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Quite the story! I never heard about this before, and I’m a huge fan (admittedly that’s fan of the books though, rather than the author herself). The story/nove

Quite the story! I never heard about this before, and I’m a huge fan (admittedly that’s fan of the books though, rather than the author herself). The story/novel mentioned in the article (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) is famous in literary circles for $reasons - if you haven’t read it and you enjoy reading that sort of book, you’re missing out! (It does look like she staged a murder scene from her books intending to frame her husband then came to her senses, doesn’t it?)

ruph123 3y ago
I have read similar recommendations about the book and read it because of those. The problem is that if you recommend the book for it's "unique plot twist", the reader will keep looking for clues on how the resution may not be the most obvious and figure it out pretty fast. Then it is actually no surprise at all anymore. At least this happenend to me. It would serve the book better if it was recommended as a great (but traditional) murder mystery novel and that's it.
- ComputerGuru 3y ago
  That's a fair point. I've lightly edited my recommendation accordingly :) I read it making my way down a random list of "greatest books of the 20th century" without any expectations; I should probably offer others the same courtesy.
- hackernewds 3y ago
  Hey that's a very good point. My friends often will say "just wait for the twist" and are confounded why that is a spoiler
- genter 3y ago
  TBH, most of her books have the common theme of the murderer is the last person you'd expect. Although admittedly Ackroyd is the most extreme example.
  - bratwurst3000 3y ago
    Hahaha you spoiled every Agatha Christie book for some people.
- truculent 3y ago
  I’d recommend you take a look at the book “Who Murdered Roger Ackroyd?” if you want a slightly different take on the book and its twist
throwanem 3y ago
> It does look like she staged a murder scene from her books intending to frame her husband then came to her senses, doesn’t it? Sure, if that's what you want to see. Or if the tabloid journalists of the day, who even by contemporary standards behaved themselves professionally with serene disregard for anything resembling honesty or morality, think it'll sell more papers to make it look like that.
jstarfish 3y ago
> It does look like she staged a murder scene from her books intending to frame her husband then came to her senses, doesn’t it? That was never going to work. The husband had an alibi, and the daughter was present. Christie would have known that. She used the mistress' name when checking into a hotel, which implicated her in the incident. If Christie intended to frame anybody for anything, it'd be her. It looks to me like she intended to leave, considered suicide, aborted the attempt, then tried to improvise a vague story for wrecking the car. I don't believe the fugue-state part.

ruph123 3y ago

I have read similar recommendations about the book and read it because of those. The problem is that if you recommend the book for it's "unique plot twist", the reader will keep looking for clues on how the resution may not be the most obvious and figure it out pretty fast. Then it is actually no surprise at all anymore. At least this happenend to me. It would serve the book better if it was recommended as a great (but traditional) murder mystery novel and that's it.

ComputerGuru 3y ago
That's a fair point. I've lightly edited my recommendation accordingly :) I read it making my way down a random list of "greatest books of the 20th century" without any expectations; I should probably offer others the same courtesy.
hackernewds 3y ago
Hey that's a very good point. My friends often will say "just wait for the twist" and are confounded why that is a spoiler
genter 3y ago
TBH, most of her books have the common theme of the murderer is the last person you'd expect. Although admittedly Ackroyd is the most extreme example.
- bratwurst3000 3y ago
  Hahaha you spoiled every Agatha Christie book for some people.
truculent 3y ago
I’d recommend you take a look at the book “Who Murdered Roger Ackroyd?” if you want a slightly different take on the book and its twist

throwanem 3y ago

> It does look like she staged a murder scene from her books intending to frame her husband then came to her senses, doesn’t it? Sure, if that's what you want to see. Or if the tabloid journalists of the day, who even by contemporary standards behaved themselves professionally with serene disregard for anything resembling honesty or morality, think it'll sell more papers to make it look like that.

jstarfish 3y ago

> It does look like she staged a murder scene from her books intending to frame her husband then came to her senses, doesn’t it? That was never going to work. The husband had an alibi, and the daughter was present. Christie would have known that. She used the mistress' name when checking into a hotel, which implicated her in the incident. If Christie intended to frame anybody for anything, it'd be her. It looks to me like she intended to leave, considered suicide, aborted the attempt, then tried to improvise a vague story for wrecking the car. I don't believe the fugue-state part.