Agatha Christie wrote many books, all while pushing the boundaries of genre and stage.
She remains the queen of the murder mystery, but her novels also venture into territories such as the gothic, noir, and romantic genres.
You are reading: All agatha christie books ranked
Labeling the best books by Agatha Christie is a challenge for this reason, and no two people will ever agree.
That’s why I’ve asked a handful of Christie fans to work with me on this list: Rachel Hullett, Callum McLaughlin and Books and Jess Esa de Bao himself.
These are our favorite Agatha Christie books, ranked from worst to best.
the best agatha christie books ranked (from worst to best)
This list will continue to grow as we read more and more of your work, so check back from time to time to see what has been added, removed, and changed.
So far, these are our best Agatha Christie books, ranked from worst to best. Our first two were a unanimous choice, and we think most Christie fans will agree.
read more: stephen king’s books ranked (from worst to best)
by the prick of my thumbs
this is the fourth novel by tommy and tuppence (a pair of protagonists who appear in five novels by agatha christie).
by the prick of my thumbs is as engrossing and interwoven as we’ve come to expect from agatha christie’s best books.
We start with Tommy and Tuppence visiting Tommy’s aunt, Ada, in a nursing home. There, Tuppence meets a strange woman named Mrs. lancaster.
mrs. lancaster cryptically tells tuppence: “was the poor son hers? there behind the fireplace. a chilling question.
After Ada passes away, they return to the house to find that Mrs. Lancaster has been taken by a relative.
before ada died, mrs. lancaster gave her a painting of a house that looks strangely familiar to tuppence.
This particular tommy and tuppence novel puts the spotlight on tuppence, which is great to see as she is the more interesting of the two leads.
This is a dark, gothic-inspired tale of past and present colliding, of whispers, rumors, and paranoia.
The fact that this is not one of Agatha Christie’s best novels shows how strong she is as a writer, when this novel is still as good.
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a murder is announced
A Murder Is Foretold is Miss Marple’s fifth novel and one of the best of the bunch.
When an ad in the local paper boldly heralds an upcoming murder, curious residents flock to the site, most of them hoping for a silly game or prank to strike.
What happens instead is the lights go out, a shot rings out, and someone drops dead. A fantastic setting for a murder mystery, even by Christie’s standards.
From here we enter a complex web of lies and secrets in search of the murderer.
however, while it has a wonderful setting and beginning, the novel is overwhelmed by a series of awkward coincidences and a very expository information dump by way of conclusion.
This is a great example of a brilliant setup and decent execution that fails to land. The lively language we’ve come to expect from Christie is also largely missing here.
While not one of Agatha Christie’s best books, it’s still a worthwhile read, especially for its artfully simple and engaging opening setup.
For that reason, it deserves a spot on this list of classified agatha christie books.
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the body in the library
The Body in the Library is probably one of Miss Marple’s two most famous novels (the other is Murder at the Vicarage, which we’ll get to).
The titular library is not public, but the personal library of the Colonel and Mrs. Bantry, who wake up to find a dead woman on the fireplace rug.
Fortunately, Mrs. bantry is an old friend of mrs. marple, who comes, along with the police, to investigate the scene.
the body in the library opens with many questions: who is the woman? who killed her and why? And why was her body left in someone else’s house?
While this isn’t the best miss marple story, the sheer number of questions it raises really does keep the reader pressing forward, just like they do with marple herself.
However, one thing this one lacks is the expected wit and humor. this is a slightly softer marple novel, in that sense.
It also relies on some leaps of logic and “intuition” that seem a bit artificial. but this isn’t the first or only christie novel to be guilty of that.
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the mysterious affair of styles
It would be strange if a list of classified agatha christie books didn’t include her first novel. lucky for us, it’s good too.
The Mysterious Styles Affair marks another first: this novel featured Christie’s most famous character: renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
This novel was also originally written during the First World War and was published two years after it ended.
The mysterious Styles affair begins with the death of Emily Inglethorp, the elderly proprietor of the titular Styles court. she was poisoned with strychnine.
A soldier who was staying at the house heads to the local town to ask for his friend’s help in solving the murder mystery. type: hercule poirot.
While this certainly isn’t one of Agatha Christie’s best books, it’s a great book to turn to after reading some of her best work.
In it, you can see the first traces of his craft before he honed it to a deadly edge.
