A question for Agatha Christie fans!

[Notcontent]

I read a lot of Agatha Christie innmy early teens. The Miss Marple books were my favourite.

My nearly 13 year old DD is an avid reader and I thought she might like to try an Agatha Christie novel.

It’s been a long time since I read any - can anyone suggest a good one to start? Something particularly engaging? (I was going so say gripping but that’s probably the wrong adjective!)

I read all the Agatha Christine's around that age and they were terribly dated then, is a 13 year old now going to enjoy them at all? I'd think they'd find it really hard to relate to them simply because just about everything has changed since they were written and iirc the plots weren't gripping to start with.

My 14yo is really enjoying the Miss Marple books. She is just reading them in the order they were published.

The Thirteen Problems short story collection is excellent, and I love 4.50 from Paddington as I wanted to be the wonderful Lucy Eyelesbarrow when I grew up (am not that marvellously efficient, alas!)

I really liked At Bertram’s Hotel. Or Cat Among the Pigeons. They’ve both got younger characters so might be a bit more relatable.

I read them at that age and loved them! My favourites were Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun. A Miss Marple one that also sticks in my mind is a Murder is Announced. I've still got all of them now many, many years later.

If you want gripping go for whatever they call 'and then there where none'. My favourite Miss Marple is Pocket Full of Rye.

Death on the Nike or Murder on the Orient Express, or maybe short stories such as Thirteen Problems or The Labours of Hercules.

The first Poirot, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, or first Marple, Murder at the Vicarage would be good places to start And, as already mentioned, A Murder is Announced is great.

My DS (16) is starting on Agatha Christie right now. He started with the short story collection on kindle and then went on to the one published first. He is like that.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I am not sure if she will enjoy them but I think good books never really date. I loved them when I read them in the 1980s!!!

I read them at that age and also loved them. I remember Murder on the Orient Express was one of the first I read.

I loved them at that age also, but I preferred Poirot to Marple.

I started with Evil Under the Sun and Death in the Clouds (both Poirot) - I think they were just the one's my dad found in a charity shop but they got me totally hooked! And Then There Were None is also wonderful but maybe a bit darker than the Poirot/Marples.

I've just finished rereading the first Tommy and Tuppence novel. I think a teenager might enjoy this. It's set in about 1922.

Murder on the Orient Express is the best way to start!

The Mysterious Mr Quin is a collection of short stories with a vaguely supernatural theme, featuring Harley Quin! Not as well known as her other books, but I loved it when I was in early teens.

I was obsessed with Agatha Christie as a teenager! I love A Murder is Announced and Death on the Nile.

I think Patti probably thinks history is just one thing after another.

My absolute favourite is The Moving Finger. The characters in this one are rather better drawn than in some of her other books and I was pleased to see when reading her autobiography that she considered it one of her best.

I also really like 4.50 from Paddington, The ABC murders, Five Little Pigs and Pocket Full of Rye.

I think Patti probably thinks history is just one thing after another

I've no idea what you mean by that but not all books age well and imo Agatha Christie's are an example of that, they are very much of their time and set in a very particular world that would be very difficult for most modern teens to relate to.

I just can't imagine any teenager I've ever met enjoying them

I agree her books of short stories are really good, e.g. the Harley Quinn one. Also Poirot Investigates.

I love the sense of bygone time and place. She writes very hypnotically.

I’m surprised that so many people are mentioning “murder on the orient express” because I think a novice AC reader would find that one more confusing than a simple who done it due to so many characters. I would try “death in the clouds“ or “Halloween party” as they will have an element of familiarity albeit dated, others that i think would be good to start are “a murder is announced”, “pocket full of rye”, “why didn’t they ask Evans”, “mysterious affair at styles” or “nemesis” & “a Caribbean mystery” which are kind of a pair!

Has she seen any of the tv adaptations? Not the modern couple that are quite different to the books but the Suchet Poirot or Joan Hickson/Geraldine McEwan Marple ones?

I second *Ellicam's" suggestion of "Cat Among the Pigeons" - set in a girls school - jolly hockey sticks and cold blooded murder. One of my favourites!

Tommy and Tuppence - Partners in Crime is a good one to start. Also The Seven Dials Mystery with Bundle Brent as the amateur sleuth.

If you think Agatha Christie is dated, Patti, for heaven’s sake don’t try any of the British Crime Library editions of detective stories by her contemporaries. They very clearly demonstrate why her books were so successful! Loads of very pedestrian plotting, cardboard characters (yes, way more cardboard even than Dame Agatha’s), and solutions that rely on some piece of information the reader couldn’t possibly have known.

Anyway, to answer the question, I think Death on the Nile was the first I read, and I loved it. Agree with pp that The Moving Finger is a good one. I also like The Body in the Library. There are a few absolute stinkers (The Man in the Brown Suit springs to mind, IMO The Hollow is a load of rubbish too) but most of them are worth reading.