Here are 100 books that Agatha Christie fans have personally recommended if you like
Agatha Christie.
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I picked up And Then There Were None off my parents' shelf when I was probably about thirteen. It was my first Agatha Christie, and I was instantly entranced by her ability to build suspense, write witty dialogue, and plot the perfect murder. As I grew up I continued reading her prolific work, while, like her, making writing my career. When we decided to write our sixth book in the Science of Horror series, we wanted to step out of “horror” and explore more the mystery genre, and we knew Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, was the perfect point of view. The Science of Agatha Christie was born.
This one has recently gotten attention thanks to the movie adaptation, A Haunting in Venice hitting the theaters starring Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot.
As a horror fan, I was instantly intrigued by the title, and Christie doesn’t disappoint. Does she ever? A body is found in a tub for bobbing apples and evil spirits are suspected. This one is a fun change from a polite society poisoning. I’m always a fan of a little supernatural intrigue.
When a Halloween Party turns deadly, it falls to Hercule Poirots to unmask a murderer in Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery, Hallowe’en Party.
At a Halloween party, Joyce—a hostile thirteen-year-old—boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub.
That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the `evil presence'. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer...
I came to writing crime late after reading a P.D. James novel on my honeymoon. Previously a travel and ghostwriter, I became fascinated by the challenge of creating a whodunnit plot that fools the reader while simultaneously playing fair by giving them plenty of juicy clues. Agatha Christie said you should get to the end of your book and then choose the least likely person as the murderer. Quite often, I don’t know who the killer is myself until the end. If I’m kept guessing, hopefully my readers are too. I love the fact that whodunnits are a way of writing about all sorts of worlds within a compelling structure.
Actually, I tell a lie. I had read crime before my honeymoon, but only Agatha Christie, whose whodunnits always feature murders that are tastefully described and over in a couple of lines.
With Christie, it’s all about the puzzle, and boy, is she good at that. Her characters are often a bit two-dimensional, but you forgive that for the sake of her plots, which always race along and convince, however unlikely in real life.
This is one of her most famous ones, and rightly so. No spoilers here, but if you read this as I did as a teenager (recommended by my father) you are in for a grand surprise. Hopefully.
The classic "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", finally at a fair price!The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in June 1926 in the United Kingdom. It is the third novel to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective.
In 2013, the British Crime Writers' Association voted it the best crime novel ever.
I’ve loved mysteries since I gobbled up Nancy Drew and the Encyclopedia Brown books in grade school. As I grew older, I got hooked on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone, and Sara Paretsky’s VI Warshawski. Besides being a diehard fan of female sleuths, I have a B.S. in Journalism, which drummed the importance of “who-what-when-where-and-why” into my brain. I definitely take a reporter’s mindset into my story-telling, particularly when it comes to the “who.” Breathing life into characters is crucial. Maybe that’s why I used bits and pieces of my grandma Helen in order to create my fictional Helen. Plus, it gives me a chance to spend time with her again, if only in my imagination.
Christie’s Jane Marple inspired me to write mysteries. As Miss Marple made her starring debut in Murder at the Vicarage, it holds a dear place in my heart.
In quaint St. Mary’s Mead, a man named Colonel Protheroe meets with foul play, and it’s Miss Marple’s keen insights that prove invaluable. Jane Marple may be “of a certain age,” but she’s as sharp as a tack. I admire how Christie plunks the reader right into the story, introducing would-be suspects at a rapid pace, particularly Miss Marple, who takes tea with the Vicar’s younger wife and spills plenty of tea in the process.
This one’s a classic for lovers of traditional mysteries like me!
The Murder at the Vicarage is Agatha Christie’s first mystery to feature the beloved investigator Miss Marple—as a dead body in a clergyman’s study proves to the indomitable sleuth that no place, holy or otherwise, is a sanctuary from homicide.
Miss Marple encounters a compelling murder mystery in the sleepy little village of St. Mary Mead, where under the seemingly peaceful exterior of an English country village lurks intrigue, guilt, deception and death.
Colonel Protheroe, local magistrate and overbearing land-owner is the most detested man in the village. Everyone--even in the vicar--wishes he were dead. And very soon he is--shot…
A traditional mystery with a touch of cozy, The Alchemy Fire Murder is for those who like feisty women sleuths, Oxford Colleges, alchemy, strong characters, and real concerns like trafficking, wildfires, racism, and climate change. This book especially works for those fascinated by myth and witches in history. Read for…
I picked up And Then There Were None off my parents' shelf when I was probably about thirteen. It was my first Agatha Christie, and I was instantly entranced by her ability to build suspense, write witty dialogue, and plot the perfect murder. As I grew up I continued reading her prolific work, while, like her, making writing my career. When we decided to write our sixth book in the Science of Horror series, we wanted to step out of “horror” and explore more the mystery genre, and we knew Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, was the perfect point of view. The Science of Agatha Christie was born.
