British writer Agatha Christie has been hailed as “the greatest mystery writer of all time” and the “Queen of Mystery.” It’s unlikely any other serious crime writer has published more classic novels since the First World War, certainly not 74 of them, 66 of which were detective novels. Christie published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, featuring the fan-favorite character Hercule Poirot, a detective whose sharp intellect would make him one of the most iconic and recurring characters in Christie’s repertoire.
Although she began writing as a second career while working as a volunteer nurse during the First World War, her career as a writer quickly took off and the Torquay-born author forayed into romance, poetry, children’s books, autobiographies and playwriting. All these contributed to her repertoire, which includes over 130 published pieces.
Over the past century, readers have been drawn to Christie’s art form because she has a familiar formula that they have come to know and trust. As a whodunnit novelist, each story has many puzzles that make every plot gripping and pulse-pumping. Her uncanny ability to breathe life into characters through mysterious themes and the crimes that drive them is stellar and has made her the best-selling author of all time.
Agatha Christie’s Top 10 Books, Ranked
The refreshing plots of Christie’s novels and the multi-dimensional nature of her characters’ personalities continue to fascinate millions of readers to this day. It might be said that the melodies of those plots have become to the mystery genre what Bach’s compositions are to a pianist, and have made Christie’s writings the Gold Standard of mystery literature. The rankings of her 10 best books also speak to their continuing popularity — essentially across the board — for critics and fans alike to recommend them consistently to one another. Christie’s geographical settings have transported readers all over planet Earth, from drawing rooms in British country houses to sun-kissed shores in exotic countries. With over 66 detective novels under her belt, this ranking highlights 10 of Christie’s best books based on commercial success, critical acclaim and the impact of her work on the mystery genre.
10. Five Little Pigs, 1942
Christie’s superpower is her psychological depth. In Five Little Pigs, the English author reminds her reader of the formula she will adhere to in her subsequent novels: nothing is what it seems. The plot revolves around the reopening of a murder case that had been closed 16 years prior. Although Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, her daughter believes she is innocent and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. To determine the truth, Hercule Poirot must get creative by gathering psychological evidence, rather than physical evidence that was destroyed years prior. Just like the nursery rhyme “five little pigs,” when Caroline was accused of killing her husband, there were five other suspects who may have potentially committed the crime, but it is up to Poirot to find the real culprit.
Who should read: Five Little Pigs is an excellent read for mystery fans who like stories centered around psychological rather than sensational plots. It is available on HarperCollins Publishers.
9. Endless Night, 1967
Christie’s Endless Night centers around the life of impoverished 20-year-old Michael Rogers, who believes he has hit the jackpot when he stumbles upon Gypsy’s Acre, a piece of land that is later acquired by Fenella (Ellie) Guteman, a wealthy heiress who he falls in love with and marries, much to the chagrin of Ellie’s well-to-do family. The couple disregards this disapproval and continues to build their home on Gypsy’s Acre together, regardless. Michael believes that he has found an idyllic life and even shakes off the sinister warnings of an old local who states that Gypsy’s Acre is cursed. Soon, Michael begins to observe a string of ongoing and eerie events, which prove to be only the beginning of a sequence of strangely ominous and mysterious events.
Who should read it: Endless Night is a good book for readers fascinated by plots that grow increasingly unsettling and sinister over time. It is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
8. The Body in the Library, 1942
In Christie’s second Miss Marple mystery, The Body in the Library, the Bantry family finds the dead bodies of two young women in their home. The first woman is dressed up in fancy clothes for a night out, and the other is all but burned to char in their quarry. The Body in the Library is rife with plot twists, gory details and her primary ingredient: mystery. She takes readers on a journey to uncover exactly who these women are, the chronology of their murders and the tangled tale that will weave the entire story together. True to form, she keeps readers on the edge of their seats with the masterful storytelling and plotting that she executes in this book.
Who should read it: The Body in the Library is a great read for mystery fans who enjoy a mind-boggling whodunit. The book is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
7. The ABC Murders, 1936
In Christie’s The ABC Murders, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot emerges yet again, this time on a unique mission to catch a serial killer who is assassinating people in alphabetical order; gifts in hand, the self-possessed serial murderer is aware that Poirot is trying to identify him, and places clues in his trail to bait the detective. Christie leads readers on a frustratingly nail-biting journey of tracking the killer down before he finds his next victim, in alphabetical order, of course.
