Mrs Ferrars believed to have poisoned her husband the year before. Then Mr Ackroyd is found murdered in his study just a few days later. There are plenty of suspects - everyone is hiding a secret from Poirot and it takes him some time to work out just who did it.
If you've ever watched the TV adaptations, or read this before, the killer of Ackroyd is well known. However it's Christie's presentation of the narrative (as written in chapters by the doctor who has an eye on writing a book in the future a la John Watson about Sherlock Holmes) that keeps it all going. One advantage of Poirot books is that they are rarely (I dont think *ever*) written from the perspective of Poirot himself, and therefore we are safe in the knowledge that we are given the same information as Poirot, and it's just that everyone has their own interpretation on the information.
So: lovely edition of a book I havent read for a long time, and enjoyable to see how it completes, even if you do think you know who did it!
Clever murder mystery with plenty of red herrings. All characters are interesting. The doctor is following Hercule Poirot writing down the story like doctor Watson. Pretty much an imitation of Sherlock Holmes as Poirot is weird and brilliant too.
The doctor lives with his sister who is an absolutely brilliant character. So damn funny! She makes the book good. The overall mystery is deep and confusing. A tad too many characters and plotlines for such a short book. It's impossible to remember everything. Yet it would be perfect as a movie where you can recall faces.
It's genius how Poirot tricks everyone including the reader. At one point telling the doctor he will make up a lie to trick the butler into giving him info. Then we find out he actually tricked the doctor too at the same time as he was actually trying to get info from another person there. Genius. Yet it's a book one needs to read 2 times to fully get. I still like it yet it's a bit like the movies Tenet or Primer. Interesting because it's confusing yet clearly could make sense if you wrote down all the events and characters somewhere.
Frankly I adore murder mysteries yet the best thing here was the comedy and cute events like romance, jokes, or gotcha moments. It's all in the great writing.
The doctor lives with his sister who is an absolutely brilliant character. So damn funny! She makes the book good. The overall mystery is deep and confusing. A tad too many characters and plotlines for such a short book. It's impossible to remember everything. Yet it would be perfect as a movie where you can recall faces.
It's genius how Poirot tricks everyone including the reader. At one point telling the doctor he will make up a lie to trick the butler into giving him info. Then we find out he actually tricked the doctor too at the same time as he was actually trying to get info from another person there. Genius. Yet it's a book one needs to read 2 times to fully get. I still like it yet it's a bit like the movies Tenet or Primer. Interesting because it's confusing yet clearly could make sense if you wrote down all the events and characters somewhere.
Frankly I adore murder mysteries yet the best thing here was the comedy and cute events like romance, jokes, or gotcha moments. It's all in the great writing.