The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser

Publisher's Summary

Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected, also, that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose.

But the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information. Unfortunately, before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death.

©1926 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2002 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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5 out of 5 stars
By Deb on 04-20-16

Best in series

I have read 9 Agatha Christie books featuring Hercule Poirot. This is my favorite. The characters had me laughing out loud. Hugh Fraser is an absolute delight. Characters and plot woven seamlessly. A must have in your audible library.

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16 people found this helpful

4 out of 5 stars
By Dallas1 on 10-17-15

Another gem from Christie!

I can't get enough of Agatha Christie! It doesn't seize to amaze me the depth with which Dame Christie planned and executed her novels; the attention to detail is impeccable!
Very enjoyable read/listen. Love, love High Fraser! I forget at times that it's one person speaking. He gives each character such specific accent/intonation/pitch, and you get transformed into the novel.
My commute to work and back home is something I now look forward to thanks to Hugh Fraser and Ms. Christie.
Now off to go check out my next Christie book!

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7 people found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By EmilyK on 04-02-14

Great narration; loved by my 6th grader

What did you love best about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?

I read it almost 40 years ago and found the final plot twist really shocking. What was fun about the audio was that I could share the experience with my 6th grade son. He loved it! This was some elective reading he had to do for school, but it turned into a fun experience for us to do together. I wouldn't have thought of this as a kids' book!

What other book might you compare The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to and why?

Well, it is a great example of Agatha Christie. It actually isn't one of her ones I most enjoy experiencing -- in fact, I found it disturbing enough when I read it as a tween that I didn't reread it until now. However, because of its subversion of the conventions I can see why it is an interesting one to read for English class. A great example of the unreliable narrator.

So to compare it to other Christies, I would say it is more thought provoking, but not a cozy (though much of Christie has disturbing elements, especially for the time it was written).

Have you listened to any of Hugh Fraser’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Well, I enjoyed him as Dr. Hastings, Poirot's sidekick on PBS Mystery. Although my son often watches Mystery with me, he wasn't familiar with the Poirot episodes so it was a new narrator/actor for him. Neither of us had listened to his audios before.

I thought he was an outstanding narrator for this book. I would hope that he narrates other Christies.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

My son certainly found it hard to take a break from. We had to turn it off so he could get some sleep!

Any additional comments?

I continue to marvel about how accessible this was to a modern 11 year old who has grown up on TV and computers.

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6 people found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Anonymous User on 02-07-20

I’m obsessed

I honestly cannot handle how brilliant this book is. At first, I actually thought it was boring. But by the end, I had become so intrigued that I immediately listened to the whole thing through again and have been madly researching clues. This is a work of literary genius, and the performance is wonderful too, particularly the narration of the doctor’s conversations with his sister. I definitely recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Kellie on 01-17-20

I KNEW IT!!!!

Honestly it was just a wild guess, a shot in the dark, but it was so satisfying to be right!!

This story is a classic whodunit and Agatha Christie is a MASTER of creating suspense, playfully parsing out information for the reader to latch onto and create their own hypotheses. She creates countless twists and turns, and overall is an incredible storyteller. The narrator was one of my favorites so far, I haven't heard him before but I will certainly be on the lookout for him in the future! He absolutely nailed the French/Belgian accent and made the story that much more dynamic and interesting. All in all, 10/10, would recommend!!

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1 person found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By mjrousos on 04-17-16

What a surprise!

One of Christie's best! An unexpected delight, very original. Perhaps my favorite Poirot mystery. Delightful characters and unique presentation.

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7 people found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Amazon Customer on 05-25-20

Captivating

A terrific story which immediately draws you in and keeps you on your toes. The narration was terrific and couldn't have complimented the story any better!

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5 out of 5 stars
By Katrina on 05-21-20

Great Mystery

I really enjoy Agatha Christie books and this is one of her best ones! I never saw the ending coming.

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5 out of 5 stars
By Patrick on 05-10-20

still great in 2020

the book is wonderful, but that's been understood for some time now. the dynamic of the narrator in the audio book format though is an interesting thing and can ruin a great book, or make a mediocre book quite good. this is a display in best case scenario in both, and its like magic when you have a great book, and an equally great narrator. some kind of voodoo happens and it makes the experience so awesome, the next book you listen to will be underwhelming.

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5 out of 5 stars
By J. Minne on 05-08-20

such an influential book

I don't want to go into much detail because other reviews I read spoiled parts of it for me. but you will recognize so much of this in much of recent writing and movies.

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