The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

In the quiet village of King's Abbot, the wealthy Roger Ackroyd is found dead in his study, stabbed shortly after learning a secret that someone was desperate to keep buried. The local doctor, James Sheppard, becomes chronicler and assistant to his new neighbour: a retired little Belgian with magnificent moustaches who grows vegetable marrows and happens to be Hercule Poirot. As Poirot interviews the household (the anxious relatives, the secretive butler, the parlourmaid who resigned the day of the murder) it becomes clear that nearly everyone in King's Abbot is hiding something.

This is the novel that made Agatha Christie famous, and the ending is one of the most argued-about in the history of detective fiction, a solution so audacious that some readers in 1926 accused her of cheating. Everyone agrees she played fair; the clues are all there, spoken plainly, daring you to catch them. Going in unspoiled is a privilege. If you still can, do.

At roughly 74,900 words, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd runs about 8½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

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