Looking for more (and newer/more complete) Christie videos? My latest FAVORITES ranking that includes ALL Agatha Christie works is here: ua-cam.com/video/Dkqxv__te08/v-deo.html My latest BEST ranking of the Top 15 Christie novels is here: ua-cam.com/video/RK2j-ixdghY/v-deo.html My latest collection video on my Agatha Christie books is here: ua-cam.com/video/SAlqEN3rvVQ/v-deo.html Where to Start with Agatha Christie is here: ua-cam.com/video/XtEn9NsSODQ/v-deo.html Where to Start with Miss Marple is here: ua-cam.com/video/mzUXcE7MLp4/v-deo.html Where to Start with Hercule Poirot is here: ua-cam.com/video/Nbyw3aBqEMw/v-deo.html The playlist of all Christie videos is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLgcRd060HFyckFb8lnAME8ZfoTW3zue0G.html The playlist of Mission Marple videos is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLgcRd060HFyciUQfczJqY8-GYL6r6UcMR.html The playlist of Project Poirot videos is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLgcRd060HFydbM0Jom95Dw0QQA8AUde8D.html
That was great fun to watch. I started reading Agatha Christie when I was ten. I still reread them, and I'm now 73. The Hollow is probably my favorite, because parts of it was so funny. Hope you enjoy The Man in the Brown Suit -- another favorite. Thank you for this.
I am so jealous of anyone who still has Agatha Christie books left to read as I've read them all. When I was younger, I loved Poirot. As I got older, I came to appreciate Ms Marple. I've never been fond of Tommy and Tuppence. My first was ABC murders. Is it any wonder I was hooked from then?
I’ve read 27 Christie’s, so here is my ranking if anyone cares 27 the moving Finger 3/5 star: 26 Hallowe’en Party 3/5 stars 25 Evil under the sun: 3/5 star 24 the body in the library 3.5/5 star 23 sparkling cyanide: 3.5/5star 22 The ABC Murders: 4/5 star 21 murder at the vicarage: 4/5 star 20 dead mans folly 4/5 19 the pale horse 18 Three Act Tragedy 4/5 star 17 sad cypress 4/5 star 16 The sittaford mystery: 4/5 star 15 Mysterious affair at styles 4.5/5 14 After the funeral 4.5/5 13 Peril at End House 4.5/5 12 crooked house 4.5/5 11 Death on the Nile: 5/5 star 10 Towards Zero 5/5 star 9 The Man in the Brown Suit 5/5 8 Ordeal By Innocence 5 /5 star 7 Cards on the table: 5/5 star 6 Murder on the orient express: 5/5 star 5 Lord Edgware Dies 5/5 star 4 Sleeping murder 3 Five Little Pigs 5/5 star 2 Endless Night: 5/5 star 1 and then there were none: 6/5
@@leocarlton4364 I forgot I made this comment lol, I updated it now that I’ve read a couple more Christie’s. Anyways, for me Five Little Pigs has some of her best character work and I really like the setting and atmosphere of it.
@@hiigghhggg9150 Yeah I guess but the mystery is so underwhelming. There arent any stakes to it. Plus I figured it out in the first 50 pages so it was less of a mystery to me I suppose
Murder on the Orient Express was the first Agatha Christie-book I ever read. That set that bar SO high for. There's several I havn't read yet, but I have my doubts that it'll ever be dethroned.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was my first Christie, so I think it will always be my personal fav, but I did very recently reread And Then There Were None, and you're right it is masterful. Great ranking, really enjoyed!
Crooked House is awesome. Some idiot reviewer spoiled Roger Ackroyd for me and Cards on the Table put me off by the Brudge score chart in the beginning because I don't know how to play Brudge lol but I'll have to open my.mind and check it out..
"Crooked House" to me is extremely interesting and well written with the cast of character and suspense. My only problem with it is that the main character didn't do enough investigating and deduction, and the final solution came to them when the murderer had already been "dealt with".
I picked up “and then there were none” only from reading the synopsis, I knew nothing about it and I loved it. I didn’t know she’s written so many murder mysteries
I was so nervous to see where you'd rank my favorite Death on the Nile, and then when you got to your top 30-20, and it wasn't there, I was like YES YES YES. The first book of hers that I've read and remained my most loved.
Oh my Gosh, I'm so glad that someone but me has put Cards on the table at the first position! I had never met none before doing it. For this reason I felt a little bit emotioned when discovering it and I will consider you a kind of a sister for me. According to me, "Cards on the table" has a fascinating and macabre atmosphere, I adore the concept of killing as an art work and of spending time playing in front of the fireplace. Shaitana is the most emblematic character being the victim who dares to challenge the murderer. Thank you so much for your video. ❤️
Thanks for this, as a new Christie fan I really enjoyed hearing your personal ranking. I loved your red/green system for acknowledging where your personal feeling may differ from that of the wider fandom - so many content creators tie themselves in knots over this - but your solution is so elegant. Bravo!❤
I first started reading Agatha Christie 65 years ago. She wrote different types of books as Agatha and others under her pseudonym of Mary Westmacott. I have enjoyed all her books and have re-read them many times, but her absolute best, for me, were Towards Zero and Passenger To Frankfurt. I was living in England in 1974 the year before she died, and wanted so very much to try to meet her. Unfortunately, she just happened to be a very private person and found it very difficult meeting people. However, she still was very influential in my journey to becoming the writer I had always wanted to be. 🙂
The Big Four was the first book I read from the Poirot series and I LOVED IT ❤️❤️❤️ ! I am sad it’s not people’s favorite. I have read a lot of Poirot books so far and even if I can see their difference with this one, I still love it, I found it special. 👍 If you liked that book ( I can’t be the only one who likes it... right ?)
It was the first book iv'e read as well and it's definitely my all time favorite Agatha book. I read first about 7 years ago and I started rereading it again yesterday!
it was the 5th agatha christie book i read and i really loved the plot. i think the reason why it doesn't appear on top of most people's faves (including myself) was because of the anticlimactic ending. i felt like the ending was too lame for a plot that was really unique. but nevertheless, it was a great read though!
I really think your ranking was accurate for the most part. I really thought that "Hallowe'en Party" deserved a higher ranking. It's one of my personal favorites.
As I teenager I did all the cooking at home and always listened to Christie audiobooks during meal prep. Amazing the nostalgia that ensues from early exposure. Robin Bailey narrating Roger Ackroyd will always be my favorite.
I love this video! I'm early in my Christie journey, but I always love reading her. I'm glad to hear your opinion of Evil Under the Sun because I read it last summer and I remember thinking, this is probably one of her best.
Two titles you shouldn't read first are 'Postern of Fate' and. 'Elephants Can Remember'. You might not want to read any others if you meet those two first. But there is a mass of great yarns out there to be enjoyed.
I read my first Agatha Christie book last summer. It was "The Moving Finger" with Miss Marple and i'm currently hooked on reading their books. I love her
I keep coming back to this video as I’m reading all of her novels right now. I’ve read about 25 so far. Roger ackroyd was great for me because I went into it without any idea of what to expect so I wasn’t trying to guess anything. I liked chimneys but hated 7 dials. Go figure lol. I’ll be back again after I finish a few more books. Have you read the Mary westmacotts? Giants bread was so depressing!
I just wish they would actually follow the plot of her books when they turn them into movies. Her story lines are so much more interesting than most of the movie versions. I like her Tommy and Tuppance books too.
I was so happy to see the two Chimneys stories ranked so high. I think they’re charming and amazing fun, in an entire different way than the detective centred stories. I got to know the first one through an audiobook read by Hugh Fraser, who is of course usually identified with the character of Hastings, but did a splendid job on Anthony Kade and all the other characters. The second one I encountered first through the 1981 adaptation, which did such credit to the book that it had become my favourite for several years.
