Top Ten Tuesday: Where to Start if You've Never Read Agatha Christie

Today's topic for Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish is Top Ten Books I'd Give to Readers Who Have Never Read X.  Obviously my X is going to be Agatha.  With 5 decades of writing and 80+ books Agatha is almost a genre unto herself but that massive back list can be intimidating.  Where do you start when you have a list of 85 books in front of you?

Even though Agatha has a few series (i.e. Poirot, Marple) this is not a true series.  The books have the same character but that's about it.  There is absolutely no need to read them in order if you don't want to.  I'm pretty uptight about series order so you can trust me on this one.  In fact several of her last books published were actually written in the 1940s so even she didn't care about series order. Also, many of her books have two different titles.  One was the UK title and one was the US title than as time has gone on both titles get published everywhere.  If you're trying to collect them all it can make you crazy.

So if you're an Agatha Novice here's where I think you should start:


1.  And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians)
And Then There Were None is probably one of the best known and most recommended of Agatha's books.  There's a reason for this.  The concept is brilliant, the characters are well drawn and this is one of the most action oriented of her books.

2. The Thirteen Problems (The Tuesday Club Murders)
This is really a collection of Marple short stories but it is structured in a succession of Tuesday evenings with the same group of people.  Each one relays a mystery and the others try to solve them.  This is Marple at her best - unassuming and shockingly brilliant.  Plus, since it's short stories each mystery is very fast paced.

3.  The Man in the Brown Suit
This is Agatha's first stand alone and a really underrated mystery.  This is really the first of her exotic location adventure stories with a young intelligent woman who happens to be quick on her feet getting involved in an international mystery.  There's a classic Agatha plot twist and we get to meet the enigmatic Colonel Race.

4.  Sleeping Murder
This is probably my favorite Christie.  While it was her last book published it was actually written in the 1940s and put aside for her daughter's inheritance.  A newly married woman starts to doubt her sanity when she finds herself knowing things she shouldn't about the house she just bought.  Luckily Miss Marple is there to help her figure it all out.

5.  Death on the Nile
This is one of my favorite Poirot books.  The characters and the story are memorable and it's a fascinating take on the country house style murder.

6.  Sparkling Cyanide (Remembered Death)
We get to spend some more time with Colonel Race in this mystery about a murder that took place completely out in the open but is almost impossible to solve.

7. Destination Unknown (So Many Steps to Death)
Like #3 this is an adventure story in an exotic location with an attractive and adventurous woman.  However, the 3 decades of writing in between the 2 books are plain as Agatha puts quite a twist in this one.

8.  4:50 From Paddington (What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw)

I love this Marple mystery about a woman who sees a murder in a passing train.  Marple is excellent in this one in a puppet master type roll.

9.  Crooked House

This was one of Agatha's favorites and it's easy to tell why.  In this she explores one of her most visited topics - what suspicion does to the innocent.  Throw in a dysfunctional family, tons of motives and a likable detective and this one is a lot of fun.

10.  Murder on the Orient Express (Murder in the Calais Coach)

Here's another one of her most famous books and with good reason.  Poirot is excellent in this one as is the cast of characters.  

So are you an Agatha novice?  Did I leave  any of your favorites out?