BookMatcherBest Agatha Christie Books
Agatha Christie
Author spotlight

Best Agatha Christie Books

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, in the United Kingdom, the daughter of a wealthy American stockbroker. Her father died when she was eleven years old. Her mother taught her at home, encouraging her to write at a very young age. At the age of 16, she went to Mrs. Dryden's finishing school in Paris to study singing and piano. In 1914, at age 24, she married Colonel Archibald Christie, an aviator in the Royal Flying Corps. While he went away to war, she worked as a nurse and wrote her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), which wasn't published until four years later. When her husband came back from the war, they had a daughter. In 1928 she divorced her husband, who had been having an affair. In 1930, she married Sir Max Mallowan, an archaeologist and a Catholic. She was happy in the early years of her second marriage, and did not divorce her husband despite his many affairs. She travelled with her husband's job, and set several of her novels set in the Middle East. Most of her other novels were set in a fictionalized Devon, where she was born. Agatha Christie is credited with developing the "cozy style" of mystery, which became popular in, and ultimately defined, the Golden Age of fiction in England in the 1920s and '30s, an age of which she is considered to have been Queen. In all, she wrote over 66 novels, numerous short stories and screenplays, and a series of romantic novels using the pen name Mary Westmacott. She was the single most popular mystery writer of all time. In 1971 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

detective fictionmysterymurderFictionMystery & DetectiveSubjects

Agatha Christie's books, ranked

Ranked by publication recency, reader signal, and editorial weight.

  1. موت اللورد إدجوير by Agatha Christie
    1of the list

    موت اللورد إدجوير

    by Agatha Christie

    Belgian Inspector Hercule Poirot has retired to the countryside in the small English village of King's Abbot. Dr. Sheppard, observing his new neighbor, is sure that he must be a former hairdresser. But the brutal murder of a local squire reveals the truth: the peculiar little man is actually a detective par excellence. The Murder of the wealthy industrialist Roger Ackroyd begins the night before with the suicide of Mrs. Ferrars, a wealthy widow. Her death is believed to be an accident, until Roger Ackroyd is stabbed to death in his locked study. There are rumors she poisoned her first husband, rumors that she was being blackmailed, rumors that her secret lover was Roger Ackroyd, a man who knew too much, but no one is sure. There's no shortage of suspects, all the members of the household stand to gain from his death, from Roger's neurotic sister-in-law who has accumulated personal debts, to a parlormaid with an uncertain history who resigned her post the afternoon of the murder. But the police focus on Ralph Paton, Ackroyd's stepson and heir, and the person with the most to gain from Roger's death. When sleuth Hercule Poirot, who is living quietly in King's Abbot, agrees to investigate, the case takes a completely different turn. Poirot exonerates all of the original suspects, and lays out a completely reasoned case that the clever and devious murderer is someone who had not come under suspicion at all - someone whose motive has nothing to do with money. ([source][1]) ---------- Also contained in: - [Five Classic Murder Mysteries](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL471533W) - [Masterpieces of Murder](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL471974W) - [More Stories to Remember: Volume II](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15146874W) - [The Murder of Roger Ackroyd / The Mystery of the Blue Train / Dumb Witness / Death on the Nile](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20909872W) - [Murders to die for](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL27311029W) - [Novels](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24535152W) - [Novels](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL26432485W) - [Works](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17307260W/Works) [1]: https://www.agathachristie.com/stories/the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd

    detective fictionmysterymurder
    Buy on Amazon
  2. Il mistero del Treno Azzurro by Agatha Christie
    3of the list

    Il mistero del Treno Azzurro

    by Agatha Christie

    Conosciuto anche con il pomposo nome di 'Treno dei miliardari', il Treno Azzurro unisce nella notte Londra alle spiagge assolate della Costa Azzurra. Sulle sue lussuose carrozze si possono incontrare tutti i protagonisti dell'alta società: miliardari americani, nobili europei, ereditiere e anche investigatori famosi come Hercule Poirot. La presenza di quest'ultimo, per quanto casuale, deve essere per forza collegata a qualche delitto. E infatti il delitto avviene. La giovane e bella Ruth Kettering, figlia del miliardario Van Aldin e moglie infedele del corrotto lord Kettering, viene ritrovata stangolata nel suo scompartimento senza la preziosa collana di rubini che aveva con sé.