This was most enjoyable! I love to hear what Agatha books most impact others. I have reread a number of her books and still have ones that I haven't read yet, but it is so true that as you get older your taste in what was your favorite may not hold true down the line. Thank you for putting this together. There were some books I had forgotten about and some that you mentioned as top favorites that I haven't read so perhaps I will pick up one of those as my next read.
I absolutely love your reviews. putting all the books in one video together in a rank like this is amazing work and actually brings wonderful memories.. I am shocked you have not read N or M yet which is decidedly the best Tuppence and Tommy book. please read it the first chance you get coz I cant wait for your video reviewing it..
Thanks for the video! :) I'm from Germany and my mother and I are going to go on a short trip in a few weeks. There's a nice crime literature-themed hotel just a few hours away from us and we love to visit it every few years. Every room is based around an author of classic crime literature or the works itself. They have a Sherlock Holmes room, an Edgar Wallace room, an Alfred Hitchcock room, The Godfather suite, a James Bond room etc. There also several Agatha Christie-themed ones with interior in fashion of the Orient Express or the cabins of the ship in Death on the Nile and also a bigger room in fashion of the Miss Marple stories. Next to the hotel is another crime-themed house with a café at the ground level which is similary decorated as the hotel rooms. And on the attic levels you have the actual treasure of the house: a big library of a majority of all the crime novels ever published in Germany/translated to German! So my mother and I made it a tradition to order some cake and tea at the café, take it upstairs to the attic, make ourselves comfortable in some nice armchairs and sofas, pick out some nice crime novels and just read for a few ours while having delicious tea and cake. I'm generally not big on crime novels but when we first visited I thought Agatha Christie would be a good starting point. Now that I've read quite a few of her novels I was checking out your list to get inspired and figure out what I should read next when we go there again in Octobre ;)
If you haven't got it, a short story collection you may like to read is Agatha Christie's The Complete Short Stories Miss Marple And Mystery which has over 50 stories, and Agatha Christie short story collection The 13 Problems
ive just finished reading "lord edgware dies" or "thirteen at dinner" and its the FIRST time ever that ive known who done it. truly, i would have want not to guess the murderer because I reckon its more fun when you're not right and agatha just slaps one big twist into your face. its officially my 17th book from agatha and I could not have been happier. ty again for all the videos including agatha christie
I haven't read a lot of Christie's books, but I think I always liked the ABC murders because it was I think the first of it's kind to do that twist of a bunch of random murders to cover for one murder. And it has some of my most favorite Poirot and Hasting moments. Also one of my most favorite Poirot moments too. Plus the Poirot film version with Suchet has a very special place in my heart, it was just so well done.
Interesting. I'm not exactly opposite your ranking, but kind of a jumble of "snatch this one from the bottom rank, shove that one down from a higher rank, wait, you thought that one could go green?, I'd say red, oooo yes, that is exactly right." I love that you put Cards on the Table at the top, and while I don't feel like I could pick a favourite there are days when it could be there *as long as it's a copy with the images of the bridge sheets*. If they've just typed out the scores then it absolutely drops several categories for me. It's one of my favourite things when I get the same clues Poirot is looking at, I can flip back to the map of the bearths or the torn letter/note when someone points out something about it, I find it a really satisfying part of reading a paper copy of a mystery. Even the list of characters with their relationships is * chef's kiss *
Great rundown of the majority of Agatha Christie's novels, I have read Sparkling Cyanide and Death on the Nile this month for March Mystery Madness, pleased to see you rate both quite highly, I was wondering which to read next, this has been a great help.
Thanks for your video. Watched it with great interest. I am surprised you had Card on the Table as your top favourites - as Christie's own relative disliked the book. :) Would be good to have a video from you as Christie's most ingenious novel - in other words the most cunning and clever plot. My vote goes to And Then There Were None and also Death on the Nile. But I'd like to hear yours. Thank you
My memory of Cards on the Table was that the "ending" was rather cramped and had too many back-to-back twists, so that by the time the murderer was finalized, I almost didn't care. However, this video has inspired me to do lots of Christie rereading!
Cards on the Table is masterfully well presented, and the way in which Poirot solves the crime is one of the more his more ingenious efforts -- as well, of course, as Agatha's.
Really liked your video. My favourite Christie is And Then There Were None, but I have yet to read Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie is the reading equivalent of a comfort blanket, I love reading her mysteries.
Great timing! Just ventured into Agatha Christie and have read her first. Better late than never. The volume of books to read is very intimidating. Love your videos.
Your books are beautiful!!!! my collection is a hodge podge of paperbacks and thrift store finds. I started reading her seriously as covid started ( along with rewatching all the Poirot and Marple tv shows and movies. I agree with 7 of your top picks :)
Hallowe'en Party was my first Christie novel and I really enjoyed it -- although not my favorite. And Then There Were None might be my favorite along with a Murder is Announced and The Pale Horse -- which you must read. Great video! Regards, Gerard Denza Author of THE EDWARD MENDEZ SERIES
This is impressive! Thanks for going through all of them :) I am planning on reading Hallowe'en Party in October (for obvious reasons). Some of her books I've found that I have enjoyed more listening on audiobook than reading from the page (The ABC Murders, Roger Ackroyd and Murder is Announced especially). There was an anime series in early 2000s called Agatha Christie Great Detectives: Poirot and Marple that had adaptations of a lot of these. The Sleeping Murder one (it’s like four parts) was pretty good. It’s still crazy that they did anime adaptations of her novels but it worked for the most part 😄
My favourites: The Clocks, Crooked House, A Caribbean Mystery, The Man in the Brown Suit, Nemesis, At Bertram Hotel and Murder at the Vicarage. What I read a long time ago, enjoyed it then, and do not remember much of now: Cards on the table, N or M. Found And Then There Were None too chilling for my liking, especially since I read it as a teenager. Couldn't appreciate Orient Express (another of her most popular books) too. But from a literary and novelty standpoint, it is cool!
I've only read 4 books of hers so far (hoping to read MUCH more). Here's my ranking so far though: 1. And Then There Were None - 5/5 2. Five Little Pigs - 5/5 3. Appointment With Death - 4/5 4. Death on the Nile - 4/5
I really appreciate your list, bookslikewhoa. In all my 62 years I never dreamed that I would ever read an Agatha Christie novel. I assumed her appeal was for youth. And yet as I perused other reader's lists of great books to read, as I'm continuously apt to do, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were frequent entries. I decided to take a chance a couple months back and bought them. I read Murder on the Orient Express and was pleasantly surprised and rewarded. At this point, I've only read eight of her books, though I have about six more that I purchased and are currently sitting on my shelf to be read. I cannot remember which ones I read in which order, but as I recall, Death on the Nile was not nearly as beguiling as the other seven, however, I still enjoyed it. Cards on the Table is yet to be read, and now that I've been introduced to your list, I look forward to reading it. My favorite so far is And Then There Were None. I couldn't put it down and was amazed over how she made that work. My second favorite was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, largely because of the unexpected and controversial twist at the end regarding Dr. Sheppard. I also liked The Mysterious Affair at Styles, convinced that it was pretty doggone good for a first effort. And, unlike you, I really enjoyed The ABC murders (though I don't mean to imply you didn't, it's just that, as you noted, others like me would be inclined to rank it higher). I actually liked what she did with the serial killer aspect. The other two I've read so far are Murder Is Easy and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. I was not disappointed with either. I am now an Agatha Christie fan. I wonder if you've read Giants Bread. I plan on reading it to see if it is a worthwhile Westmacott product. Thanks so much for posting your list, bookslikewhoa. Well done!
