I started reading Agatha Christie’s detective novels when I was very young, and my passion for crime mysteries stems largely from my early literary acquaintance with the Queen of Crime. I believe that when you read Christie’s crime mysteries, you also pretty much read the best and certainly most influential murder/detective mysteries there are (apart from probably those of Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe), and others either influenced Christie herself, see The Mystery of the Yellow Room [1907], or are twisted imitations, see The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle [2018]. Below are my ten favourite books from Agatha Christie (as you can see I prefer Hercule Poirot mysteries over those of Miss Marple, and also enjoy “exotic location” mysteries).
I. And Then There Were None [1939]
Obviously, And Then There Were None leads my list since this is Christie’s detective masterpiece. In it, eight people arrive to an isolated island invited for different reasons (some with job prospects in mind). They do not find their host on the island, and, it turned out that the cause of their arrival is more sinister as one by one they die from unnatural causes, with their deaths eerily in line with one nursery rhyme. Full of twists, with one big unbelievable reveal towards the end, this book is Christie at her best, and the cleverness and originality of the plot design is still unsurpassed, even though widely imitated.
II. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd [1926]
This maybe only sixth Agatha Christie book but it is no less ingenious for that, and was highly influential because of its conclusion. In this story, Poirot is forced out of his retirement to help solve the murder of his friend Roger Ackroyd in the fictional village of King’s Abbot. Ackroyd was murdered at his home and some clues were left behind by the murderer. Again, mind-boggling, unexpected reveal/twist at the end guarantees the thrill and the amazement, ensuring that the novel is very memorable.
III. Murder on the Orient Express [1934]
A murder in a moving vehicle was fuelling people’s imagination at the turn of the century onwards, and a murder committed in the luxurious Orient Express, which would have taken people in the 1930s on a scenic Paris-Istanbul journey, was even more intriguing to uncover. In this story, a wealthy American Samuel Ratchett, whom Poirot met briefly on the train, gets murdered, and Poirot has no choice but to plunge into the investigation. I love this novel because Christie once again makes absolutely sure that few readers would be able to guess the true murderer. Few people also know that the story was inspired by a true incident which happened in 1929 when the Orient Express train stalled in heavy snow for five days.
IV. Death on the Nile [1937]
Death on the Nile is again a Poirot mystery set in an exotic location which I love and first read many years ago. This time the action is on the River Nile, Egypt. A successful and beautiful socialite is murdered during a river cruise, and Poirot turns his inquisitive eye on those close to the victim, while carefully surveying the scene and weighting the probabilities. The improbable nature of the murder means that the uncovering of the culprit turns out to be a quite complex affair, but also with an emotional tinge to it.
V. Evil Under the Sun [1941]
In Evil Under the Sun, Hercule Poirot is holidaying in Devon when an attractive woman is murdered. The murder took place near a secluded hotel and there are only a handful of prime suspects which makes this detective story cosy and even more intriguing. Christie also employs a number of clever tricks to fool her readers and then to set out the true course of events. I liked this novel even more after I have seen the two film adaptations.
VI. Murder in Mesopotamia [1936]
Like other novels listed here, this one again features Hercule Poirot and is unputdownable. The murder occurs among the expedition members who went to Mesopotamia, to be precise to Tell Yarimjah, north of Baghdad. There, the wife of Dr Leidner, Mrs Leidner, is murdered, and Poirot starts to investigate. One of the fascinating aspects of this murder mystery is that it is set in the archaeological site. This novel is dictated by Agatha Christie’s own experience of the region when she went with her husband, an archaeologist.
VII. Crooked House [1949]
This is one of the later Agatha Christie novels which centres on one wealthy family, the Leonides, living in a grand estate Three Gables (the “Crooked House”) after the WWI. The millionaire patriarch of the family is poisoned, and Charles Hayward, the fiancé of the granddaughter of the murdered man, and Inspector Taverner start to investigate. Great characterisation of the family members, a lot of suspense and a surprising ending all make Crooked House a “must-read” Agatha Christie novel.
VIII. Cards on the Table [1936]
This is one of the first Agatha Christie novels I read and, therefore, it will always be special to me. I also love this story in particular because the murder occurs in one room (an enclosed location setting) and there are only a handful of suspects. This makes for an interesting scenario from a psychological viewpoint. In this story, an eccentric host Mr Shaitana gathers around for his candle-lit supper a number of people – sleuths, including Hercule Poirot and Colonel Race, and people who are presumed to have killed in the past. After dinner, the guests retire to play bridge, and it is during this game that that the host gets murdered as he sits near a fireplace. This is an intriguing and cosy mystery, and Poirot once again proves that his “grey cells” alone can point to the murderer.
IX. Death in the Clouds [1935]
This is probably the first Agatha Christie novel I read, and what immediately intrigued was that the murder took place “up in the air”, between Paris and London, in a completely enclosed setting of a commercial airplane. An inventive murder weapon and only eleven suspects make this murder mystery interesting, with Hercule Poirot and Chief Inspector Japp investigating the crime which bewilders and throws them off course a number of times.