    FictionMystery & Detective
    Buy on Amazon
  3. Xmurder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
    4of the list

    Xmurder on the Orient Express

    by Agatha Christie

    ***While en route from Syria to Paris, in the middle of a freezing winter's night, the Orient Express is stopped dead in its tracks by a snowdrift.*** Passengers awake to find the train still stranded and to discover that a wealthy American has been brutally stabbed to death in his private compartment. Incredibly, that compartment is locked from the inside. With no escape into the wintery landscape the killer must still be on board. ***Fortunately, the brilliant Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot is also on board, having booked the last available berth.*** ***Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s most famous novels***, owing no doubt to a combination of its romantic setting and the ingeniousness of its plot; its non-exploitative reference to the sensational kidnapping and murder of the infant son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh only two years prior; and a popular ***1974 film adaptation, starring Albert Finney as Poirot - one of the few cinematic versions of a Christie work that met with the approval, however mild, of the author herself.***

    SubjectsAgatha ChristiePrivate investigator
    Buy on Amazon
  4. They Do it with Mirrors by Agatha Christie
    5of the list

    They Do it with Mirrors

    by Agatha Christie

    When Jane goes to stay with her friend Carrie-Louise at her home she soon begins to realise that all is not well there. Not only is this the family home but it is also a rehabilitation centre for delinquent boys and there are definitely some odd characters living there. Then an attempt is made on the life of Carrie-Louise's husband, her step-son is murdered and someone tries to poison Carrie-Louise.

    FictionMystery & DetectiveTraditional
    Buy on Amazon
  5. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
    6of the list

    And Then There Were None

    by Agatha Christie

    The World's Bestselling Mystery "Ten . . ." Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious "U.N. Owen." "Nine . . ." At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead. "Eight . . ." Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . one by one they begin to die. "Seven . . ." Who among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

    FictionMystery & DetectiveTraditional
    Buy on Amazon
  6. The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
    7of the list

    The A.B.C. Murders

    by Agatha Christie

    Recognized as one of Christie's cleverest mysteries in the highly popular Poirot series. It is sure to be a success with her many avid fans. A serial killer is on the loose, murdering his victims in alphabetical order, leaving an ABC Railway Guide beside each body... and also playing a game with Hercule Poirot, alerting him in advance to the location of the murders, but Poirot always arrives too late. Intrigued by the psychopath's mind and methodology, Poirot travels the length and breadth of England - determined to track down the ruthless killer.

    FictionMystery & DetectiveTraditional
    Buy on Amazon
  7. The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
    8of the list

    The Seven Dials Mystery

    by Agatha Christie

    Brings back several characters from an earlier novel, *The Secret of Chimneys*, in a story that can best be described as a John Buchan thriller told by P.G. Wodehouse. (https://agathachristie.fandom.com/wiki/The_Seven_Dials_Mystery) Consummate young silly ass Gerry Wade is the despair of hosts and hostesses across the land, with his inability to make it to breakfast before the eggs are congealed, the toast has wilted and the coffee has grown chill and distinctly unwelcoming. And so, a small group of sundry other young silly-asses and interchangeable girls decide that a good, stiff dose of eight fine alarum clocks would be just the thing to spring him, yelling, from his bed in the early hours. This plan, however, fails signally to work, for the very good reason that Gerry is far too dead to be roused by anything quieter than the Last Trump. This discovery both puts a dampener on the house party and raises some questions. Why would a notoriously heavy sleeper die of an overdose of a sleeping draught? And why are there only seven of the eight clocks found in the bedroom, neatly and sinisterly arranged on the mantelpiece as though to convey some message? Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent and friends are shortly to find out… (https://alackofconsensus.wordpress.com/2018/03/07/review-the-seven-dials-mystery-by-agatha-christie/)