My top 5 Agatha Christie Books- 1)Murder on the Orient express 2)EVIL UNDER THE SUN 3)FIVE LITTLE PIGS 4)And then there were none. 5)The murder of Roger ACROYD
I read Passenger to Frankfurt recently , I could not tell you what it is about anymore, it was so confusing 😅 I will definitely add some to my tbr, ive been meaning to read more Agatha Christie
Wow! And I thought I read them all. Back to the bookstore since the library here is closed. Good job I like your number one I don't remember the plot but I remember the title and it was one of my favorites
I really enjoyed The Seven Dials Mystery. It was fun and silly but clever too. My personal favourite is probably a tied between your top three. However, I have not read that many Agatha Christie books so I am reading one a month. I think I have read between 15 and 20 at this point.
I’m a fan of Seven Dials too, the mix of mystery and light hearted thriller really works for me. You might enjoy Why Didn’t they ask Evans and perhaps Some early Tommy and Tuppence. The Pale Horse too which is way better than the bizarrely awful recent TV adaptation.
I love her books for the atmosphere commentary on society mostly, with the murder coming second. I find it fascinating peeking into society from her perspective...it is my favorite time in history.
my ranking for Agatha Christie books I read and audiobooks I listened to are: 1. And Then There Were None 2. Crooked House 3. Murder on the Orient Express 4. Miss Marple Complete Short Stories (I'm half way through it yet. Miss Marple is so amazing in these short stories, I just love her!) 5. The Body in the Library 6. Murder at the Vicarage 7. Five Little Pigs 8. The ABC Murders I recently started reading Ordeal by Innocence and I'm liking it already. I have so many AC books to read on my list!
Okay, thank you! I just tried to read Passenger to Frankfurt, and I didn't like it at all! I thought I was missing some brilliance of Ms. Christie. Super excited to hear that you agree!
Thank you so much for this video! Here's my top & bottom 5: top: - Five little pigs - And then there were none - Murder on the orient express - Elephants can remember (so sad you didn't enjoy it) - Poirot's Christmas bottom: - Crooked house (Surprized this was so high on your list, it's my least favorite) - Mystery of the blue train - Sitafford mystery - Murder in the clouds - Nemesis
I agree that Bertrams hotel is not one of the best Miss Marple books however one of the tv adaptations( I can't remember which) was absolutely incredible and was my favorite adaptation of any of Christies works. If you ever get a chance to watch it I hope it makes you enjoy the book more.
Oh gosh I hated sleeping murder haha I thought it was so creepy! Ditto with And Then There Were None, though I realize it’s a favorite of most people. Endless night and crooked house also creeped me out. I totally agree that the Bundle adventure novels were so much fun, some of my favorites! Thanks for doing this video. So fun. Now I want to re-read all my Agathas!
New subscriber! I love Agatha Christie's novels veey much. They always enthrall me. I recently read The Unexpected guest by Agatha Christie. I have also read Appointment with Death and Mysterious Affairs at Styles. Both are great..love your videos
@@LE-zy2od Actually it was my first read, therefore it touched my heart. But now I can draw conclusion and I agree with you. My favourite one is And Then There Were None☺
Cards on the Table is my favourite as well, it's a perfect blend of character and plot at her best. I also love the Pale Horse but admittedly it might be cause I adore the radio adaptation. My least favourite are the Listerdale Mystery, The Man in Brown Suit, and Postern of Fate. The first is dull, the second is Taken at the Flood's racist twin, and the last is barely a book, it never should've been published. I really enjoyed this video. I don't agree completely but I understand your choices also. It's such a personal thing which mysteries resonate with every reader. It's the beauty of her writing I guess.
I love how different everyone's top Agatha Christie books are!! I'm a huge Tommy and Tuppence fan so my top 10 list looks extra different. And Then There Were None is my #2 too. hahahaha
Agatha Christie is truly one of the geniuses ever existed! Her works are unbelievably fantastic! Her narration truly shocked me in my early hype of agatha’s novels!
I just started reading Agatha Christie. My mom bought me Passenger to Frankfurt. I literally cannot bring myself to continue reading it, while usually I read her books in 2-3 days
Every time I re-read Cards on the Table, I wish I knew how to play Bridge. I feel like you can't follow the plot without understanding the card game, do you play Bridge?
Have you read ‘The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding’? I don’t see it in your list. If you have, is it good? I feel like it is the right time to read something Christmassy, and as I have already read Poirot’s Christmas, I was thinking about reading that story collection. Are those stories even related to Christmas?
The underdog and other stories and the adventures of the Christmas pudding are the same collection, and she has it high on the list, so I’d say check it out.
bookslikewhoa I read like 14 of them when I was a teenager and by now I forgot them mostly. So I decided that I will try to read one a month until I finish them. I actually have a big Bantam collection so is a good oportunista to get thru them!
Is it bad that I watched this list, not primarily to see if my favourites were ranked high, but to make sure that Passenger to Frankfurt was ranked low. I can still barely wrap my head around what happened in the second half of that book. I bought it, not knowing anything about it other than it was an Agatha Christie book and I was trying to read more Agatha Christie at that time.
My current ranking of Christies I have reed; 10. Why didn't they ask Evans? (1.8/5) 9. They Came to Baghdad (2.8/5) 8. Sparkling Cyanide (3.3/5) 7. Mysterious Affair at Styles (3.6/5) 6. A Pocketfull of Rye (3.7/5) 5. A Murder is Announced (3.9/5) 4. And Then There Were None (4.1/5) 3. Death Comes as The End (4.7/5) 2. Endless Night (4.8/5) 1. Crooked House (5/5) Love the Video ❤
I would love to know where you got those copies that have the vintagey covers, like The Mysterious Affair At Styles at 28:46. I googled it and didn't find anything. They're awesome.
books like whooooooooo!!! i like that u put in extra effort to point out books that r popular among readers but in ur list u gave ur honest opinion on the same .
Wow! My no. 1 is Cards on the Table, And then there were none is no. 2 and no. 3 is Murder on the Orient Express. I’m so glad you share my opinion on the top 3. Cards on the Table was my first Agatha Christie novel and till today, nothing beats this one, in my opinion.
Definitely more of a Poirot girl than a Marple girl, though I do like some of them as well. David Suchet IS Poirot. Wish Hollywood would quit recasting that role. This is why we can't have nice things. 😂 And Then There Were None is number 1 for me followed by Death on the Nile and Cards on the Table, but even a "bad" Poirot is still Poirot and better than a lot of what's out there now, imo. Not counting Edgar Allan Poe, of course who is one of my all time favorites. I even enjoy some of his poems. 😱 (Normally I can't get within 10 feet of a poem- it's a allergy thing.)
Hahah, I feel the same way about David Suchet! I watched the entire series multiple times before finally tackling the books, and it's interesting to see which versions I like more per story. Usually the books are better, but every once in a while, I like better what the show did with a story, like a short story they expanded and made more interesting.
Year late,BUT still soooo worth the watch... Love all your classic recommendations and just Love Love books like whoa!! 😊 so pretty and i have followed your recommendations when it comes to where to start with classics n its always been very helpful specially being new to some authors n not knowing where to start. Thank you 💖
Another great Christie short story collection that wasn’t mentioned was “The Labours of Hercules.” I probably would rank this higher than most but the cases were fun.
