I not-so-recently read the Murder of Robert Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Christie is a well-known English mystery-writer who wrote two types of books - one starred Hercule Poirot, a short Belgian, the other starred Mrs. Marple, a witty old lady. The Murder of Robert Ackroyd is a meticulously detailed account from the perspective of a family friend, a doctor, who watches Hercule Poirot dig into the mystery. It also starts with what the title would imply - the doctor leaves Mr. Ackroyd one night, and by morning, he is found dead at his desk. There are only a few characters in the book, but nearly all of them are suspects. Hercule questions and observes all of them, from Ackroyd's blubbering butler Parker, to their household servants. The greatest part of this book is at the end, when Poirot unveals that the main character, the doctor, is guilty - something which I had never even concieved of being possible. If you like mysteries, you'll like this book, plain and simple. If you don't, you probably won't.