New Delhi: Agatha Christie, often called the “queen of whodunits” and known for creating cosy mysteries, is a well-known and highly acclaimed mystery writer. According to her website, her works are so famous that she is outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. However, some of her mystery series are considered better than others.
Agatha Christie was born into a wealthy middle-class family in southwest England on September 15, 1890. She is known as “the queen of mystery.” When she was five years old, she taught herself to read and started writing short stories.
During World War I, she began writing mystery novels. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920 and introduced Inspector Hercule Poirot, who would later appear in many more of her books, two plays, and 50 short stories.
If you are interested in reading some of Agatha Christie’s best works, here are her top 5 novels that you should consider.
Five books to read by Agatha Christie
And Then There Was None
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Murder on the Orient Express
The Murder at the Vicarage
Death on the Nile
1. And Then There Was None
One of Agatha Christie’s most famous works is And Then There Were None, a mystery novel. It was first published in the UK in 1939, and the US edition, with a different title, was released in 1940. With over 100 million copies sold, this book is the world’s best-selling mystery.
Original title: Ten Little Niggers
First published: November 6, 1939
Rating by Goodreads: 4.3
Rating by Amazon: 4.6
And Then There Were None (Photo credit: agathachristie.com)
2. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Agatha Christie’s first detective novel, introducing her fictional detective Hercule Poirot. The novel is about Poirot investigating the murder of Emily Inglethorp. It was well received and is considered one of the iconic works of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
First published: October 1920 (It was published as a series in The Times)
Rating by Goodreads: 4
Rating by Amazon: 4.5
3. Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express is a book by Agatha Christie about a detective named Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the UK on January 1, 1934, and in the US on February 28, 1934. The story revolves around a murder on the elegant 1930s train, the Orient Express, and Poirot’s investigation to solve the case.
First published: January 1, 1934
Rating by Goodreads: 4.2
Rating by Amazon: 4.5
4. The Murder at the Vicarage
The Murder at the Vicarage is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie. The book was first published in the UK in October 1930 and later in the US in the same year. It introduces the character Miss Marple and her village of St Mary Mead. Miss Marple previously appeared in short stories starting in December 1927, and these stories were later collected in The Thirteen Problems in 1932.
First published: October 1930
Rating by Goodreads: 4
Rating by Amazon: 4.4
5. Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile is a detective novel by British author Agatha Christie. It was first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 1, 1937, and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition was sold for seven shillings and sixpence, and the US edition for $2.00. The story features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and is set in Egypt, mainly on the River Nile. This novel is not connected to Christie’s earlier (1933) short story of the same name, which had a different detective, Parker Pyne.
First published: November 1, 1937
Rating by Goodreads: 4.1
Rating by Amazon: 4.6
Agatha Christie, “the queen of mystery”, was born on September 15, 1890, in the United Kingdom. The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920 and was her first book. On her birth anniversary, here’s a list of five books of Agatha Christie one must read. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
