Fan Casting Hercule Poirot And The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd

Dr James Sheppard, a doctor living in King's Abbot, England, is called to certify the death of a wealthy widow, Mrs. Ferrars, who committed suicide a year after her abusive husband's death. Sheppard is invited to dinner by Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy widower and owner of Fernly Park. The dinner guests include Major Blunt, Ackroyd's sister-in-law, Flora, and Ackroyd's personal secretary, Geoffrey Raymond. Ackroyd admits to poisoning Mrs. Ferrars and promises to reveal the blackmailer's name within 24 hours. Ackroyd's butler, Parker, enters with a letter from Mrs. Ferrars, which she had posted just before she killed herself. Ackroyd's butler, Parker, arrives and finds Ackroyd dead in his chair, killed with his own dagger. Ralph Paton, Ackroyd's stepson, disappears and becomes the primary suspect. Flora, convinced that Ralph is innocent, asks detective Hercule Poirot to investigate. Poirot questions the guests and staff, including the parlourmaid, Ursula Bourne, who has no alibi. Poirot unravels a complex web of intrigue and presents Ralph Paton, who was secretly married to Ursula when Ackroyd decided to marry Flora. Flora admits she never saw her uncle after dinner, leaving Raymond and Blunt as the last people to hear Ackroyd alive. Poirot reveals that Dr. Sheppard is the blackmailer and Ackroyd's killer, having stabbed Ackroyd before leaving the study.