X. The Body in the Library [1942]
This is the only Miss Marple mystery on this list. This story is about a body discovered at the home of Colonel Bantry and his wife. The body is of an unidentified blond woman, and Colonel Bantry is lucky to have be an acquaintance of Miss Marple who must use all her detective senses to unravel the mystery. More secrets are to come in this story, and it really makes for a fascinating read.
Thoughts on Papyrus 
I too had a major Agatha Christie phase in childhood. I’ve been wondering how I’d like them now. There’s so many adaptations on TV, I wonder if I can remember what the original characters were like. I can remember being really scared of the picture on my copy of A Carribbean Mystery. I think I liked Poirot most then, but I might prefer Miss Marple Now. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford in contrast, I found unbearable and very dated. I enjoyed the new take on Poirot on TV this christmas, still enjoy Joan Hickson’s Marple and have a soft spot for Peter Ustinov. Perhaps I will dip in and chiise one from your list. My sister took all the books when she left home!
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I am glad to find another person who read Christie in childhood. I think it is impossible to dislike Christie if you like detective novels. Her crime plots are timeless. I read most in my childhood and now re-reading them so many years afterwards does not make me like them any less. The impact is the same. They remain the most original scenarios I encountered in detective fiction.
I also watched many TV and film adaptations. I love Joan Hickson as Miss Marple too, and though I agree that Ustinov is someone special, David Suchet will always be the truest Poirot for me. He is just THE Poirot, the perfect cast. Btw, I have also once been “robbed” of my Christie collection. I never truly realised what I had until it got missing.
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I admit I have never read Agatha Christie! I’m not interested in detective fiction but she is so famous that I will definitely try one of her books some time.
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If I were to recommend only one Christie book to read to someone, I would recommend “And Then There Were None”, which is my favourite and I imagine Christie’s best-selling novel. It is best to go into her books without any prior knowledge of the plots, which is nearly impossible to do now of course since there have been so many film and TV adaptations, including on “And Then There Were None”.
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I haven’t seen any screen adaptations either so I would read a Christie book with no prior knowledge at all! I will definitely look out for your top recommended book, let’s see what I think of it 🙂
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I so wish I were you, honestly! How I wish to read again “And Then There Were None” and “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” without knowing any of the plot twists, what a thrill will that be again 🙂
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I have that same envy of people reading books I’m very familiar with, they are discovering it for the first time 🙂
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I also am one of those who have never read this author, although I have seen and liked many of the movies based on her books. I really have to give her a go.
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Most will be worth your time. Actually, some of her stories are much better as reading material than films or TV episodes because in some we follow the internal thinking and first person impressions such as in “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” and that makes the story so much more intriguing and exciting. Actually, come to think of it, there is also that element in “And Then There Were None”.
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Thanks Diana! I will definitely take a look at those.
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Great selection! Lots of them would make my own list – The Body in the Library, Crooked House, And Then There Were None, etc – but I think I like Miss Marple more than you, so I’d also include 4.50 from Paddington and The Moving Finger. And I’d have to have a Tommy and Tuppence book – probably By the Pricking of My Thumbs… 😀
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Thank you! I feel like I will love Miss Marple again if I allow more time to get into her mysteries 🙂 I have recently re-read 4.50 from Paddington and I was not impressed that much. The reason may be that I love too much “one location” murder mysteries and this one was obviously not exactly the case.
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This makes me feel like I need to re-read Agatha Christie! I spent many summers at my grandmother’s house as a kid, reading old mystery paperbacks. And Then There Were None is obviously her finest but I remember Evil Under the Sun being very good too.
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Thanks for commenting! Evil Under the Sun is good, and also clever enough.
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I have never read one of her novels! What would be a good pick to read first?
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And Then There Were None is her most well-known and ingenious work (in terms of eeriness and surprises too). If you are set to read only one, I would recommend this one.
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Much appreciated. Will search this one out
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“And Then There Were None” is my favourite Agatha Christie book, too! I love it so much that I even learnt the poem! I also enjoy 4.50 from Paddington. My favourite character from the Agatha Christie books has to be Hercule Poirot.
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Thanks for the comment, and I completely agree. Hercule Poirot is a very memorable lead character and an ingenious invention by Christie.
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Huge Agatha fan here. My introduction to her work was Murder of Roger Ackroyd so you can imagine what an introduction that was! It’s good to see you appreciate Crooked House, which I think is very underrated (maybe people think it’s too controversial?). Generally I think the non-series books could do with more attention.
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I, too, was an avid Agatha Christie reader as a child. I agree with your choices, although I would have had more Miss Marples on the list. Speaking of screen adaptations, my husband and I just watched a movie version of The Alphabet Murders, in which Tony Randall played Hercule Poirot. Talk about bad casting!
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Yes, I guess my list is Hercule Poirot-biased 🙂 I have not heard of this adaptation of The Alphabet Murders. It surely cannot be worse than John Malkovich playing Poirot in the 2018 series 🙂
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Except for death in the clouds & The Body in the Library which I have not read BTW , this is a great list . I put out a list regarding some of the under-rated / lesser – known books by Christie . . . Check it out – I would love to hear your thoughts about ( after all only a fellow Christie fan would be the best judge 🙂 .
http://sherlockedsharon.com/2018/09/18/seriously-under-rated-christie-must-reads/
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