The Seven Dials Mystery doesn’t get mentioned very often, yet it’s a standout novel.
It lacks her beloved Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot but boasts one of Christie’s most underrated heroines; Eileen “Bundle” Brent. I wish I’d come across more ambitious, brave, young female characters like Bundle as a teenaged bookworm. Bundle does whatever she can to solve a murder, even hiding in the cupboards of a meeting room to catch a veiled group that can only be called a cult.
A healthy young man dies in his sleep, despite the ringing of eight separate alarm clocks...
Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper; so the other house guests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight alarm clocks were set to go off, one after the other, starting at 6.30 a.m. But when morning arrived, one clock was missing and the prank had backfired with tragic consequences.
For Jimmy Thesiger in particular, the words 'Seven Dials' were to take on a new and chilling significance...
I have been known to read a book a day, and I read widely: all the classics, mystery and suspense, science fiction, future fiction, and fantasy. My favorite novels in any genre take me to a place or time far away. My favorite characters are like hobbits; they are caught up in big adventures but fun to have a beer with and don’t take themselves too seriously. And all the protagonists in the novels I have chosen are women, because women my age have spent enough time reading about men who have adventures.
I loved this book because of its setting: during World War II, in the house of Agatha Christie.
We follow the heroine as she escapes the bombs of London to take care of children in an unfamiliar countryside and a large manor house. She is keeping secrets about her past, as is every other character!
The novel uses multiple points of view, so we, as readers, slowly learn about the lies everyone is telling. The war provides the perfect backdrop and raises the stakes as the murderer might not just be a killer but a fifth-column member, helping the Germans win the war.
"Irresistible... a Golden Age homage, an elegantly constructed mystery that on every page reinforces the message that everyone counts." -New York Times Book Review
AGATHA AWARD WINNER!
Recommended by New York Times Book Review * Wall Street Journal * Parade * Country Living * Chicago Tribune * South Florida Sun-Sentinel * The Free-Lance Star * St. Louis Post-Dispatch * CrimeReads * Nerd Daily * Red Carpet Crash * and many more!
From the award-winning author of The Day I Died and The Lucky One, a captivating suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie's holiday…
I started reading mysteries in elementary school: Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, and Stephen King fed my thirst for story, puzzles, and the “super-psychological.” There’s so much about the mind we don’t understand—including our relationships with animals (like an octopus detective)—or the bond between twins (like the one in my Cici series). When I worked with Irene Webb as an associate literary agent in the 2000s, my fascination with the written word and “super-psychological” blossomed. I enjoy connecting motivations, secrets, and passions into a tapestry of humanity. At their core, stories teach us how to be more human, and I want to be part of that lesson. Please enjoy this book list I’ve curated for you.
Agatha Christie's perfectly plotted stories, including the twenty short ones in this collection, remain crisply relevant even now, a century after their origination, which is the reason for her selling over two billion books.
I always believe I’ve caught her carefully dropped clues, only to realize I missed one…or three…that pointed toward the culprit. While Hercule Poirot remains my favorite Christie detective, I enjoyed meeting a slew of new characters in these fascinating tales of the “super-psychological” as noted in The Fourth Man. Plus, this collection is perfect for a quick evening read, though a few made falling asleep challenging!
“Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.”—Tana French, New York Times Bestselling Author
From the Queen of Suspense, an all-new collection of her spookiest and most sinister stories, including an Agatha Christie story never before published in the USA, The Wife of Kenite!
For lovers of the supernatural and the macabre comes this collection of ghostly and chilling stories from legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie. Fantastic psychic visions, specters looming in the shadows, encounters with deities, a man who switches bodies with a cat—be sure to keep the light…
In the harrowing aftermath of Chornobyl's meltdown in 1986, the fate of Eastern Europe hangs by a thread.
From Beijing, American radiation scientist Lara, once a thorn in the Russian mob's side, is drawn back into the shadows of the Soviet Union on the Trans-Mongolian Express. She isn't alone. Anton,…
I’m a cozy mystery writer and reader who loves to suss out family dynamics in the books I’m devouring. My love of genealogy and turning family stories into fiction played a large role while writing my first book, Hammers and Homicide. Wherever my husband and I travel, we search for ancestors in ancient cemeteries and try to find out more about their stories. You’ll find a few of them between the pages of my books. I hope you’ll enjoy these books, all featuring some level of family ties, as much as I did!
This book gives me everything I want in a cozy mystery—Christmas, a snowy Montana village, killer chocolates, a mystery bookstore, and a protagonist with an identical twin sister! What more could you want?
I love the dynamics between twin sisters Hanna and Alex as they juggle duties in Murder and Mayhem, the book and chocolate shop they own together. Romeril delivers humor and the quirkiness of small-town life like a pro. I loved all the twists and turns that kept me guessing to the sweet end!