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the murder in the vicarage
The Vicarage Murder was not only Miss Marple’s first story, but it remains her best and most famous of them all.
while the body in the library was remarkably light on the christie wit we expect, the murder in the vicarage is replete with it. the humor here is really cool.
For what it is, the murder at the vicarage is told from the perspective of Reverend Leonard Clement, the local vicar.
Their butler and local magistrate is the terribly unfriendly Colonel Lucius Protheroe, whose death, the Reverend nonchalantly remarks one day, would benefit everyone.
clement soon learns firsthand that protheroe’s wife is having an affair and vows not to tell anyone. However, soon enough, Protheroe is found dead on his desk.
It works great that the book featuring the legendary Miss Marple is not only Marple’s best short story, but also one of Agatha Christie’s best novels.
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tragedy in three acts
When we hear the phrase “murder mystery,” a scene that many of us immediately imagine is a dinner party in a fancy house, just like the track in the movie.
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This is exactly how the three-act tragedy begins, which is enough to earn it a spot on this list of Agatha Christie’s classified books.
all of the best agatha christie books have something unique about them, often a twist or mix of genres, but this is just a very solid whodunit.
The dinner that opens the novel is hosted in Cornwall by a famous stage actor named Sir Charles Cartwright. One of the guests is our beloved Hercule Poirot.
At the party, someone drops dead from (presumed) poisoning, but with no proof. later, another person who was at the party also dies from poisoning.
These two connected deaths lead Poirot to search for the killer.
There isn’t much good or bad to say about the three-act tragedy. it’s just a fantastically paced classic murder mystery, with all the tropes and trappings that are fun to watch.
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n or m?
this is another really solid tommy and tuppence story from agatha christie.
Following these books chronologically, you can see the characters grow from ambitious young men to middle-aged retirees with children of their own.
Do the two who age throughout the books really play a theme in n or m? about how our value often diminishes over time with society so aging and dismissive of the elderly.
n or m? It’s one of Christie’s best books to experience a little more thematic and political oomph, addressing wartime racial tension and the aforementioned age discrimination.
but of course mystery is what we’re all here for, and this one has such a solid ending that it wraps things up beautifully, without any over-exposition or stretching.
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the secret adversary
The Secret Adversarial was Tommy and Tuppence’s first novel, and just as Murder at the Vicarage is Miss Marple’s best, this is also Tommy and Tuppence’s best.
tuppence is possibly the most exciting and underrated christie leading lady of the bunch. she is enigmatic and immediately likeable. in many ways the antithesis of hercule poirot.
This is the Christie novel that demonstrates the full force of Tuppence’s intelligence, bravery, wit and sarcasm.
one of the best things about the tommy and tuppence books, compared to poirot and marple, is the dynamic and snappy dialogue they share.
His books tend to have a lighter, more adventurous tone than the detective novels of Poirot and Marple; this is perhaps the best of the bunch.
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death on the nile
Along with Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is not only one of Poirot’s most recognizable books, but one of Agatha Christie’s best books.
It’s certainly not a perfect murder mystery novel, but it’s still strong even against the other agatha christie books ranked here.
Death on the Nile is an unusually long book for Christie, and its pacing suffers as a result. the titular death doesn’t actually occur until the midway point.
in fact, if you’ve seen kenneth branagh’s movie and thought the pacing was poor, it mimics the book perfectly!
All of that aside, you have a wonderful and eclectic cast of characters who blend together perfectly, making this one of the most memorable poirot stories ever.
The magnificent setting, the dynamic cast, and the fact that Poirot is at the height of his poirotiness make this one of Agatha Christie’s best books.
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proof of innocence
many of the best agatha christie books are considered the best because they are completely unique; they break away from the mold in an interesting way.
that is certainly the test case of innocence, which is a much darker christie novel with an ordinary man as the protagonist, rather than a detective.
this might turn off some readers, but there is real value in christie doing something different with this one. the audacity and bravery of him are greatly worth it.
The entire premise is based on clearing the name of an innocent man; an innocent man who already died in prison.
The fact that he is already dead means that some characters in the novel don’t see the value in digging up the past.
Tonically as well as narratively, this is such an outstanding novel. Figuring out where to place it on a list of classified agatha christie books is difficult, but it deserves a spotlight for being so boldly different.