    Crime & mysteryMystery/SuspenseEnglish Detective and mystery stories
    Buy on Amazon
  8. Murder on the Orient Express A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie
    9of the list

    Murder on the Orient Express A Hercule Poirot Mystery

    by Agatha Christie

    THE MOST WIDELY READ MYSTERY OF ALL TIME NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX RELEASING NOVEMBER 10, 2017 DIRECTED BY KENNETH BRANAGH “The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .” Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer. Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again. Includes a photo insert of images from the film! “What more . . . can a mystery addict desire?”—New York Times

    FictionMystery & DetectiveTraditional
    Buy on Amazon
  9. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
    10of the list

    The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

    by Agatha Christie

    “This is Agatha Christie’s masterpiece, and if she never wrote another word, she’d have still gone down as the Queen.” –LOUISE PENNY, #1 New York Times bestselling author “Ingenious and unexpected.” –NEW YORK TIMES The official edition of the beloved classic voted by the British Crime Writers’ Association as the "Best Crime Novel of all Time," now featuring a new introduction by Louise Penny, a foreword from Agatha Christie's great grandson, and exclusive content from the Queen of Mystery. Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Then, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with an apparent drug overdose. However, the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information, but before he could finish reading the letter, he was stabbed to death. Luckily one of Roger’s friends and the newest resident to retire to this normally quiet village takes over—none other than Monsieur Hercule Poirot . . . Not only beloved by generations of readers, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was one of Agatha Christie’s own favorite works—a brilliant whodunit that firmly established the author’s reputation as the Queen of Mystery.

    English & College SuccessEnglishFiction
    Buy on Amazon
  10. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
    11of the list

    The Secret Adversary

    by Agatha Christie

    Originally published in January 1922, ‘The Secret Adversary’ is the second published detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. With stolid Tommy Beresford and vibrant Tuppence Cowley, Christie created a pair of fan favorites to whom she returned throughout her career; the fun-loving duo appears in three other novels and a collection of short stories, and their exploits have been adapted for stage and screen. ‘Young Adventurers Limited’ is a brand new private detective agency, set up by the dashing Tommy Beresford and the resourceful Tuppence Cowley. Their first assignment is to track down some secret documents that disappeared after the sinking of the Lusitania. Soon they are on the trail of the mysterious Mr. Brown, the head of an international gang of crooks-and in more danger than they bargained for! The beloved characters' debut offers a light-hearted romp that also recaptures the essence of its age, as postwar England hovered on the brink of enormous change.

    FictionAction & Adventure
    Buy on Amazon
  11. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
    12of the list

    Murder on the Orient Express

    by Agatha Christie

    THE MOST WIDELY READ MYSTERY OF ALL TIME—NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY KENNETH BRANAGH AND PRODUCED BY RIDLEY SCOTT!   “The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .”   Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.   Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.   “What more . . . can a mystery addict desire?”—New York Times

    English & College SuccessEnglishFiction
    Buy on Amazon
  12. Towards Zero by Agatha Christie
    14of the list

    Towards Zero

    by Agatha Christie

    "I like a good detective story, but they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that." So remarks esteemed criminologist Mr. Treves. Truer words have never been spoken, for a psychopathic killer has insinuated himself , with cunning manipulation, into a quiet village on the river Tern. But who is his intended victim? What are his unfathomable motives? And how and when will he reach the point of murder...the zero point? In the ingenious and noteworthy departure for Agatha Christie, it's the intricate workings of a pathological mind that becomes the stuff of startling mystery as group of friends at a seaside resort remain blithely unaware that their weekend will be the death of them all...

    FictionMystery & DetectiveTraditional
    Buy on Amazon
  13. Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
    15of the list

    Appointment with Death

    by Agatha Christie

    Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sits the corpse of Mrs. Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist is the only sign of the fatal injection that killed her. Mrs. Boynton was a sadistic, domineering tyrant who is widely disliked by most people who have come in contact with her. Almost anyone might have had motive to kill her!