Ive read a few but of course the murder of Roger Ackroyd is the absolute best just in terms of crime overall and a brilliant twist ending. Still surprises people to this day
I just discovered your channel and am loving it. Thanks for all the great content! I am super new to the Christie world but am loving all of what I have read. I agree that Endless Night was a huge letdown; my problem with it was that it just wasn't very Christie. The first 3 parts of 4 read like a romance novel with a touch of Christie (the gypsy), but I spent all 180 pages just anticipating some great big twist. I finally got it at the end with Ellie's death, but was just too bored to keep reading by that point. Keep up the great work. I am loving what I've seen from your channel so far.
This is a great video. You've definitely inspired me to read or re-read a few of them, even though I usually feel I've seen it all about A.Christie. I love that you show every single book that you talk about. I think it gives the video a lot of weight. I also feel the way we rank our favorites has a lot to do with personal and subjective reasons. I, for instance, don't like mysteries where the victim committed suicide or where all or most of the characters die. So that takes care of a couple of the most famous ones. I admit that I am also influenced by the feeling I got from the David Suchet series, which a series that I really love. In no particular order I would say that these are my 10 top favorites: * The Body in the Library * The Murder of Roger Ackroyd *The Mysterious Affair at Styles * The Hollow * Death on the Nile * A Murder Is Announced (You could say this is my very favorite) * Murder in Mesopotamia *Peril at End House * Appointment with Death * One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (Perhaps second favorite).
I would like to thank you for your knowledge and the great effort you made in putting this list together. I am in the process of viewing all the Agatha Christie stories I can find on UA-cam. I just watched “Nemesis” and was very disappointed with it. I wasn’t sure if the problem was with the screen writer or director or (gasp) the writer, Agatha. Or was it just me? Thanks to you I now know it was Agatha in her waning years. Your ranking is quite valuable. Indeed!.
Which version did you watch? One of the tv versions really butchered it. The Joan Hickson version is closer to the book than the others but even it has a few problems. Plus there’s more than one version of it with Joan Hickson
I personally would have ranked "The Mystery of the Blue Train" higher on my own list. It's one of my favorite Poirot novels. I found it to be a nice blend of international crime and domestic murder. It might not be top shelf Christie. I would place it on second shelf. And second shelf Agatha Christie ain't too shabby IMO.😊
Endless Night is my second fave book ever, and my second favorite Christie. Topped only by And Then There Were None. I got my friend who’s also a big Christie fan to read it this week and she loved it too. While I can’t disprove anything Mara said about it, I love it for those same reasons, I love the angsty and maudlin tone of the book! But, I get why some people don’t.
I find the repeated poem hypnotic and the heroine who reads it captivating. To the extent that It has a little of the "Murder of Roger Ackroyd" device in it, I also liked that. Though I agree it's one of her more psychological books.
And then there were none is the best book by a wide margin! We stayed at Burgh Island, where she wrote it last summer. Yes, we stayed in the Christie Suite.
My personal favourites are: ~6Poirot's Christmas (Next) 5.ABC Murders 4.Murder of Roger Ackroyd 3.Death on Nile 2.Murder on Orient Express 1.And Then There Were None
It took me a long time to get to Agatha. Until you've lived as an adult or unless you had a harrowing childhood, it's easy to see the best in everyone, perhaps. What got me was this: I was back in California for a week and had about eight hours of driving planned in. Before I left, I took out Murder is Easy on CDs - and to my shock and awe, I was blown away. Of course, I was already married and had been back-stabbed at work...seen a bit more of humanity, you could say. The love story hooked me, but the fact that you *could* have seen the end coming was genius. Next one I picked up (and the first I actually read) was Endless Night, heart wrenching and still a favorite to my sappy old self. Did enjoy Cards on the Table (it may help if one has a thing for Bridge or Pinochle). In any case, thanks - I'm still only about twenty novels in and always looking for advice which to pick up next. I found a number of surprises in your rankings that put me back onto things I had formerly dismissed.
Loved this list! Can't wait to hear what you think of Towards Zero...Neither a Poirot nor Marple, but I would definitely put it in my personal top ten (along with Cards on the Table, And Then There Were None, Nemesis, and Styles/Curtain).
Watching you talk about Christie’s books is so entertaining. I have watched this video three times in two days that shows how much I love it! ❤️ Yet I couldn’t help noticing Ordeal by Innocence was not in it. Not even among those you didn’t remember/ haven’t read? 🤔
So interesting! I thought By the Pricking of my Thumbs was bad too, but I would also put Three Act Tragedy and Third Girl there. I actually liked The Clocks and Halloween Party but agree with the “rest of the worst.” But I really didn’t like The Seven Dials or The Secret Of Chimneys. I loved this video because I see there’s a Christie for everyone!❤️
The picture of 60s London did not "save" The Third Girl for me. I thought it was awful. And I too liked Halloween Party (can't remember The Clocks well enough to comment).
Agatha Christie stated in her Autobiography her least favorite of her own books was The mystery of The Blue Train. The last Hercule Poirot book was Curtain. She wrote that one back in the 1940s.
Looking for more (and newer/more complete) Christie videos?
My latest FAVORITES ranking that includes ALL Agatha Christie works is here: ua-cam.com/video/Dkqxv__te08/v-deo.html
My latest BEST ranking of the Top 15 Christie novels is here: ua-cam.com/video/RK2j-ixdghY/v-deo.html
My latest collection video on my Agatha Christie books is here: ua-cam.com/video/SAlqEN3rvVQ/v-deo.html
Where to Start with Agatha Christie is here: ua-cam.com/video/XtEn9NsSODQ/v-deo.html
Where to Start with Miss Marple is here: ua-cam.com/video/mzUXcE7MLp4/v-deo.html
Where to Start with Hercule Poirot is here: ua-cam.com/video/Nbyw3aBqEMw/v-deo.html
The playlist of all Christie videos is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLgcRd060HFyckFb8lnAME8ZfoTW3zue0G.html
The playlist of Mission Marple videos is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLgcRd060HFyciUQfczJqY8-GYL6r6UcMR.html
The playlist of Project Poirot videos is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLgcRd060HFydbM0Jom95Dw0QQA8AUde8D.html
That was great fun to watch. I started reading Agatha Christie when I was ten. I still reread them, and I'm now 73. The Hollow is probably my favorite, because parts of it was so funny. Hope you enjoy The Man in the Brown Suit -- another favorite. Thank you for this.
lovely!
I am so jealous of anyone who still has Agatha Christie books left to read as I've read them all. When I was younger, I loved Poirot. As I got older, I came to appreciate Ms Marple. I've never been fond of Tommy and Tuppence. My first was ABC murders. Is it any wonder I was hooked from then?
Can you give me an order to start reading her books? Idk where to start
@@TK-jj3pc whichever order you want, but if you need some sort of structure just read them in order of release imo
@@TK-jj3pcu can start with murder of Roger ackroyd
Mine too
My top 5 Christies:
1. And then there were None
2. Murder on the Orient Express
3. Evil under the Sun
4. Five Little Pigs
5. Murder in Mesopotamia
💜💜💜
I love the Peter Ustinov movie of Evil Under The Sun and quite enjoy the book too
@@mandipalmer4348David Suchet is Poirot
I’ve read 27 Christie’s, so here is my ranking if anyone cares
27 the moving Finger 3/5 star:
26 Hallowe’en Party 3/5 stars
25 Evil under the sun: 3/5 star
24 the body in the library 3.5/5 star
23 sparkling cyanide: 3.5/5star
22 The ABC Murders: 4/5 star
21 murder at the vicarage: 4/5 star
20 dead mans folly 4/5
19 the pale horse
18 Three Act Tragedy 4/5 star
17 sad cypress 4/5 star
16 The sittaford mystery: 4/5 star
15 Mysterious affair at styles 4.5/5
14 After the funeral 4.5/5
13 Peril at End House 4.5/5
12 crooked house 4.5/5
11 Death on the Nile: 5/5 star
10 Towards Zero 5/5 star
9 The Man in the Brown Suit 5/5
8 Ordeal By Innocence 5 /5 star
7 Cards on the table: 5/5 star
6 Murder on the orient express: 5/5 star
5 Lord Edgware Dies 5/5 star
4 Sleeping murder
3 Five Little Pigs 5/5 star
2 Endless Night: 5/5 star
1 and then there were none: 6/5
Bruh I dont know what the hype is about five little pigs
But I do agree with most of your list
@@leocarlton4364 I forgot I made this comment lol, I updated it now that I’ve read a couple more Christie’s. Anyways, for me Five Little Pigs has some of her best character work and I really like the setting and atmosphere of it.
