This study focuses on the deceptive strategies utilized in two well-known novels: Christie's (1926/2009) detective fiction The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Flynn's (2012) psychological thriller Gone Girl. The study of the stylistic idiosyncrasies of Flynn's Amy, the psychopathic antagonist, and Christie's Dr. Sheppard, the nonpsychopathic antagonist, is carried out through a pragma-stylistic eclectic model to explicate their deceptive strategies for the fulfillment of their egoistic ends. The qualitative analysis shows that Amy and Dr. Sheppard are expert metapragmaticians; while Amy is a...