The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the retired detective Hercule Poirot is growing marrows in a quiet English village when the wealthy Roger Ackroyd is stabbed in his study. The story is told by the local doctor, James Sheppard, who helps Poirot investigate, and its solution became one of the most famous twists in crime fiction.
The novel caused a sensation because it broke an unwritten rule about who could be the killer.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Dr. James Sheppard | Village doctor and narrator |
| Caroline Sheppard | His sister, the village gossip |
| Hercule Poirot | Retired Belgian detective |
| Roger Ackroyd | Rich local manufacturer |
| Ralph Paton | Ackroyd's stepson |
| Flora Ackroyd | Ackroyd's niece |
| Parker | The butler |
| Mrs. Ferrars | Widow Ackroyd hoped to marry |
How does the story begin?
Mrs. Ferrars, a widow, is found dead of an overdose. Gossip says she poisoned her husband. That evening Roger Ackroyd, who wished to marry her, tells Dr. Sheppard over dinner that she had confessed to him and was being blackmailed. A letter from her arrives naming the blackmailer, but Ackroyd sends Sheppard away before reading it.
↑ Back to the topHow is Ackroyd killed?
Later that night Sheppard receives a phone call, supposedly from the butler, saying Ackroyd has been murdered. He rushes to the house, the study door is broken down, and Ackroyd is found stabbed in the neck. The letter is gone. Ralph Paton, Ackroyd's debt-ridden stepson, has disappeared, and suspicion falls on him.
↑ Back to the topHow does Poirot investigate?
Flora, engaged to Ralph, asks Poirot, who has moved in next door to the Sheppards, to clear him. With Sheppard as his assistant, Poirot uncovers secrets in the household: the butler's past, a secret marriage, debts and a mysterious stranger. He notices a moved chair, a missing dictaphone and the strange timing of the phone call.
↑ Back to the topWho killed Roger Ackroyd?
Poirot reveals that the narrator, Dr. Sheppard, is the killer. He was the blackmailer who drove Mrs. Ferrars to her death. Afraid of being named in her letter, he stabbed Ackroyd before leaving, used the dictaphone to make it seem Ackroyd was alive later and arranged the call to give himself an alibi. He also hid Ralph in a nursing home. His account is accurate but carefully leaves out what he did.
↑ Back to the topHow does it end?
To spare Caroline the shame of a trial, Poirot gives Sheppard until morning to put his affairs in order. Sheppard finishes his manuscript, the book itself, as a confession, and ends it calmly with the intention of taking a fatal dose, ending the story.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.