@@hiigghhggg9150 Yeah I guess but the mystery is so underwhelming. There arent any stakes to it. Plus I figured it out in the first 50 pages so it was less of a mystery to me I suppose
You have to read THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD.
@@akhilsatheesh4917 I’ve been spoiled for it, but I still wanna read it at some point.
Murder on the Orient Express was the first Agatha Christie-book I ever read. That set that bar SO high for. There's several I havn't read yet, but I have my doubts that it'll ever be dethroned.
It is definitely one of the best!
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was my first Christie, so I think it will always be my personal fav, but I did very recently reread And Then There Were None, and you're right it is masterful. Great ranking, really enjoyed!
She is so devious in that one. I love it.
Agatha's best is undoubtedly "And Then There Were None" - and I love it - but my favorite is "A Murder Is Announced".
My Top 3 Agatha Christie as of now:
1. Crooked House
2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
3. Cards on the Table
I would say the same, except for The Murder of Roger Ackryod
Crooked House movie Glenn Close is great! Need to read the book.
Crooked House is awesome. Some idiot reviewer spoiled Roger Ackroyd for me and Cards on the Table put me off by the Brudge score chart in the beginning because I don't know how to play Brudge lol but I'll have to open my.mind and check it out..
@@lilmoe4364 😂😂😂
"Crooked House" to me is extremely interesting and well written with the cast of character and suspense.
My only problem with it is that the main character didn't do enough investigating and deduction, and the final solution came to them when the murderer had already been "dealt with".
I picked up “and then there were none” only from reading the synopsis, I knew nothing about it and I loved it. I didn’t know she’s written so many murder mysteries
I was so nervous to see where you'd rank my favorite Death on the Nile, and then when you got to your top 30-20, and it wasn't there, I was like YES YES YES. The first book of hers that I've read and remained my most loved.
Death comes as the end is an excellent book, once one gets used to the Ancient Egypt surrounding
One of my favorites.
Oh my Gosh, I'm so glad that someone but me has put Cards on the table at the first position! I had never met none before doing it. For this reason I felt a little bit emotioned when discovering it and I will consider you a kind of a sister for me.
According to me, "Cards on the table" has a fascinating and macabre atmosphere, I adore the concept of killing as an art work and of spending time playing in front of the fireplace. Shaitana is the most emblematic character being the victim who dares to challenge the murderer. Thank you so much for your video. ❤️
Haven’t read that one yet, must get round to doing so..
Cards on the tables was really one of my favorite Agatha Christie. It's even better when you already know the characters(Mrs Oliver, Japp...)
These were nice! It's so impressive that you didn't spoil anything, but still had something noteworthy to say about all of these!!
Thanks for this, as a new Christie fan I really enjoyed hearing your personal ranking. I loved your red/green system for acknowledging where your personal feeling may differ from that of the wider fandom - so many content creators tie themselves in knots over this - but your solution is so elegant. Bravo!❤
Was just thinking how much I missed new Agatha Christie vids from your channel, and then you go and provide a feast! Thanks!!!
I first started reading Agatha Christie 65 years ago. She wrote different types of books as Agatha and others under her pseudonym of Mary Westmacott. I have enjoyed all her books and have re-read them many times, but her absolute best, for me, were Towards Zero and Passenger To Frankfurt. I was living in England in 1974 the year before she died, and wanted so very much to try to meet her. Unfortunately, she just happened to be a very private person and found it very difficult meeting people. However, she still was very influential in my journey to becoming the writer I had always wanted to be. 🙂
I Think "And than there where none" is the best. And in the second place is "Crooked House". And the Third Place is "ABC Murder"
The Big Four was the first book I read from the Poirot series and I LOVED IT ❤️❤️❤️ ! I am sad it’s not people’s favorite. I have read a lot of Poirot books so far and even if I can see their difference with this one, I still love it, I found it special. 👍 If you liked that book ( I can’t be the only one who likes it... right ?)
It was the first book iv'e read as well and it's definitely my all time favorite Agatha book. I read first about 7 years ago and I started rereading it again yesterday!
it was the 5th agatha christie book i read and i really loved the plot. i think the reason why it doesn't appear on top of most people's faves (including myself) was because of the anticlimactic ending. i felt like the ending was too lame for a plot that was really unique. but nevertheless, it was a great read though!
It is one of my favorites too.
I love the jacket covers you have for some of your books. They are great.
30:19 amazing
5:28 bad
22:09 great
12:34 good
7:00 okay
I really think your ranking was accurate for the most part. I really thought that "Hallowe'en Party" deserved a higher ranking. It's one of my personal favorites.
As I teenager I did all the cooking at home and always listened to Christie audiobooks during meal prep. Amazing the nostalgia that ensues from early exposure. Robin Bailey narrating Roger Ackroyd will always be my favorite.
Reading is a totally different experience
I love this video! I'm early in my Christie journey, but I always love reading her. I'm glad to hear your opinion of Evil Under the Sun because I read it last summer and I remember thinking, this is probably one of her best.
Two titles you shouldn't read first are 'Postern of Fate' and. 'Elephants Can Remember'. You might not want to read any others if you meet those two first. But there is a mass of great yarns out there to be enjoyed.
I read my first Agatha Christie book last summer. It was "The Moving Finger" with Miss Marple and i'm currently hooked on reading their books. I love her
I keep coming back to this video as I’m reading all of her novels right now. I’ve read about 25 so far. Roger ackroyd was great for me because I went into it without any idea of what to expect so I wasn’t trying to guess anything. I liked chimneys but hated 7 dials. Go figure lol. I’ll be back again after I finish a few more books. Have you read the Mary westmacotts? Giants bread was so depressing!
Interesting! Way preferred Seven Dials to Chimneys..but Ackroyd I read last July and it was brilliant.
this is really helpful because your channel made me want to start reading agatha christie's books so thank you!
I just wish they would actually follow the plot of her books when they turn them into movies. Her story lines are so much more interesting than most of the movie versions. I like her Tommy and Tuppance books too.
I was so happy to see the two Chimneys stories ranked so high. I think they’re charming and amazing fun, in an entire different way than the detective centred stories. I got to know the first one through an audiobook read by Hugh Fraser, who is of course usually identified with the character of Hastings, but did a splendid job on Anthony Kade and all the other characters. The second one I encountered first through the 1981 adaptation, which did such credit to the book that it had become my favourite for several years.
This was most enjoyable! I love to hear what Agatha books most impact others. I have reread a number of her books and still have ones that I haven't read yet, but it is so true that as you get older your taste in what was your favorite may not hold true down the line. Thank you for putting this together. There were some books I had forgotten about and some that you mentioned as top favorites that I haven't read so perhaps I will pick up one of those as my next read.
I absolutely love your reviews. putting all the books in one video together in a rank like this is amazing work and actually brings wonderful memories..
I am shocked you have not read N or M yet which is decidedly the best Tuppence and Tommy book. please read it the first chance you get coz I cant wait for your video reviewing it..
