Overview

Join Margaret Boe Birns and Nicholas Birns as they discuss Agatha Christie’s famous and controversial mystery The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, in-person at 92NY on June 9, 2026, from 6:30–8:00 pm.  

We will consider Christie’s work not as scholars, but from the perspective of a writer of fiction.   

How can we read as a writer, for our own purposes? Do we begin with issues of plot, character, suspense, or narrative technique? Can we analyze this mystery in terms of structure, pacing, point of view, and the mechanics of a twist ending? How do contemporary writers engage with classic authors of the past? Do writers read other writers the way family members read each other?   Margaret Boe Birns and her son, literary scholar Nicholas Birns will draw from their insightful essay on The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, featured in their recently published book, Agatha Christie Under the Magnifying Glass. In this “Reading Like a Writer” session, we will explore Christie's intentions and inspired choices, and how her careful choice of words and phrases convey subtle clues about the identity of the murderer, while also adding psychological depth to the characters of the victim, suspects, and detective. After our discussion, there will be time for audience questions.