Poirot retires to a village near the home of a friend he met in London, Roger Ackroyd, who agrees to keep him anonymous, as he pursues his retirement project of perfecting vegetable marrows. He is not long at this pursuit when his friend is murdered. Ackroyd's niece calls Poirot in to ensure that the guilt does not fall on Ackroyd's stepson; Poirot promises to find the truth, which she accepts. The novel was initially well-received, remarked for the startling ending, and in 2013, 87 years after its release the British Crime Writers' Association voted it the best crime novel ever.