I’ve loved murder mysteries since childhood, and during the pandemic–when reading became a challenge–I returned to my first literary love, binging on one mystery series after another. Eventually, I decided to write one with my friend Elizabeth Renzetti. It’s been the most enjoyable writing experience either of us has had. I’ve written three other published novels, and I have a day job as a therapist (I like to think this helps with realistic characterization, but it also pays the bills). I write humor because I like to have fun at work, and I appreciate a good laugh when I’m reading.
I couldn’t help but root for Miranda Abbott, the hilariously self-absorbed heroine of I Only Read Murder. The formerly famous television star of the Pastor Fran crime-fighting series, Miranda’s path to redemption requires her to solve a real-life murder where all the suspects are members of an amateur theatrical society. I Only Read Murder is ridiculously entertaining, a very fun romp that takes full advantage of the cozy mystery tropes we all love.
“Strap in for a hilarious and satisfying ride.” —Terry Fallis, bestselling author of Operation Angus
A once-famous TV sleuth An amateur theater production An onstage murder A town full of suspects…
Miranda Abbott, once known for the crime-solving, karate-chopping church pastor she played on network television, has hit hard times. She’s facing ruin when a mysterious postcard arrives, summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest. But when she gets there, nothing is what she expected.
In dire straits, she signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theater. On opening night, one…
I’m a 54-year-old gay man who has led my own messy life here in New York City, marked as much by sex, romance, friendship, and culture as by drug addiction, relationship drama, mental illness and youthful trauma. I’ve published five novels, all of which contain queer characters who’ve not exactly been poster children for mainstream-world-approved LGBTQ behavior. I’m drawn to novels like the ones I’ve mentioned because they show queer people not as the hetero world often would like them to be—sanitized, asexual, witty and “fabulous”—but as capable of dysfunction, mediocrity, unwise choices and poor conduct as anybody else.
Set at the height of the Trump era, this very New York City novel follows its title character, a lesbian former cop turned heroin addict who’s now fresh out of rehab and, in her new job as a private investigator, stumbles onto a murder she becomes determined to solve.
Maggie is a total mess—barely able to navigate a cell phone or the Internet, holding on for dear life at her Narcotics Anonymous meetings, stalking her ex outside her window in the pouring rain, and desperate to have her daughter, whom she was raising with her ex, back in her life.
The novel’s promise of a tight murder mystery kind of unravels, but it doesn’t even matter because Maggie’s fumbling, stumbling effort to put her life back together in a disconcertingly sleek new version of downtown Manhattan is a voyeuristic joy to follow.
"Maggie Terry is the most beautiful, most bitter, most sweet, and all around best detective novel I've read in years. Precise, insightful, heartbreaking, and page turning." —Sara Gran, author of The Infinite Blacktop
Post-rehab, Maggie Terry is single-mindedly trying to keep her head down in New York City. There's a madman in the White House, the subways are constantly delayed, summer is relentless, and neighborhoods all seem to blend together.
Against this absurd backdrop, Maggie wants nothing more than to slowly re- build her life in hopes of being reunited with her daughter. But her first day on the job…
Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived when she blags her way into skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film. However, this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teenager. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she can…
My first book love was Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. The game between author and reader that centers a whodunit has always delighted me. The breadcrumb trail of clues, the misdirection, the inevitable I should have seen it! are my jam. Now an author of whodunits—I have one series published and a second on the way, along with several short stories – I read mysteries with greater scrutiny—in admiration and with a selfish desire to learn from other authors’ envious talents. Each of the books on my list excited me for their excellent storytelling. In the end, I found them just plain entertaining. I hope you do too!
I love a story that fills a space on the shelf that no one else has thought to create. Props to Lina Chern for giving this reader Katie True.
From the moment I met Katie, working at a decidedly unglamorous suburban mall shop while wondering why her life is...well, her life (and looking to Tarot cards among other places for answers), I knew this wasn’t another off-the-shelf mystery protagonist.
This book not only serves up a clever plot with offbeat supporting players in a unique yet oh-so-familiar setting; it reveals an everyday struggling young woman as a cool and quirky individual who is just trying to make her life into something meaningful.
I should mention, along the way, she solves a murder, proving her street smarts aren’t to be underestimated.
A cynical tarot card reader seeks to uncover the truth about her friend’s mysterious death in this delightfully clever whodunit, “a delicious blend of suspense and madcap humor” (Library Journal, starred review).
For Katie True, a keen gut and quick wit are just tools of the trade. After a failed attempt at adulting in Chicago, she’s back in the suburbs living a bit too close to her overbearing parents, jumping from one dead-end job to the next, and flipping through her tarot deck for guidance. Then along comes Marley.
Mysterious, worldly, and comfortable in her own skin, Marley takes a…
