The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1926); audiobook read by Hugh Fraser (Lamplight, 2014)
A much-lauded work that, nearly a century after first publication, remains deserving of its reputation. Poirot nudges the reader at every crucial point but never gives the game away. Christie sticks the landing (and really does make the most of Hastings’ departure)!
The Murder on the Links
by Agatha Christie (The Bodley Head, 1923)
audiobook read by Hugh Fraser (Lamplight, 2014)
Setting aside Hastings and his galling outbreak of instalove, this is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of detective fiction—lucidly told and ingenious, affording an excellent vehicle for Hercule Poirot. There are coincidences, of course, but of the less egregious kind. Misleading title.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
by Agatha Christie (John Lane, 1920); audiobook read by Hugh Fraser (Harper Collins, 2006)
An agreeable debut for both Christie and Poirot; yet for all the ingenious conception and deft foreshadowing, its mystery nevertheless comes across more as an intellectual puzzle for the author to have pieced together than as a whodunnit to engage the reader.