Agatha Christie Books Ranked: 31 Mysteries in a Tier List
Agatha Christie wrote 66 detective novels between 1920 and 1976, and her sales are often estimated at more than two billion copies, which makes choosing what to read next harder than solving most of her mysteries. This tier list ranks 31 of her best-known novels, with no spoilers.
We’ve rated each book on the quality of the puzzle, whether the solution plays fair, and how well it reads today. A few contain attitudes that have dated badly, and several have been retitled or revised in recent editions.
Agatha Christie Books Ranked
31 books · tap a cover to jump to it
SS tier: Essential
And Then There Were None (1939)
Ten strangers are invited to an island off the Devon coast and start dying one by one. No detective, no rescue and an ending that still shocks. It's the best-selling mystery of all time for good reason.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
Poirot has retired to grow marrows in a village when a local squire is found stabbed. The solution caused a scandal in 1926 and remains one of the most famous twists in crime fiction. Avoid spoilers at all costs.
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
A passenger is murdered on a train stopped by snow, and Poirot has a carriage full of suspects. Perfectly constructed, and a solution that goes beyond the puzzle into questions of justice.
Five Little Pigs (1942)
Sixteen years after a painter was poisoned, his daughter asks Poirot to prove her mother innocent. Five witnesses, five accounts and Christie's most moving novel. A favourite of crime writers.
AA tier: Excellent
Death on the Nile (1937)
A wealthy heiress is shot on a Nile cruise steamer. Glamorous, perfectly paced and full of suspects with motives.
The ABC Murders (1936)
A killer writes to Poirot before each murder and leaves an ABC railway guide beside every body. An early serial-killer novel with a brilliant misdirection.
Endless Night (1967)
A young working-class man marries an heiress and builds a dream house on cursed land. A dark late novel narrated in the first person, and one Christie counted among her best.
Crooked House (1949)
A wealthy patriarch is poisoned at home, and everyone in his strange extended family has a reason. Christie named it one of her own favourites, and the ending is bold.
A Murder Is Announced (1950)
A village newspaper ad announces a murder at a specific time and place, and it happens. Marple at her best, and the novel published as Christie's fiftieth book.
The Body in the Library (1942)
An unknown young woman is found dead in a colonel's library. Christie takes the most clichéd setup in crime fiction and has fun with it.
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The first Miss Marple novel: a hated magistrate is shot in the vicar's study. Witty and full of village life.
Peril at End House (1932)
A young woman in Cornwall survives several near-misses and asks Poirot for help. A tight puzzle that plays fair and still fools most readers.
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
A glamorous actress is strangled at a hotel on an island off Devon. A classic holiday mystery with a timetable that matters.
BB tier: Good
Appointment with Death (1938)
A tyrannical matriarch dies on a family trip to Petra. Strong on psychology, with Poirot given a 24-hour deadline.
Curtain (1975)
Poirot's last case, written in the 1940s and held back for publication. Read it after the others; it depends on knowing him.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
Christie's debut and Poirot's first case: a poisoning at a country house during the First World War. A little stiff, but the template for everything that followed.
Sad Cypress (1940)
Elinor Carlisle is on trial for poisoning her rival, and Poirot is her last hope. A courtroom mystery with real emotional weight.
Cards on the Table (1936)
Four detectives and four suspects share a bridge evening, and the host is murdered. A puzzle built on psychology, not clues.
The Moving Finger (1942)
Poison-pen letters spread through a quiet village until someone dies. Marple appears late, but it's one of the most enjoyable books here.
Towards Zero (1944)
A murder planned as the final step of a long scheme, investigated by Superintendent Battle. Inventive and underrated.
Ordeal by Innocence (1958)
A man convicted of killing his mother is proved innocent after he has died in prison, and his family must face that one of them did it. Another of Christie's own favourites.
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
A nurse at an archaeological dig in Iraq narrates as the expedition leader's wife is killed. Drawn from Christie's own time on excavations.
CC tier: Mixed
The Pale Horse (1961)
A trail of deaths leads to three women said to kill by witchcraft. Its account of thallium poisoning was later credited with helping doctors identify a real case.
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
An actress wants to be rid of her husband, and then he is. Fun, but one of the more guessable Poirots.
Hallowe'en Party (1969)
A girl who boasted of seeing a murder is drowned in the apple-bobbing tub. A great opening for a weaker late novel.
N or M? (1941)
Tommy and Tuppence hunt Nazi agents at a seaside guest house during the Second World War. A brisk spy adventure.
The Secret Adversary (1922)
Tommy and Tuppence's first adventure: a lighthearted chase after missing secret papers. Charming, but more caper than mystery.
DD tier: Skip
The Big Four (1927)
Poirot against a global criminal conspiracy, stitched together from short stories. Silly in a way her best books never are.
Destination Unknown (1954)
A woman agrees to impersonate the wife of a missing scientist. A spy thriller that never finds its footing.
Passenger to Frankfurt (1970)
A diplomat is drawn into a plot behind a worldwide youth uprising. Subtitled 'An Extravaganza', and widely considered her weakest novel.
Postern of Fate (1973)
The last novel Christie wrote: an elderly Tommy and Tuppence investigate a decades-old mystery. Rambling, and best left to completists.
Questions
- What is the best Agatha Christie book?
- And Then There Were None is the most popular choice and the best-selling mystery ever written. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express and Five Little Pigs are close behind.
- Where should I start with Agatha Christie?
- And Then There Were None or Murder on the Orient Express. For Miss Marple, start with The Murder at the Vicarage or A Murder Is Announced.
- Do you need to read Agatha Christie in order?
- No. Almost every novel stands alone. The exception is Curtain, Poirot's last case, which is best read after you know him well.
- How many books did Agatha Christie write?
- 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, plus plays and six novels written as Mary Westmacott. This ranking covers 31 of her best-known novels.
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