Situational Irony
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: Situational Irony 1 key example

Key Examples in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Chapter 27: Apologia
Explanation and Analysis—Puzzled Hopelessly:

In Chapter 27, Dr. Sheppard at last admits that he is the killer and explains how and why he did it. Even as he takes responsibility, he notes the situational irony that many other people seemed to implicate themselves in some way over the course of the investigation:

I wish I could have known beforehand that Flora was going to say she’d seen her uncle alive at a quarter to ten. That puzzled me more than I can say. In fact, all through the case there have been things that puzzled me hopelessly. Everyone seems to have taken a hand.