    Fiction
    Buy on Amazon
  14. Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
    16of the list

    Three Act Tragedy

    by Agatha Christie

    In Agatha Christie’s classic, Three Act Tragedy, the normally unflappable Hercule Poirot faces his most baffling investigation: the seemingly motiveless murder of the thirteenth guest at dinner party, who choked to death on a cocktail containing not a trace of poison. Sir Charles Cartwright should have known better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner. For at the end of the evening one of them is dead—choked by a cocktail that contained no trace of poison. Predictable, says Hercule Poirot, the great detective. But entirely unpredictable is that he can find absolutely no motive for murder.…

    English & College SuccessEnglishFiction
    Buy on Amazon
  15. The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie
    17of the list

    The Thirteen Problems

    by Agatha Christie

    This new mini hardback edition completes the series of collectable Miss Marple hardbacks - the first time all 14 Marple books have had their own uniform hardback series. A weekly dinner party Ten amateur sleuths The Tuesday Club murders On a quiet Tuesday in St Mary Mead, a group of friends gather for dinner. A policeman, a clergyman, a solicitor, an author, an artist, and an unassuming lady with a shrewd gaze - Miss Jane Marple. Conversation naturally turns to crime. Each recounts a seemingly unsolvable mystery. Each thinks they know the answer. But it's the one they least expect who understands the true nature of each wicked act... Never underestimate Miss Marple 'Billions of readers can't be wrong.' Dreda Say Mitchell 'The plots are so good that one marvels . . . most of them would have made a full-length thriller.' Daily Mirror

    FictionClassicsMystery & Detective
    Buy on Amazon
  16. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie
    18of the list

    Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

    by Agatha Christie

    While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. The man opens his eyes and with his final breath says, 'Why didn't they ask Evans?' Haunted by these words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger...

    FictionMystery & DetectiveWomen Sleuths
    Buy on Amazon
  17. Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie
    19of the list

    Parker Pyne Investigates

    by Agatha Christie

    A collection of short stories featuring the 'heart specialist', Parker Pyne. Mrs Packington felt alone, helpless and utterly forlorn. But her life changed when she stumbled upon an advertisement in The Times which read: 'ARE YOU HAPPY? IF NOT, CONSULT MR PARKER PYNE'. Equally adept at putting together the pieces of a marriage or the fragments of a murder mystery, Mr Parker Pyne was possibly the world's most unconventional private eye - and certainly its most charming.

    FictionLiteraryMystery & Detective
    Buy on Amazon
  18. A Daughter's A Daughter by Agatha Christie
    20of the list

    A Daughter's A Daughter

    by Agatha Christie

    The love between a mother and daughter turns to jealousy and bitterness in this intense and personal drama. Ann Prentice falls in love with Richard Caulfield and hopes for a new life and happiness. Only her daughter, Sarah, takes an instant jealous dislike to him. Resentment slowly corrodes their relationship as each seeks comfort in the formidable and knowing Dame Laura Whitstable who remarks, “the trouble with sacrifice is that once its made its not over and done with.”

    Drama
    Buy on Amazon

If you like Agatha Christie

Find books with similar themes, tone, and atmosphere.

Love Agatha Christie's books?

Get recommendations for Agatha Christie fans delivered weekly.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

iOS · Free download

Read Agatha Christie on the go

Track your reading, get personalized picks, and reach your reading goals — free in the BookMatcher iOS app.

Download on iOS

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Agatha Christie book to start with?

Many readers recommend starting with "موت اللورد إدجوير" (2002). It's widely considered one of Agatha Christie's most accessible works.

How many books has Agatha Christie written?

Our database currently includes 30 books by Agatha Christie. The full list is above.

What books are similar to Agatha Christie's writing?

Use BookMatcher's Books Like search to enter any Agatha Christie book and discover similar authors and titles.

Discover more

As an Amazon Associate, BookMatcher earns from qualifying purchases. Book recommendations are independently curated by our editors and AI.