The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle Book 1)
From the publisher: "What is The Secret of Chimneys? A young drifter finds out when a favor for a friend pulls him into the heart of a deadly conspiracy in this captivating classic from Agatha Christie. Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the center of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realize that the simple favor has placed him in serious danger. As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret."
More info →A Pocket Full of Rye: A Miss Marple Mystery
While part of the Miss Marple series, you needn't have read any previous Christie novels to pick this up.
More info →Death on the Nile
Does Hercule Poirot ever get a vacation? It seems that wherever he goes, he must investigate. His cruise along the Nile is interrupted by a shocking murder (of course). Honeymooner Linett Ridgeway has been shot, and Poirot might know the culprit: he overheard a passenger say incriminating, threatening things about the beautiful (and filthy rich) young woman. But it wouldn't be a Christie novel without a few unexpected twists and turns. Devoted Poirot fans will enjoy several references to his other mysteries sprinkled throughout the novel, and heads up: it's been adapted for another Kenneth Branagh film.
More info →Murder on the Orient Express
It was supposed to be the perfect crime. But an avalanche stops the Orient Express in its tracks just before a passenger is found murdered in his berth, foiling the perpetrator's getaway, and trapping 13 potential suspects—each with an airtight alibi—in the train car with Inspector Hercule Poirot. If you've seen the movie, take note: Branagh changes Christie's ending. Hot tip: Dan Stevens's audio narration is fantastic.
More info →And Then There Were None
This is the world's best-selling mystery—and when I found out the audio version was read by Dan Stevens, I couldn't resist. (Loved it.) Ten strangers are lured to a deserted island, and then they begin dying, one by one, victims of a disturbingly wide range of murders. They share one thing in common: each has something in their past they would prefer to keep hidden. Who is the murderer, and will any of them survive?
More info →The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Library Journal says "this novel, written in 1927, is considered the best and most successful of the early mysteries." Out of more than eighty Agatha Christie books in print, Jim Mustich chooses this one by the queen of crime in his 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die. It involves a cozy English village, a murder (of course), Hercule Poirot, a plot twist, and no dearth of suspects. But Mustich also points out that it may well have inspired Christie's other famous detective. The narrator in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd bears a resemblance to Miss Jane Marple, Christie's curious, gossiping, elderly detective to come in later novels.
More info →The Body in the Library
"The best opening I ever wrote," according to Agatha Christie. From Time: "Professional detectives are no match for elderly spinsters... it is hard not to be impressed." The back cover says, "It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library.She is wearing an evening dress and heavy makeup,which is now smeared across her cheeks. But whois she? How did she get there? And what is theconnection with another dead girl, whose charredremains are later discovered in an abandonedquarry? The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marpleto solve the mystery . . . before tongues start to wag."
More info →Crooked House
Crooked House is a short, haunting, and intriguing stand-alone story about The Leonides family. When the head of the family is found murdered in their large and ramshackle mansion, everyone starts pointing fingers at each other. If this sounds familiar, the movie Knives Out seems to be quite inspired by Crooked House! Christie said writing this novel "was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best."
More info →The Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries Book 1)
From the publisher: "The murder of Colonel Protheroe -- shot through the head -- is a shock to everyone in St Mary Mead, though hardly an unpleasant one. Now even the vicar, who had declared that killing the detested Protheroe would be 'doing the world at large a favour,' is a suspect -- the Colonel has been dispatched in the clergyman's study, no less. But the picturesque English village of St Mary Mead is overpopulated with suspects. There is of course the faithless Mrs Protheroe; and there is of course her young lover -- an artist, to boot. Perhaps more surprising than the revelation of the murderer is the detective who will crack the case: 'a white-haired old lady with a gentle, appealing manner.' Miss Jane Marple has arrived on the scene, and crime literature's private men's club of great detectives will never be the same."
More info →The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Agatha Christie's debut novels introducing the world to Hercule Poirot and Tommy and Tuppence. The publisher says, "These two books changed detective fiction forever and revolutionized the mystery genre."
More info →Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
From the publisher: "In Hercule Poirot's Christmas, the holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder—and the notoriously fastidious investigator is quickly on the case. Christmas Eve, and the Lee family’s reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture and a high-pitched wailing scream. When Hercule Poirot offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man."
More info →The ABC Murders: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
Sunday Times of London says "there is no more cunning player of the murder game than Agatha Christie." The Evening Post called this one "her best."
More info →Absent in the Spring
This is a different sort of Agatha Christie novel, written under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott, that's complicated, witty, twisty and suspenseful in ways that have nothing to do with crime. The title comes from a Shakespeare sonnet; the novel itself is a character study, about a woman who begins to reassess her life after finding herself alone for the first time—and is none too easy with what she sees. Christie claimed to have written this novel in an incredible three days.
More info →Hallowe’en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
From the publisher: "At a Hallowe'en party, Joyce - a hostile thirteen-year-old - boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the 'evil presence'. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double murderer."
More info →The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural
Tana French says that "reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction." Christie’s short stories are especially crisp, tightly plotted, and thoroughly mind-bending. This collection features mysteries with supernatural elements: ghosts, haunted houses, and ancient curses. Our favorite detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, make appearances, and you can count on Christie to include a puzzle in each bite-sized suspense.
More info →The Secret Adversary: A Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries Book 1
From the publisher: "Tommy and Tuppence are young, in love… and flat broke. Restless for excitement, they decide to embark on a daring business scheme: Young Adventurers Ltd.—'willing to do anything, go anywhere.' But they get more than they bargained for when their first assignment for the sinister Mr. Whittington draws them into a diabolical conspiracy. It isn't long before they find themselves plunged into more danger than they ever could have imagined—a danger that could put an abrupt end to their business…and their lives."
More info →