Thanks for the video! :) I'm from Germany and my mother and I are going to go on a short trip in a few weeks. There's a nice crime literature-themed hotel just a few hours away from us and we love to visit it every few years. Every room is based around an author of classic crime literature or the works itself. They have a Sherlock Holmes room, an Edgar Wallace room, an Alfred Hitchcock room, The Godfather suite, a James Bond room etc. There also several Agatha Christie-themed ones with interior in fashion of the Orient Express or the cabins of the ship in Death on the Nile and also a bigger room in fashion of the Miss Marple stories. Next to the hotel is another crime-themed house with a café at the ground level which is similary decorated as the hotel rooms. And on the attic levels you have the actual treasure of the house: a big library of a majority of all the crime novels ever published in Germany/translated to German! So my mother and I made it a tradition to order some cake and tea at the café, take it upstairs to the attic, make ourselves comfortable in some nice armchairs and sofas, pick out some nice crime novels and just read for a few ours while having delicious tea and cake. I'm generally not big on crime novels but when we first visited I thought Agatha Christie would be a good starting point. Now that I've read quite a few of her novels I was checking out your list to get inspired and figure out what I should read next when we go there again in Octobre ;)
Omg, that sounds absolutely wonderful! I live in Denmark, so I’m not that far from Germany, and I’d love to visit a place like that😍
@@elisabethn3913 Its called "Krimihotel" in the town of Hillesheim in the Eifel
@@grozmeistere7504 Thank you!
If you haven't got it, a short story collection you may like to read is Agatha Christie's The Complete Short Stories Miss Marple And Mystery which has over 50 stories, and Agatha Christie short story collection The 13 Problems
ive just finished reading "lord edgware dies" or "thirteen at dinner" and its the FIRST time ever that ive known who done it. truly, i would have want not to guess the murderer because I reckon its more fun when you're not right and agatha just slaps one big twist into your face. its officially my 17th book from agatha and I could not have been happier.
ty again for all the videos including agatha christie
I haven't read a lot of Christie's books, but I think I always liked the ABC murders because it was I think the first of it's kind to do that twist of a bunch of random murders to cover for one murder. And it has some of my most favorite Poirot and Hasting moments. Also one of my most favorite Poirot moments too. Plus the Poirot film version with Suchet has a very special place in my heart, it was just so well done.
Interesting. I'm not exactly opposite your ranking, but kind of a jumble of "snatch this one from the bottom rank, shove that one down from a higher rank, wait, you thought that one could go green?, I'd say red, oooo yes, that is exactly right." I love that you put Cards on the Table at the top, and while I don't feel like I could pick a favourite there are days when it could be there *as long as it's a copy with the images of the bridge sheets*. If they've just typed out the scores then it absolutely drops several categories for me. It's one of my favourite things when I get the same clues Poirot is looking at, I can flip back to the map of the bearths or the torn letter/note when someone points out something about it, I find it a really satisfying part of reading a paper copy of a mystery. Even the list of characters with their relationships is * chef's kiss *
My top 5 are:-
5. Hallowe'en party
4. The man in the brown suit
3. By the pricking of my thumbs
2. Destination unknown
1. They came to Baghdad
What about The Pale Horse?
Great rundown of the majority of Agatha Christie's novels, I have read Sparkling Cyanide and Death on the Nile this month for March Mystery Madness, pleased to see you rate both quite highly, I was wondering which to read next, this has been a great help.
Thanks for your video. Watched it with great interest. I am surprised you had Card on the Table as your top favourites - as Christie's own relative disliked the book. :) Would be good to have a video from you as Christie's most ingenious novel - in other words the most cunning and clever plot. My vote goes to And Then There Were None and also Death on the Nile. But I'd like to hear yours. Thank you
Oh, that's an interesting idea! Yeah, ATTWN and Nile would have to be up there... probably After the Funeral... hmm. I will have to mull on that!
@@bookslikewhoa Many Thanks for your reply. I look forward to watching it. Cheers and merry Christmas!
My memory of Cards on the Table was that the "ending" was rather cramped and had too many back-to-back twists, so that by the time the murderer was finalized, I almost didn't care. However, this video has inspired me to do lots of Christie rereading!
Cards on the Table is masterfully well presented, and the way in which Poirot solves the crime is one of the more his more ingenious efforts -- as well, of course, as Agatha's.
Really liked your video. My favourite Christie is And Then There Were None, but I have yet to read Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie is the reading equivalent of a comfort blanket, I love reading her mysteries.
I have read all her novels, the best is The murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Great timing! Just ventured into Agatha Christie and have read her first. Better late than never. The volume of books to read is very intimidating. Love your videos.
Your books are beautiful!!!! my collection is a hodge podge of paperbacks and thrift store finds. I started reading her seriously as covid started ( along with rewatching all the Poirot and Marple tv shows and movies. I agree with 7 of your top picks :)
Hallowe'en Party was my first Christie novel and I really enjoyed it -- although not my favorite. And Then There Were None might be my favorite along with a Murder is Announced and The Pale Horse -- which you must read.
Great video!
Regards,
Gerard Denza
Author of THE EDWARD MENDEZ SERIES
This is impressive! Thanks for going through all of them :) I am planning on reading Hallowe'en Party in October (for obvious reasons). Some of her books I've found that I have enjoyed more listening on audiobook than reading from the page (The ABC Murders, Roger Ackroyd and Murder is Announced especially).
There was an anime series in early 2000s called Agatha Christie Great Detectives: Poirot and Marple that had adaptations of a lot of these. The Sleeping Murder one (it’s like four parts) was pretty good. It’s still crazy that they did anime adaptations of her novels but it worked for the most part 😄
I've heard those anime adaptations are a trip! :D
My favourites: The Clocks, Crooked House, A Caribbean Mystery, The Man in the Brown Suit, Nemesis, At Bertram Hotel and Murder at the Vicarage.
What I read a long time ago, enjoyed it then, and do not remember much of now: Cards on the table, N or M.
Found And Then There Were None too chilling for my liking, especially since I read it as a teenager. Couldn't appreciate Orient Express (another of her most popular books) too. But from a literary and novelty standpoint, it is cool!
I've only read 4 books of hers so far (hoping to read MUCH more). Here's my ranking so far though:
1. And Then There Were None - 5/5
2. Five Little Pigs - 5/5
3. Appointment With Death - 4/5
4. Death on the Nile - 4/5
You’re making a good start! But you have to read Roger Ackroyd soon, brilliant plotting and characterisation..
@@Yawnyaman I did read it a few weeks ago. It's very good, and the twist was amazing. I'd say it's a 4.5/5, very close to a 5/5.
I really appreciate your list, bookslikewhoa. In all my 62 years I never dreamed that I would ever read an Agatha Christie novel. I assumed her appeal was for youth. And yet as I perused other reader's lists of great books to read, as I'm continuously apt to do, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were frequent entries. I decided to take a chance a couple months back and bought them. I read Murder on the Orient Express and was pleasantly surprised and rewarded. At this point, I've only read eight of her books, though I have about six more that I purchased and are currently sitting on my shelf to be read. I cannot remember which ones I read in which order, but as I recall, Death on the Nile was not nearly as beguiling as the other seven, however, I still enjoyed it. Cards on the Table is yet to be read, and now that I've been introduced to your list, I look forward to reading it. My favorite so far is And Then There Were None. I couldn't put it down and was amazed over how she made that work. My second favorite was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, largely because of the unexpected and controversial twist at the end regarding Dr. Sheppard. I also liked The Mysterious Affair at Styles, convinced that it was pretty doggone good for a first effort. And, unlike you, I really enjoyed The ABC murders (though I don't mean to imply you didn't, it's just that, as you noted, others like me would be inclined to rank it higher). I actually liked what she did with the serial killer aspect. The other two I've read so far are Murder Is Easy and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. I was not disappointed with either. I am now an Agatha Christie fan. I wonder if you've read Giants Bread. I plan on reading it to see if it is a worthwhile Westmacott product. Thanks so much for posting your list, bookslikewhoa. Well done!
