I've never read any Agatha Christie...

[Harshmug]

Which of her books should be my first?

I have quite a lot on my plate at the moment and am struggling a bit with concentration so would do best with a relatively easy read.
Thanks!

[savoycabbage]

Best Miss Marple - A Murder is Announced
Best stand alone - And Then There were None

[PinkBuffalo]

The first one I read was peril at end house which got me hooked!
if you want to start at the beginning go with the murder of roger Ackroyd

peril at end house honestly got me hooked when I was a teen

[Watermelon45]

@savoycabbage

Best Miss Marple - A Murder is Announced
Best stand alone - And Then There were None

I’d agree with you and say best Poirot is evil under the sun.

[savoycabbage]

I'll give that a go then @Watermelon45 as I couldn't think of one I particularly liked.

[PinkBuffalo]

Completely agree with and then there were none too that is amazing book!

[BlossomWind]

The first ones I read to the kids were Murder of Roger Ackroyd (think this may have been the first one I read as well); Murder on the Orient Express and The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the first Poirot). All those have Poirot in.

My favourite Miss Marple is The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side.

My favourite standalone is And Then There Were None.

[Tlollj]

I love the ABC Murders. Way ahead of its time. Poirot
Murder is Announced. Miss Marple
Stand alone. And Then There Were None.
Im so envious you get to read them for the first time.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

My top three:

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
And Then There Were None
Murder on the Orient Express

The very late ones are generally not nearly as good. The very first few she wrote before Roger Ackroyd aren't brilliant either. She was at her best in the 1930s, 40s and early 50s.

I love Agatha Christie's books. They're best read for plot. If you expect very little in the way of characterisation, descriptive writing etc you won't be disappointed, but at her best, she is absolutely masterly at plotting.

Three more good ones: A Murder is Announced, Cards on the Table, The ABC Murders. I also have a very soft spot for Cat Among the Pigeons, which is one of the first I read. Set in a girls' boarding school.

[DramaAlpaca]

The first one I ever read was Murder on the Orient Express.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is another good one to start with.

And Then There Were None is very clever.

[ReadtheReviews]

I really like Sleeping Murder.
And the one with the sunken garden, which one is that?

[LouisRenault]

The Murder at the Vicarage and The Body in the Library are classic Miss Marple.

Agatha Christie really knew her stuff. She worked as a pharmacy dispenser in both World Wars, so she knew about drugs and poisons. She had travelled on the Orient Express. Her husband was an archaeologist, so she knew about archaeological digs (Murder in Mesopotamia)

Come Tell Me How You Live, her memoir about life on an archaeological dig in the 1930s, is also quite light reading and entertaining.

[MurderAtTheBeautyPageant]

I've just started reading my first too. At Bertram's Hotel.

I feel like I've seen all the TV adaptations multiple times each, not sure why I've never actually read one before.

[Watermelon45]

I’ve read them all now sadly.

Another good one is Crooked House.

Also agree with Sleeping Murder.

I find them very relaxing and easy to read.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Give it enough time, @Watermelon45 , and you can read them again! I have, multiple times, and I find that even when I remember whodunnit I don't always remember why, and I really enjoy watching her place the clues.

When I first read a certain AC whodunnit, I spotted what I was sure was a typo and tutted to myself (yes, I'm insufferable ). It wasn't, however, it was deliberate, and although I failed to spot it, the detective didn't, and it turned out to be crucial to the denouement. Ah well!

[Arucanafeather]

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Give it enough time, @Watermelon45 , and you can read them again! I have, multiple times, and I find that even when I remember whodunnit I don't always remember why, and I really enjoy watching her place the clues.

When I first read a certain AC whodunnit, I spotted what I was sure was a typo and tutted to myself (yes, I'm insufferable ). It wasn't, however, it was deliberate, and although I failed to spot it, the detective didn't, and it turned out to be crucial to the denouement. Ah well!

We’ve just been to see that storyline in the theatre. My DH who hasn’t read the books - so didn’t know the plot- spotted it but thought the actor was making mistakes! 😂

[Yiayoula]

@ReadtheReviews - I think that’s Halloween Party , a Hercule Poirot mystery which also features Ariadne Oliver .

[Johnnysgirl]

Which one was that, Gasp0de?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

All I'll say is it involved the divine Miss Marple.

[cottagegardenflower]

Murder of roger ackroyd. Death on the orient express, death on the nile (not if you've recently seen the films though), any really, they are so easy to read. Miss Marple ones are easy too.

Don't expect the characters to be well rounded, but its the plots that engage.

[cottagegardenflower]

The mirror cracked.
Endless nights is bloody brilliant, and quite unexpected.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I like Ariadne Oliver. She eats lots of apples and has saddled herself with a detective whose background is a mystery to her. I believe AC herself ate a lot of oranges ...

[meala]

Another vote for sleeping murder

[devildeepbluesea]

I love every single one.the one that stands out for me (not necessarily the best) is The Big Four. Miss Marple is my best character (Joan Hickson in my head, obviously).

I read them all over and over and almost always forgets whodunnit!

[WhiteSage]

I love all the ones with Miss Marple…my nan had a vast Agatha Christie collection and they’ve all been passed onto to me.