Recommendations for first Agatha Christie for DD (age 11)

[wakesandquakes]

While on holiday DD (11) ran out of reading material and read 'Murder on the Orient Express' which I seem to recall was pretty innocuous. I'm sure I was about this age when I read lots of AC, but that was in the old days when there was far less choice (when the mobile library turned up every other week). She enjoyed it, probably because it was a 'grown up book' and a mystery and would try another.

What I'm looking for is an idea of which other ones would be good to start with and more suitable for an 11 yr old. Any thoughts?

[TeamFinn]

I think I read "And Then There Were None" around that age. I know I read some others but can't remember which ones.

[thatsn0tmyname]

I would try her with the Miss Marple's and try and get the Joan Hickson series to watch. Some of the short story collections are hard to get into IMO.

[polarpercy]

Evil under the sun is a good one. The Moving Finger is another favourite of mine.

Also good:

• The Mirror Crack'd from side to side
  
• Nemesis
  

-They do it with mirrors

• Sparkling Cyanide (although a bit more grown-up perhaps?!)
  
• The Seven Dials Mystery (awesome page turner)
  
• Ordeal by innocence (another page turning good easy read)
  
• The Secret of Chimneys - great characters
  
• Spider's Web (novelised by Charles Osborne but a fantastic writing style)
  
• Hallowe'en Party - would appeal to a teenager!
  
• N or M/Partners in Crime particularly if you have seen the BBC series
  
• ABC Murders (may be a wait and read after others one though)
  
• Peril at End House (great engaging read - Poirot is brilliant)
  
• Sittaford Mystery (was also done as a radio series on BBC and pops up on iplayer from time to time, worth a listen if you can)

[polarpercy]

I love Agatha Christie as the list may suggest. These are literally ones I have re-read recently and think others may enjoy!

[Mumteedum]

I loved Agatha Christie at that age. I think murder at the vicarage was a good one. Definitely think Marple before poirot.

[SkyLucy]

Perhaps start at the beginning of either the Marple or Poirot novels, so she can work through one detective in order? So the Mysterious Affair at Styles or Murder at the Vicarage. I'd avoid Tommy and Tuppence!

[Mumteedum]

Ohhh and Bertram's Hotel.

[polarpercy]

Marple is awesome but I have a little bit of a soft spot for Poirot and his moustache twiddling

[HarrietVane99]

Secret Adversary, the first Tommy and Tuppence novel?
They Came to Baghdad is a standalone with an intrepid young woman heroine, but I don't know if it's currently in print. Similarly The Man in the Brown Suit.
The Murder at the Vicarage is an early and classic Miss Marple with quite a lot of humour.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Poirot and Christie's first published book.

[Bin85]

Murder at the Vicarage ( my first bought for me by my mum aged about 10 or 11)
4 50 from Paddington

[HarrietVane99]

Oh, I'd forgotten Chimneys/Seven Dials! Yes, they were among my favourites when I was in my teens.

[polarpercy]

Nice to see an Agatha appreciation thread here! I get so much stick from family and friends for loving the books. Don't know why! I know if I want a good read then that's what I'll get.

[wakesandquakes]

Blimey, you lot are keen. I do remember reading them a lot in my 'youth' but that was a little while ago and to be honest I don't have them now and can't recall which ones would be easier for an 11 yr old. I suppose I'm keen to find good ones (or better ones) to start with so she's not put off, but gets the bug. The little bit of French with Poirot flummoxed her, but we talked about it (I translated....) but not enough to put her off.

Some brill ideas for next trip to the library.....

[ayeokthen]

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was my first Christie book, I was 9 and I've been hooked ever since. Marple is usually a little more gentle than Poirot, although compared to most murder mysteries they're all pretty gentle really aren't they? Except "And Then There Were None", it's bloody terrifying!

[BrillianaHarvey]

I loved Crooked House at about that age.
Death on the Nile is a classic.
Also Cat Among the Pigeons - set in a girls' boarding school.

[Ohlalala]

Death on the Nile or and then there were none are my favourite

[DeskOfMyOwn]

Wonderful suggestions. I would say only avoid the very late ones at this stage.

At around that age, I read and re-read ones with young main characters: I SO wanted to go to the school in Cat among the Pigeons, and to go to Baghdad like Victoria Jones, and run off with a racing driver (Bertram's - see above). I also had ideas above my station (did anyone suggest Why Didn't They Ask Evans?). Sadly, I was plump, bespectacled, spotty and rather odd.

Nowadays I love all the ones with Ariadne Oliver - wonderful self-send up by AC. Dead Man's Folly is fun.

[ElspethFlashman]

God, flashbacks. I went through the AC section in my local library like a ravenous locust at that age.

I remember reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd a good bit in, maybe about 10 books in? And I was so staggered by it I flung the book across my bedroom and it walloped into a stuffed animal, lol.


To this day I love finding ones I haven't read. I recently finished Why Didn't They Ask Evans but tbh it's not one of her best as the two main characters annoyed me.

[ElspethFlashman]

Avoid Halloween Party or whatever it's called as a kid gets murdered. Also A Pocket Full of Rye as it really got to me that someone was found pinned to a clothesline with a peg on their nose. That detail......shudder......

I'd definitely start with Miss Marple though. It's cosier.

[Clawdy]

The Marple or Poirot short story collections are good,too. My first Christie was Evil Under The Sun, I can still remember how amazed I was by the last chapter where Poirot tied up all the loose ends, and I realised all the little clues I'd missed!

[worldsworstchildren]

I read Cat Among The Pigeons when I was about that age. I don't recall it being too old for me in any way

[wakesandquakes]

Perfect. Loads of good suggestions to start with, including those I've no real memory of (sorry). Will make a note for this w/e and trip to library. I might even have to read a few myself, just to catch up and get in the zone, reading to answer any questions which might arise (just in case...! happy days).

[MaryField]

I think any of them would be suitable. Read the blurb and decide which detective you prefer (Marple/Poirot/other) and the location (country house/archaeological dig/foreign holiday) and sit down and enjoy! My own pre-teen loves were Ordeal by Innocence, Death in the Clouds and After the Funeral. She wrote very few duds, the ones I didn't like were Tommy and Tuppence, Harley Quinn and Mr Satterthwaite but the rest - superb!

[freetrampolineforall]

Murder of Roger Ackroyd.