Characteristics of Roger Ackroyd?

A genial widower, Ackroyd is the central figure in King’s Abbott. A wealthy businessman, Ackroyd’s influence as well as the intrigue surrounding his stepson, family, and himself, make him a constant subject of gossip and speculation. Sheppard describes Ackroyd as being a proper man, who believed heavily in society’s rules for rightness as well as its class divisions. He is murdered at the beginning of the novel, providing the mystery that Poirot will so brilliantly solve.