My top 5 Agatha Christie Books-
1)Murder on the Orient express
2)EVIL UNDER THE SUN
3)FIVE LITTLE PIGS
4)And then there were none.
5)The murder of Roger ACROYD
I read Passenger to Frankfurt recently , I could not tell you what it is about anymore, it was so confusing 😅
I will definitely add some to my tbr, ive been meaning to read more Agatha Christie
Oh wow, you hadn't read Pale Horse or Man in the Brown Suit? Those were two of the first Christies I read!!
Wow! And I thought I read them all. Back to the bookstore since the library here is closed. Good job I like your number one I don't remember the plot but I remember the title and it was one of my favorites
I really enjoyed The Seven Dials Mystery. It was fun and silly but clever too. My personal favourite is probably a tied between your top three. However, I have not read that many Agatha Christie books so I am reading one a month. I think I have read between 15 and 20 at this point.
I’m a fan of Seven Dials too, the mix of mystery and light hearted thriller really works for me. You might enjoy Why Didn’t they ask Evans and perhaps Some early Tommy and Tuppence. The Pale Horse too which is way better than the bizarrely awful recent TV adaptation.
I love her books for the atmosphere commentary on society mostly, with the murder coming second. I find it fascinating peeking into society from her perspective...it is my favorite time in history.
my ranking for Agatha Christie books I read and audiobooks I listened to are:
1. And Then There Were None
2. Crooked House
3. Murder on the Orient Express
4. Miss Marple Complete Short Stories (I'm half way through it yet. Miss Marple is so amazing in these short stories, I just love her!)
5. The Body in the Library
6. Murder at the Vicarage
7. Five Little Pigs
8. The ABC Murders
I recently started reading Ordeal by Innocence and I'm liking it already. I have so many AC books to read on my list!
That's a GREAT list!!
Okay, thank you! I just tried to read Passenger to Frankfurt, and I didn't like it at all! I thought I was missing some brilliance of Ms. Christie. Super excited to hear that you agree!
Ooh, yeah, that’s not a good one to start with! LOL
Thank you so much for this video! Here's my top & bottom 5:
top:
- Five little pigs
- And then there were none
- Murder on the orient express
- Elephants can remember (so sad you didn't enjoy it)
- Poirot's Christmas
bottom:
- Crooked house (Surprized this was so high on your list, it's my least favorite)
- Mystery of the blue train
- Sitafford mystery
- Murder in the clouds
- Nemesis
I loved reading all of your tops. 😃
Bottom + by the pricking of my thumb
Omg crooked house is my favourite book😱lol
I loved Peril At End House the most.
I agree that Bertrams hotel is not one of the best Miss Marple books however one of the tv adaptations( I can't remember which) was absolutely incredible and was my favorite adaptation of any of Christies works. If you ever get a chance to watch it I hope it makes you enjoy the book more.
Was it with Joan hickson? I LOVE that adaptation. The main female character was fabulous. And it really made you FEEL the Britishness.
Glad you put "the murder at the vicarage" in the top 10. I love that book and it's usually underappreciated.
Oh gosh I hated sleeping murder haha I thought it was so creepy! Ditto with And Then There Were None, though I realize it’s a favorite of most people. Endless night and crooked house also creeped me out. I totally agree that the Bundle adventure novels were so much fun, some of my favorites! Thanks for doing this video. So fun. Now I want to re-read all my Agathas!
New subscriber!
I love Agatha Christie's novels veey much. They always enthrall me. I recently read The Unexpected guest by Agatha Christie. I have also read Appointment with Death and Mysterious Affairs at Styles. Both are great..love your videos
Welcome!!
Such a genius, wasn't she? I love/hate it that I can't ever seem to figure out who the culprit is. :)
@@JPChoquette yes....I really couldn't figure the culprit. It was very ingenious concept. I love her writings. Can you please subscribe my channel!!!
Appointment with death is not good
@@LE-zy2od Actually it was my first read, therefore it touched my heart. But now I can draw conclusion and I agree with you. My favourite one is And Then There Were None☺
Cards on the Table is my favourite as well, it's a perfect blend of character and plot at her best. I also love the Pale Horse but admittedly it might be cause I adore the radio adaptation.
My least favourite are the Listerdale Mystery, The Man in Brown Suit, and Postern of Fate. The first is dull, the second is Taken at the Flood's racist twin, and the last is barely a book, it never should've been published.
I really enjoyed this video. I don't agree completely but I understand your choices also. It's such a personal thing which mysteries resonate with every reader. It's the beauty of her writing I guess.
Genitianadinarica could you explain why you feel The Man in the Brown Suit and Taken at the Flood are twins. I'm intrigued
I love how different everyone's top Agatha Christie books are!! I'm a huge Tommy and Tuppence fan so my top 10 list looks extra different. And Then There Were None is my #2 too. hahahaha
Agatha Christie is truly one of the geniuses ever existed! Her works are unbelievably fantastic! Her narration truly shocked me in my early hype of agatha’s novels!
I just started reading Agatha Christie. My mom bought me Passenger to Frankfurt. I literally cannot bring myself to continue reading it, while usually I read her books in 2-3 days
Oh no, yeah, it's not a good one! :D
Every time I re-read Cards on the Table, I wish I knew how to play Bridge. I feel like you can't follow the plot without understanding the card game, do you play Bridge?
I think every time I reread I end up doing a deep dive on the bridge wikipedia page :D
I still need to read many of these, but right now, the murder of roger ackroyd and endless night are definitely two favourites ^-^
Have you read ‘The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding’? I don’t see it in your list. If you have, is it good? I feel like it is the right time to read something Christmassy, and as I have already read Poirot’s Christmas, I was thinking about reading that story collection. Are those stories even related to Christmas?
The underdog and other stories and the adventures of the Christmas pudding are the same collection, and she has it high on the list, so I’d say check it out.
You just inspired me to read Agatha Christie again, from now on I will read one of her books a month until I read them all!
Yay, I hope you enjoy them!!
bookslikewhoa I read like 14 of them when I was a teenager and by now I forgot them mostly. So I decided that I will try to read one a month until I finish them. I actually have a big Bantam collection so is a good oportunista to get thru them!
i love agatha but i am still a newbie with her books haha, i've only read 11, but passanger to frankfurt is the worst one so far for me
Yeah, it's not good :/
Me only 1
Oh, thanks for doing this! It's a great list. I love Agatha Christie, but she has a million books, so it will certainly help to choose :) x
Is it bad that I watched this list, not primarily to see if my favourites were ranked high, but to make sure that Passenger to Frankfurt was ranked low. I can still barely wrap my head around what happened in the second half of that book. I bought it, not knowing anything about it other than it was an Agatha Christie book and I was trying to read more Agatha Christie at that time.
My current ranking of Christies I have reed;
10. Why didn't they ask Evans? (1.8/5)
9. They Came to Baghdad (2.8/5)
8. Sparkling Cyanide (3.3/5)
7. Mysterious Affair at Styles (3.6/5)
6. A Pocketfull of Rye (3.7/5)
5. A Murder is Announced (3.9/5)
4. And Then There Were None (4.1/5)
3. Death Comes as The End (4.7/5)
2. Endless Night (4.8/5)
1. Crooked House (5/5)
Love the Video ❤
I would love to know where you got those copies that have the vintagey covers, like The Mysterious Affair At Styles at 28:46. I googled it and didn't find anything. They're awesome.
