'It is the quietest and meekest people who are often capable of the most sudden and unexpected violence...when their control does snap, it goes entirely!'
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
You can't go wrong with a Poirot mystery. What's wonderful about these books is that you don't necessarily have to read them in a particular order. I don't think I've ever disliked a Poirot book so I decided to make a list of my top five favourite mysteries!
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Murder on the Orient Express
If you want to know why Christie is the bestselling novelist of all time, you should probably read this book. For those who have read the About section, this first pick isn't going to be much of a surprise.
This book not only kicked off my obsession with Agatha Christie but also my love for reading in general. It's just so easy to follow, fast-paced and extremely clever. For me, this was the perfect introduction to the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. I have even collected a few different editions of this book because WHY THE HELL NOT!
'The impossible cannot have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible despite appearances.'
Murder on the Orient Express
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Are you curious as to what all the fuss is about with Christie's books? Whenever I meet people who haven't read any and want to know where to start, I usually always recommend this book.
After reading this, I knew for sure that Agatha Christie was a genius. When I read Poirot mysteries, I'm always trying to solve the case for myself. However, the ending of this book completely blew me away. I think The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of her most famous pieces of work. If you were able to solve this mystery by yourself, please let me know!
My growing Agatha Christie collection truly kicked off after reading this one. My family only had copies of Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express! I think this would be the perfect introduction to Christie's work if you have not already read any.
'The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.'
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The ABC Murders
Another classic Poirot mystery! If you haven't read this one, you would have undoubtedly heard of it as it's been adapted for television.
What I loved about this book, like with other Christie mysteries, is the big reveal at the end. Poirot gathers all of the other characters and breaks down the whole case from clues to potential suspects. You're not left with any unanswered questions.
Furthermore, the solution is always perfectly logical - I want to go over my Christie books and highlight/tab clues that I missed the first time. I'm certainly never going to part from my collection.
'If the little grey cells are not exercised, they grow the rust.'
The ABC Murders
Five Little Pigs
I think this was the first book I purchased after reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I remember watching its TV adaptation years before but I honestly couldn't recall a lot of the details.
The synopsis did intrigue me and from the first few pages, I was already hooked to the story. I guess that's the overall message to take away when it comes to Agatha Christie. You don't have to be patient and way for the story to eventually materialise. Christie is excellent at maintaining her readers' interest from the first page. I can't think of another author that consistently does this with their books.
What's fun about this particular book is that it's about trying to solve a mystery that happened around twenty years prior!
'It is always better to face the truth. It is no use evading unhappiness by tampering with facts.'
Five Little Pigs
After the Funeral
This is probably not the most popular book in comparison to other stories like Death on the Nile or The Hollow.
However, I do remember very clearly being amazed by this book. I thought I solved the mystery myself. Turns out, the right clues were there all along and I had missed them.
I think this is also one of my favourite covers of a Christie book! It was really hard to come up with a top-five of Poirot books but I knew I couldn't miss out on this one - I think it's an underdog that shouldn't be dismissed as easily. Were you able to solve this mystery by yourself?
'To see ourselves as others see us!'
After the Funeral
I hope this little list is useful if you want to introduce yourself to the world of Hercule Poirot. You can't go wrong with whatever you pick. However, I would highly recommend these books to anyone new to Agatha Christie.
If you want to know more about this author and her books, you can also check out the profile on GoodReads
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Happy Reading!