There aren’t many authors prolific enough to allow you to pick out 10 of their best works, and for each to be a classic. The fact is that Agatha Christie has written so many great murder mysteries that picking out only 10 was something of a challenge. Author of a staggering 80 novels that span through from 1920 to 1976, together with a number of successful West End theatre plays and various collections of short stories, Agatha Christie is (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) the best-selling writer of books of all time and, with William Shakespeare, the best-selling author of any kind. Her books have been translated into 103 languages and made into numerous films and television adaptations, and her stage play The Mousetrap is the longest running play on record, opening in 1952 and still going strong.
Agatha Christie’s success lies largely in her ability to structure the plots of her novels; her whodunits often leave readers guessing right to the very end, even though clues are scattered plentifully throughout the pages to give them a fair chance of solving the mystery themselves. She has created numerous ‘impossible’ locked-room crimes, and the murderer is almost always the last person you would expect it to be. And of course, her celebrated detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, are amongst some of the world’s best-loved literary characters.
If you’ve never encountered Agatha Christie’s books before, then you’re in for a treat; they’re the ultimate in comfort reading. So you won’t be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of novels to choose from, here are 10 of her most brilliant whodunits to start you off…
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Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot) Agatha Christie |
A snowdrift leaves Hercule Poirot stranded aboard the Orient Express with a dead body and a carriage full of suspects and clues. A connection between the victim and an unresolved crime in the past opens up a whole range of possibilities as Poirot tackles one of his most difficult and morally challenging cases.
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A Murder is Announced: (Miss Marple) Agatha Christie |
When a strange notice appears in the morning paper of a perfectly ordinary small English village inviting friends to a murder that will take place on Friday 29th October at Little Paddocks at 6.30pm, a number of villagers allow their curiosity to get the better of them. At 6.30pm precisely, the lights go out and a shot rings out, and the party guests discover that this is no game…
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot) Agatha Christie |
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of Agatha Christie’s best known and most controversial novels, with an innovative and audacious twist that has shocked readers for generations. Poirot is called in to investigate the death of Roger Ackroyd, who was stabbed to death before he could reveal the truth about the deaths of the woman he loved and her first husband.
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Poirot – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas Agatha Christie |
A festive splattering of Christmas cheer sees Hercule Poirot offering to assist when a family reuinion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, a high-pitched wailing scream and a brutal, bloodthirsty murder. How was the tyrannical Simeon Lee killed inside a locked room? And are his house guests really who they claim to be?
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And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie Collection) Agatha Christie |
And Then There Were None is Agatha Christie’s best-selling novel with 100 million sales to date, making it the world’s best-selling mystery ever. In a startling break from her traditional formula, Agatha Christie abandons Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple to tell the sinister and atmospheric story of 10 strangers, who are lured to and then stranded on an island. It soon becomes all too apparent that one of them is a murderer…
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side
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Miss Marple – The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side Agatha Christie |
The arrival of glamorous American film star Marina Gregg in Miss Marple’s home village of St Mary Mead spells tragedy for one of her adoring fans. Heather Badcock dies when she unwittingly drinks a poisoned cocktail – but was it really intended for her?
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Poirot – Cat Among the Pigeons Agatha Christie |
Summer Term at Meadowbank School for Girls turns out to be not quite what the teachers or pupils had bargained for when diamonds, kidnapping, blackmail, espionage and murder find their way onto the curriculum. A refreshingly different setting for a thrilling whodunit.
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The Seven Dials Mystery (Agatha Christie Signature Edition) Agatha Christie |
Adventure and romance lie at the heart of one of Agatha Christie’s more light-hearted and entertaining novels, as a group of young friends gather for a house party at a magnificent ancestral mansion, Chimneys. A practical joke takes on a unexpected significance when a murderer strikes, and it soon becomes clear that a sinister secret society lies at the heart of the mystery.
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The ABC Murders (Hercule Poirot) Agatha Christie |
A serial killer is on the loose, working his way through victims and locations based on the alphabet and leaving a copy of the ABC Railway Guide open beside each body. A direct and personal challenge from the killer to Hercule Poirot sees the famous Belgian detective fighting for his professional reputation…
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Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot) Agatha Christie |
In this classic conflict of motive and opportunity, Agatha Christie has produced a flawless plot in one of her most exotic murder mysteries. With unforgettable characters and a gripping narrative, Death on the Nile is a masterpiece of detective fiction.