Who should read it: The ABC Murders is a good read for patient readers who enjoy the meticulous unfolding of complex mystery storylines. The book is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
6. Death on the Nile, 1937
In Death on the Nile, a murder shatters what is supposed to be a peaceful vacation through North Africa for the detective Hercule Poirot. Instead, readers learn that a beautiful young woman has been killed — shot in the head with a single bullet. Linnet Ridgeway, as the murdered woman is called, seemed to have a perfect life until she was abruptly murdered. Christie uses themes of wealth, envy, obsession and betrayal to reveal the underbelly of human nature, and her fan-favorite fictional muse, Poirot, gets to work unraveling it all.
Who should read it: Christie’s signature suspense with rich descriptions of Egyptian scenery make Death on the Nile an ideal pick for readers who enjoy mystery and exotic life. The book is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
5. A Murder Is Announced, 1950
When it comes to turning the buzz of everyday life into something eerie, no one can match Christie. In A Murder is Announced, the quaint English village of Chipping Cleghorn becomes the crime scene for a gutsy experiment in murder. After the local paper prints an advertisement announcing that a murder will take place “on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.,” villagers are surprised, yet curious. As the hour draws near, the village crowd assembles awaiting a game or a joke. The hour approaches, the lights go out, there is a sound of a gun, and the entire place is plunged into darkness. When the lights come back on, there is a body and a puzzling conundrum that seems too fictional to be true. It is one of Christie’s finest works.
Who should read it: A Murder Is Announced is a good read for anyone who cleverly crafted mysteries that blend suspense with insightful social commentary. The book is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1926
In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Christie breaks the rules of the mystery genre and challenges her readers to reimagine their preconceived ideas about the genre. When the widow Mrs Ferrars dies of a self-inflicted overdose, residents of King’s Abbot are stunned. Shortly after her death, however, Roger Ackroyd, her fiancé, is murdered, and this further rattles the community. With the help of Hercule Poirot, Christie guides readers through the puzzling deaths that unsettle the quiet village of King’s Abbot. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is regarded as one of the most influential mystery books of all time.
Who should read it: Murder mystery enthusiasts who enjoy unconventional approaches to storytelling will appreciate this book. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
3. The Murder at the Vicarage, 1930
The Murder at the Vicarage introduces readers to the feisty and quick-witted Miss Marple, who finds a murder to investigate in St Mary Mead, where beneath the seeming simplicity of small-town living reveals lies crime, guilt, deceit and murder. Colonel Protheroe, a tyrannical magistrate and village landowner, is widely disliked in the village and has many enemies; when he is finally murdered, Miss Marple is faced with weeding out multiple suspects. Although The Murder at the Vicarage seems like a plot that would be straightforward and predictable to the average, unassuming reader, it is anything but.
Who should read it: Readers who like plot twists and are hard-core fans of one of her most famous characters, Miss Marple, will enjoy this book. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
2. Murder on the Orient Express, 1934
For many readers, Murder on the Orient Express, is the raison d’être of Agatha Christie, possibly the first thing that comes to mind when anything else of hers is mentioned, and its very first word tends to get short shrift when that happens. It’s the quintessential “locked-room” mystery: On the Orient Express railcar, snowbound in luxury, Hercule Poirot is faced with a murder committed by one of the train’s passengers, whose locked bedroom seems to be the only possible place from which the crime could have been committed
In Christie’s hands, this plot line turns into something far more accomplished than a mystery story. The array of motives and backstories that she must now fit together to explain what happened may be more complex than the crime at Poirot’s neck, but Christie makes no concession to her reader; she is determined to satisfy her hero’s intelligence as well. Into the bargain, she provides enough lovely detail of place to make her novel as atmospheric as it is ingenious.
It remains the most filmable of all whodunnits and, with each new screen version, another version of Poirot appears, ready to be adapted.
Who should read it: Readers who enjoy mystery and historical fiction will enjoy this book. It is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
1. And Then There Were None, 1939
Dark in theme and appalling in its storyline, And Then There Were None can be seen as the apex of narrative craft, a sort of gothic apotheosis where justice and crime, guilt and innocence are examined alongside the dark sides of our human existence. It is one of the most compelling mysteries ever written and a crowning glory of Christie’s work. The plot of the book kicks off with 10 strangers, each invited — for different reasons — to a place called Soldier Island, a rock off the coast of England. On arrival, they are greeted by a gramophone recording that accuses each guest of a specific murder: a crime for which he or she had escaped justice. The guests discover that none of them know the person who supposedly invited them, and the host himself is no longer there. A frenzy ensues after one of the guests dies at dinner and then another in the middle of the night. The body count rises forcing the remaining guests to grow ever more paranoid of each other.