Thanks! Mostly Book Depository - they are the facsimile editions
books like whooooooooo!!! i like that u put in extra effort to point out books that r popular among readers but in ur list u gave ur honest opinion on the same .
Murder is Easy is one of my absolute favorites. Definitely worth a reread.
Wow! My no. 1 is Cards on the Table, And then there were none is no. 2 and no. 3 is Murder on the Orient Express. I’m so glad you share my opinion on the top 3. Cards on the Table was my first Agatha Christie novel and till today, nothing beats this one, in my opinion.
Definitely more of a Poirot girl than a Marple girl, though I do like some of them as well. David Suchet IS Poirot. Wish Hollywood would quit recasting that role. This is why we can't have nice things. 😂 And Then There Were None is number 1 for me followed by Death on the Nile and Cards on the Table, but even a "bad" Poirot is still Poirot and better than a lot of what's out there now, imo. Not counting Edgar Allan Poe, of course who is one of my all time favorites. I even enjoy some of his poems. 😱 (Normally I can't get within 10 feet of a poem- it's a allergy thing.)
Hahah, I feel the same way about David Suchet! I watched the entire series multiple times before finally tackling the books, and it's interesting to see which versions I like more per story. Usually the books are better, but every once in a while, I like better what the show did with a story, like a short story they expanded and made more interesting.
Year late,BUT still soooo worth the watch... Love all your classic recommendations and just Love Love books like whoa!! 😊 so pretty and i have followed your recommendations when it comes to where to start with classics n its always been very helpful specially being new to some authors n not knowing where to start. Thank you 💖
Another great Christie short story collection that wasn’t mentioned was “The Labours of Hercules.” I probably would rank this higher than most but the cases were fun.
Ive read a few but of course the murder of Roger Ackroyd is the absolute best just in terms of crime overall and a brilliant twist ending. Still surprises people to this day
I just discovered your channel and am loving it. Thanks for all the great content!
I am super new to the Christie world but am loving all of what I have read. I agree that Endless Night was a huge letdown; my problem with it was that it just wasn't very Christie. The first 3 parts of 4 read like a romance novel with a touch of Christie (the gypsy), but I spent all 180 pages just anticipating some great big twist. I finally got it at the end with Ellie's death, but was just too bored to keep reading by that point.
Keep up the great work. I am loving what I've seen from your channel so far.
This is a great video. You've definitely inspired me to read or re-read a few of them, even though I usually feel I've seen it all about A.Christie. I love that you show every single book that you talk about. I think it gives the video a lot of weight. I also feel the way we rank our favorites has a lot to do with personal and subjective reasons. I, for instance, don't like mysteries where the victim committed suicide or where all or most of the characters die. So that takes care of a couple of the most famous ones. I admit that I am also influenced by the feeling I got from the David Suchet series, which a series that I really love. In no particular order I would say that these are my 10 top favorites:
* The Body in the Library
* The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
*The Mysterious Affair at Styles
* The Hollow
* Death on the Nile
* A Murder Is Announced (You could say this is my very favorite)
* Murder in Mesopotamia
*Peril at End House
* Appointment with Death
* One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (Perhaps second favorite).
I would like to thank you for your knowledge and the great effort you made in putting this list together. I am in the process of viewing all the Agatha Christie stories I can find on UA-cam. I just watched “Nemesis” and was very disappointed with it. I wasn’t sure if the problem was with the screen writer or director or (gasp) the writer, Agatha. Or was it just me? Thanks to you I now know it was Agatha in her waning years. Your ranking is quite valuable. Indeed!.
Which version did you watch? One of the tv versions really butchered it. The Joan Hickson version is closer to the book than the others but even it has a few problems. Plus there’s more than one version of it with Joan Hickson
GREAT ranking.
I personally would have ranked "The Mystery of the Blue Train" higher on my own list. It's one of my favorite Poirot novels. I found it to be a nice blend of international crime and domestic murder. It might not be top shelf Christie. I would place it on second shelf. And second shelf Agatha Christie ain't too shabby IMO.😊
Endless Night is my fave 😍
Mine too. I loved it 🥰
Endless Night is my second fave book ever, and my second favorite Christie. Topped only by And Then There Were None. I got my friend who’s also a big Christie fan to read it this week and she loved it too. While I can’t disprove anything Mara said about it, I love it for those same reasons, I love the angsty and maudlin tone of the book! But, I get why some people don’t.
I find the repeated poem hypnotic and the heroine who reads it captivating. To the extent that It has a little of the "Murder of Roger Ackroyd" device in it, I also liked that. Though I agree it's one of her more psychological books.
I read that book recently and I am mind blown, like literally mind blown by the plot twist.....
My very first agatha christie book was "ABC Mudrers" ( I've read it when I was 13! - that too translated Malayalam language version) 😁
litmus pub
And then there were none is the best book by a wide margin!
We stayed at Burgh Island, where she wrote it last summer.
Yes, we stayed in the Christie Suite.
Oh how I envy you!
I loved The Secret Adversary and Postern Of Fate, hope you get to them eventually and enjoy them too. :)
I'm hoping to read them this year! :)
My personal favourites are:
~6Poirot's Christmas (Next)
5.ABC Murders
4.Murder of Roger Ackroyd
3.Death on Nile
2.Murder on Orient Express
1.And Then There Were None
Cards on the Table is so underrated! It's for sure one of my favorites, as well.
It took me a long time to get to Agatha. Until you've lived as an adult or unless you had a harrowing childhood, it's easy to see the best in everyone, perhaps. What got me was this: I was back in California for a week and had about eight hours of driving planned in. Before I left, I took out Murder is Easy on CDs - and to my shock and awe, I was blown away. Of course, I was already married and had been back-stabbed at work...seen a bit more of humanity, you could say.
The love story hooked me, but the fact that you *could* have seen the end coming was genius. Next one I picked up (and the first I actually read) was Endless Night, heart wrenching and still a favorite to my sappy old self. Did enjoy Cards on the Table (it may help if one has a thing for Bridge or Pinochle).
In any case, thanks - I'm still only about twenty novels in and always looking for advice which to pick up next. I found a number of surprises in your rankings that put me back onto things I had formerly dismissed.
I'm looking for Towards Zero. It doesn't seem to be on the list.
Loved this list! Can't wait to hear what you think of Towards Zero...Neither a Poirot nor Marple, but I would definitely put it in my personal top ten (along with Cards on the Table, And Then There Were None, Nemesis, and Styles/Curtain).
Watching you talk about Christie’s books is so entertaining. I have watched this video three times in two days that shows how much I love it! ❤️ Yet I couldn’t help noticing Ordeal by Innocence was not in it. Not even among those you didn’t remember/ haven’t read? 🤔
I was waiting to see how she would rate that, since it is considered one of the better ones, and was disappointed it was never mentioned.
So interesting! I thought By the Pricking of my Thumbs was bad too, but I would also put Three Act Tragedy and Third Girl there. I actually liked The Clocks and Halloween Party but agree with the “rest of the worst.” But I really didn’t like The Seven Dials or The Secret Of Chimneys. I loved this video because I see there’s a Christie for everyone!❤️
The picture of 60s London did not "save" The Third Girl for me. I thought it was awful. And I too liked Halloween Party (can't remember The Clocks well enough to comment).
Of her later books, The Pale Horse is much my favourite, though Endless Night is good too. Third Girl is nicely written but poorly plotted.
Agatha Christie stated in her Autobiography her least favorite of her own books was The mystery of The Blue Train. The last Hercule Poirot book was Curtain. She wrote that one back in the 1940s.