Agatha Christie....where to start?

[aperolspritzbasicbitch]

I'm thinking of reading my first Agatha Christie - any recommendations for what you would consider to be her 'best' book?

I very much like one of the lesser known ones, Cat Among the Pigeons. Also At Bertram's Hotel. One set in a girls boarding school, the other in an old fashioned London hotel. In both cases, All Is Not As It Seems....

I’d read the very first novel she wrote. Whenever I discover a new writer, I make a point of going back to the very start. The first book isn’t always theIr best, but it deepens your enjoyment if you read them in chronological order. I have done this with P. G. Wodehouse, Aldous Huxley and the Sherlock Holmes novels, and I’m glad I did.

Others would say read their best work first, or you might be put off. Maybe they’re right.

The ABC Murders is my favourite; it's a bit different to the others because it moves about a lot; geographically.

Then 4.50 From Paddington is good. Very much classic wealthy dysfunctional family Christie.

And Murder at the Vicarage - small village gossip Miss Marple classic setting.

The Poirot and Marple short stories are good too. There are lots of Poirot ones and The 13 Problems for Miss Marple.

I agree, start with Poirot, not the tricky ones like Ackroyd or And Then There Were None.

The ABC Murders, Appointment with Death, After the Funeral, Dumb Witness, Peril at End House.

For Marple, I always liked 4:50 from Paddington.

Plus murder on the orient express- all excellent films - I've all her books - a lot at the age of 10

** Read - I've read all her books.....

That's a beautiful collection Debrathom, I'm envious! Mine are all dog-eared Pan paperbacks with terrible covers (tennis racquet, skull, dagger of Oriental design).

They are good read like that -I did them all in order last year via the libby app, it tell you the series order. I think 3 blind mice is the only one I could not get.
Marples-only 15 or so of those so that's this years aim.

To add another option into the mix, I'd suggest starting with Crooked House, which is not only a brilliant book but gets you into Christie's writing style without the "baggage" of any of the main detectives being involved. And Then There Were None also works for the same reasons but although I loved reading this, I already knew a lot about it, including the ending, just from popular culture, whereas CH was a cold read for me.

I took on a quest to read as much Christie as possible last year, having never read any before. I was recommended Crooked House as a starting point for this reason. Once I got into reading AC, I was surprised by how much I preferred Marple to Poirot (don't get me wrong, the latter is still excellent), and also how much I enjoyed Tommy and Tuppence (I had assumed they were forgotten for a reason).

I also recommend The Decagon House Murders which is a Japanese book, available in translation, which is a modern adaptation of And Then There Were None. It is fabulous.

Ooh I love an unreliable narrator and I haven't read that one! Thanks!

I really like her non Poirot and Marple ones, I’ve just finished The Man in the Brown Suit and The Secret of Chimneys, I love her characterisation and her scene setting.
Death in the Clouds and After the Funeral were two of my first that got me hooked though so for nostalgia I’d start with one of those.
I wasn’t keen on And Then There Were None, brilliant book but just not an enjoyable read for me.

I was going to suggest Roger Ackroyd. I thought it was her first novel. Why do you think leave it until later? I'm curious.

OP I loved The Mirror Cracked.

I think a large part of the joy of the murder of Roger ackroyd is that it is not like her other novels, so it plays with the readers’ expectations a bit (am trying not to give any spoilers!) I think it was her third or fourth book.

Roger Ackroyd was her 'breakout' book, the one that made her a big name - the fact that it was different, plus other things that happened in her life around that time.

I think if you read it first, you don't appreciate how unexpected it was to readers who were familiar with her usual type of work.

There's a great app where you can find all of her books listed and sort however you want.
You can mark the ones you have read or own.
It gives you a character list and plot synopsis for each book as well.

Agatha Christie Reading List.

I reckon she’s a mass murderer!

Poirot (mostly) gets called in. Miss M always just ‘happens’ to be in the locality.
Lots of random murders all linked by one person….

I know exactly the editions you mean! My mum's friend had the same collection when I was a child and I was fascinated by the somewhat gruesome covers! (Also amazed at anyone having so many books as I grew up in a house with very few. I've made up for it since).

@aperolspritzbasicbitch Did you decide which one to read first?

Yes I love this one! And the adaptation was so good.
I really like the non detective ones might reread those.

I worked it out. There is a line/paragraph which I thought just didn't fit; I can remember reading that page a few times and thinking well that's obvious now. I was probably 13 or so.

I really liked The Mirror Cracked - especially if you have not sene the film and how it was based on Gene Tierney incident which made it so much more real for motive etc.

Well, I never knew that about the inspiration for The Mirror Crack'd. Fascinating but sad.

I got a few on eBay a year or so ago for the somewhat kitsch paperback cover designs from the 60s/70s/80s

Think they are Fontana and Pan

So many to choose from. I am envious of you! I liked Hickory Dickory Dock, Evil under the Sun, Death on the Nile abd Murder on the Orient Express. I also liked Nemesis. In fact I loved most of them.

I like Sleeping Murder