Who should read it: Readers who are hardcore fans of Christie and believe that this book is her crowning achievement will enjoy this book. It is available from HarperCollins Publishers.
Agatha Christie Books In Order
Below are Christie’s books, listed in order of release:
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles – 1920
- The Secret Adversary – 1922
- The Murder on the Links – 1923
- The Man in the Brown Suit – 1924
- Poirot Investigates – 1924
- The Secret of Chimneys – 1925
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – 1926
- The Big Four – 1927
- The Mystery of the Blue Train – 1928
- The Seven Dials Mystery – 1929
- Partners in Crime – 1929
- Giant’s Bread – 1930
- The Mysterious Mr Quin – 1930
- The Murder at the Vicarage – 1930
- The Sittaford Mystery – 1931
- Peril at End House – 1932
- The Thirteen Problems- 1932
- Lord Edgware Dies – 1933
- The Hound of Death – 1933
- Murder on the Orient Express – 1934
- Unfinished Portrait – 1934
- The Listerdale Mystery – 1934
- Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? – 1934
- Parker Pyne Investigates – 1934
- Three-Act Tragedy – 1934
- Death in the Clouds – 1935
- The ABC Murders – 1936
- Murder in Mesopotamia – 1936
- Cards on the Table – 1936
- Dumb Witness – 1937
- Death on the Nile – 1937
- Murder in the Mews – 1937
- Appointment with Death – 1938
- Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – 1938
- Murder is Easy – 1939
- And Then There Were None – 1939
- The Regatta Mystery – 1939
- Sad Cypress – 1940
- One, Two, Buckle My Shoe – 1940
- Evil Under the Sun – 1941
- N or M? – 1941
- The Body in the Library– 1942
- Five Little Pigs – 1942
- The Moving Finger – 1942
- Towards Zero – 1944
- Absent in the Spring – 1944
- Death Comes as the End – 1944
- Sparkling Cyanide – 1945
- The Hollow – 1946
- The Labors of Hercules – 1947
- Taken at the Flood – 1948
- Witness for the Prosecution– 1948
- The Rose and the Yew Tree – 1948
- Crooked House – 1949
- A Murder is Announced– 1950
- Three Blind Mice – 1950
- They Came to Baghdad – 1951
- The Under Dog – 1951
- Mrs McGinty’s Dead – 1952
- They Do It with Mirrors – 1952
- A Daughter’s A Daughter – 1952
- After the Funeral – 1953
- A Pocket Full of Rye – 1953
- Destination Unknown – 1954
- Hickory Dickory Dock – 1955
- Dead Man’s Folly – 1956
- The Burden – 1956
- 4.50 from Paddington – 1957
- Ordeal by Innocence – 1958
- Cat Among the Pigeons – 1959
- The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding – 1960
- The Pale Horse – 1961
- Double Sin – 1961
- The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side – 1962
- The Clocks – 1963
- A Caribbean Mystery – 1964
- Star Over Bethlehem – 1965
- At Bertram’s Hotel – 1965
- Third Girl – 1966
- Endless Night – 1967
- By the Pricking of My Thumbs – 1968
- Hallowe’en Party – 1969
- Passenger to Frankfurt – 1970
- Nemesis – 1971
- Elephants Can Remember – 1972
- Postern of Fate – 1973
- Poirot’s Early Cases – 1974
- Curtain – 1975
- Sleeping Murder – 1976
- Miss Marple’s Final Cases and Two Other Stories – 1979
- Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories – 1991
- The Harlequin Tea Set – 1997
- While the Light Lasts and Other Stories – 1997
- Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly – 2013
Bottom Line
Christie is largely known for her ability to turn mundane details, people and places into colorful, authoritative, page-turning dramas with alarming shocks, thrilling twists and unexpected revelations. Her two most famous detectives, the Belgian Hercule Poirot and the lovable Miss Jane Marple, embody the kind of entertaining, sharp-witted characters that many associate with 1930s popular mass media; yet all her novels feature complexity as a barely controlled essence, an intricate puzzle that unravels to become a printed, sanitized way of stimulating the human senses, while triggering curiosity, annoyance and excitement.