“Mrs. Ferrars died on the night of the 16th-17th September–a Thursday.”

From Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Doctor James Sheppard acts as both doctor and coroner for the small village of King’s Abbott where he lives with his busybody, younger sister, Caroline.  James has just finished the autopsy for the apparent suicide of a widow, Mrs. Ferrars, when he runs into his wealthy friend, Roger Ackroyd, who expresses concern over a mysterious issue in his life and invites James to dinner so they can discuss it more.  Always one to know the local happenings, Caroline assumes that Roger’s trouble is centered around his troublesome stepson, Ralph, but James refuses to discuss it with her.  Arriving to Ackroyd’s house, he is greeted by Roger’s sister-in-Law and niece live (who live with him), Miss Russell (the housekeeper), Parker (the Butler), and fellow dinner guests Major Blunt (Roger’s friend) and Geoffrey Raymond (his secretary).  After dining with Roger, he confesses to James that he was planning to marry Mrs. Ferrars until he learned that she had poisoned her late, mean husband and that someone was blackmailing her for the past year because of it.  James leaves Roger with a recently delivered suicide note from Mrs. Ferrars where she confesses and names her blackmailer.  When James receives a late night call that Roger has been murdered, he discoverers that nothing is as it seems, everyone is hiding something, and there is no shortage of suspects.  As things are so muddled, Roger’s niece seeks the assistance of James’ mysterious neighbor Hercule Poirot to help discover the truth; at the detective’s request, James becomes a sort-of assistant for Poirot as the pair try to solve this unsolvable murder.

This classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie is a cunning and surprising ride that is timeless.  The characters are unique, but easy to keep straight, much through the use of James’ narration.  The mystery is well-developed and possibly one of Christie’s most famous twists, but The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a must-read for fans of the genre.