circles as a writer who can easily merge the boundaries of the genre of her writing with unexpected and purely imaginative outcomes. But in the Murder of Roger Ackroyd Christie seems to utilise the (redundant) and limiting conventions of the self same “genre” to fit in with (her) plot, such that in the “inverted “detective novel the conventions and the contradictions go parallel leaving an impact which is as inexpressible as it is gripping.
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of the crime thrillers which gives the reader two gimmicks – a seemingly unsolvable problem and the pursuit to untangle it for which the detective proves instrumental.  Yet the heart of the novel is “logical deduction” which beyond all reasons cannot be uncompromised. In the MRA, Agatha Christie follows the major characteristics of a detective novel which are elaborated upon by the work of the clever Hercule Poirot. The Murder of the wealthy and old Mr. Ackroyd takes place in a closed room which could not be accessed without getting in notice of the other members of the house. The event is further complicated when it is revealed that Mr. Ackroyd was heard talking just minutes before he was discovered brutally murdered. The murder provides the perfect exposition for the retired detective Poirot to interfere in the matter and identify the murderer. As critics note the novel is filled with “too many curious incidents which are not related to the crime” and yet perform the role of red herrings which under chaotic sequence of things tangle the story further. With more than 5 suspects and a ‘missing’ prime suspect the novel clearly justifies its position as a detective fiction.
Like all other detective novels by Christie, The MRA also upholds reason and logic above all virtues which is epitomised in Hercule Poirot. Yet, the deductions made by Poirot are more close to “cultural” manifestations and personal habits than universal cold logic.  
In the make believe world of the detective fictions, crime and evil form the perverse part of reality which is easily spotted and hence severely punishable. Following the same convention, Christie also places the narrative of MRA in the village of King’s Abbot where modernity has not set foot – “We have a large railway station, small post office, and two rival ‘General stores’…Our hobbies and recreations can be summed up in one word, ’gossip’ (MRA, Who’s who in King’s Abbot) . But the climax of the novel hints at a more dubious reason for selecting the conventional “English country house “setting. As Julian Symons notes -“Criminals of Christie’s novels were not generated out of a culture but individual desires” and therefore it is reasonable to argue that the criminals of Christie’s novels are a product of an anxiety which gripped the urban life after the World War. Money and sex were the two major reasons for which Christie’s criminals indulged in the evils like murder and theft. In a constantly shrinking world, these were the two forces which guided the man in England to pursue the evil ways and it is hence that through the corruption of the godly doctor (Dr.Shepperd) in the seemingly original and pure country village, Christie wishes to highlight the degraded moral state of the times- a degradation which has spread from the cities to the country.   
The detective in the story acts as the link between the reader and the progression of the investigation/ story. He not only demands the trust of the reader but also assumes the position of a competitive figure in the battle of wits between the reader and the investigating detective.  But every detective fiction conventionally had only one detective/ character who was allowed to match the wit of the reader but in the MRA Christie introduces the character of Caroline since the very first chapter as a person who could identify strange events “without stepping out of the house”. She is the first character which establishes that link of competition with the reader until Poirot is introduced and in fact it is Caroline only who helps Poirot identify the real murderer through her gossipy nature. Caroline Shepperd is acknowledged by Christie as the precursor of Miss Marple. So, it is not wrong to conclude that MRA features not one but two detectives.  
The multiplicity of events is also noticed in the number of times that the crime is reconstructed with different characters of the story. Unlike the other detective novels where the crime is reconstructed in the end to clearly identify the culprit, the crime is partially reconstructed with each character through the progression of the novel. 
Yet, unlike the other novels of the genre, the climax of Christie’s MRA lies in the revelation of the narrator as the culprit of the murder. In this final revelation, Christie breaks the trust of the reader and delves into a territory which was unchartered in detective fiction – “the criminal mind”. It is in fact the untrustworthy nature of the narrator that lashes the reader into accepting a world of deception. 
By allowing the narrator to be the murderer Christie sidelines the centrality of the character of the detective who restores the social order and throws the light on the development of the criminal mind from the execution to punishment of the crime. Christopher Booker in his book The Seven Basic Plots: Why we tell stories? describes the meta plot of a novel as having the following stages:
•    “The anticipation stage, in which the hero is called to the adventure to come, 
•    Dream stage, in which the adventure begins, the hero has some success, and has an illusion of invincibility. 
•    Frustration stage, in which the hero has his first confrontation with the enemy, and the illusion of invincibility is lost. 
•    This worsens in the nightmare stage, which is the climax of the plot, where hope is apparently lost. 
•    Finally, in the resolution, the hero overcomes his burden against the odds.[2]
Clearly then, the light of the novel MRA lies on the criminal unlike the other detective fictions where the detective and his rationale were the central concern. The key thesis of Booker’s book then helps in understanding the MRA more accurately: "However many characters may appear in a story, its real concern is with just one: its hero or heroine. It is he with whose fate we identify, as we see him gradually developing towards that state of self-realization which marks the end of the story. Ultimately it is in relation to this central figure that all other characters in a story take on their significance. What each of the other characters represents is really only some aspect of the inner state of the hero or heroine themselves."