Whodunit This Time?

Agatha Christie is the one and only Queen of Crime. Her stories range from "The Mysterious Affair At Styles", her first- introducing mustachioed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot- to "Curtain", her last- and this detective's final case. In between, however, the Poirot's and Miss Marple's, are stories narrated by someone who appears in one book only. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is one of these, and it is one that the eclectic authoress recommends wholeheartedly. The narrator is a humble village doctor called to the scene of a murder- and then discovers his next-door neighbor is Poirot, famous detective. The two compare notes about the murder, and the solution leaves the reader wondering: Did that actually happen?

A Beautiful Ending

"'No, I don't think I do, really... I just thought I did. But he didn't believe in me. He didn't know I was innocent.' She looked at Calgary. 'You knew! I think I'd like to marry you.'
'But, Hester, I'm years older than you are. You can't really-'
'That is- if you want me,' said Hester with sudden doubt.
'Oh, I want you!' said Arthur Calgary."

(This perfect scene- which makes much more sense and is much more beautiful if one has read Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie- ends a fantastic book by having dynamic characters do dynamic things, and shows that even relatives and friends being murdered can bring people together. Let us all hope it does not come to that outside of literature.)