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murder on the orient express
Murder on the Orient Express is easily Agatha Christie’s most famous novel. Whether or not it’s his most famous is up for debate, but it’s definitely the one everyone knows.
chances are you know the basic premise or have seen one of the many adaptations.
Despite its popularity, it’s not his best novel, but it’s not overrated either. Murder on the Orient Express really is that good, and most of it is due to the awesome twist.
Christie’s novels live and die in their twists that are perfectly constructed and executed, with just the right kind of big payoff, and this is one of her best on that score.
The claustrophobia of this novel also adds a thrilling tonal element, as Poirot interviews one suspect after another while they are all trapped on a train.
despite not being written to be likeable, this is poirot at his most convincing and admirable as a leading man. is tested and stretched here, which is a lot of fun to read.
if you haven’t read murders on the orient express and have always wondered if it lives up to the hype, it certainly does.
That said, there are other books that rank higher on this list of Agatha Christie Rated Books.
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foaming cyanide
this is a christie novel with a really cool title (even though it was originally published in the usa under the name death remembered).
Despite its title, this is just a perfectly crafted murder mystery novel.
what makes it so perfect is the fact that each character has a very strong motivation to kill the victim.
Very often, even with the best of Agatha Christie’s novels, there are obvious red herrings or staging moments that the reader can see.
Here, however, there is a real tension in the situation that makes you question and doubt everyone and everything.
For that reason, sparkling cyanide crackles with danger on every page.
The premise, as in all of Agatha Christie’s best novels, is strict and simple: at a dinner party, a woman drops dead of poisoning.
Her death is ruled a suicide, but her husband soon receives an anonymous note telling him it was murder, so he recreates the same dinner with the same guests.
he hires an actress to play his late wife, but during this second party he himself drops dead, also from cyanide poisoning.
dinner parties, multiple murders, and a solid cast of suspects make this one of the most satisfying reads among the best agatha christie books ranked here.
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danger at the end of the house
Danger at the End of the House is one of those Christie novels that is more famous than most, but not as celebrated as it should be (especially since it ranks so high on this list of Agatha Christie’s classified books).
murder mystery novels like christie’s often make great cozy winter reads, curled up by the fire in a dimly lit room. this one, however, has a deliciously summery vibe to it.
The Cornish setting certainly helps with that, as the Danger in the Final House takes place while Poirot is staying at a Cornish summer resort.
christie was a real master at establishing characters very quickly; giving even a large cast very explicitly clear personalities and behaviors in just a few pages.
And one of the best characters he’s written is Nick Buckley, a woman Poirot believes has been targeted for murder.
This belief is quickly confirmed when he narrowly avoids being shot at. Poirot believes that the would-be assassin is someone close to Nick, so the list of characters is constantly being added.
While all the suspects here are good, as they always are, it is Nick who remains a prominent character in this novel.
Its summer charm and brilliant character writing make Danger at the End of House one of the best Agatha Christie books of all time.
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the murder of roger ackroyd
one of hercule poirot’s most famous stories is also one of agatha christie’s best books.
the murder of roger ackroyd is perhaps most famous for its stunning twist ending; Easily one of the most memorable and shocking twists in Christie’s catalogue.
our protagonist is dr. sheppard, friend of the titular roger ackroyd. One night, after leaving Ackroyd’s big, expensive house, he gets a call from the butler.
In the only hour after Sheppard left the house, Ackroyd was stabbed to death in his office.
Fortunately, retired Belgian detective Hercule Poirot has just moved in next door and takes an interest in this murder mystery.
We soon learned that the butler never called, in fact the call didn’t even come from the house, so where did it come from and why?
There are many moving parts to this novel, and Poirot is, of course, the most entertaining game piece on the board.
sheppard, his gossipy sister, and the rest of the cast make for a frenetically engaging story, and the journey to the end feels like a race that, of course, poirot will win.
Looking at the ranking of agatha christie books, the murder of roger ackroyd is not only poirot’s best novel, but one of agatha christie’s best books, full stop.
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crooked house
When making a list of ranked agatha christie books, crooked house was a point of contention because the other contributors ranked this much lower. but my name is at the top of this article so you guys can suck it up.
Crooked House is one of Agatha Christie’s best books. here’s why.
Like Christie’s other best novels, Crooked House is not a Poirot or Marple novel. is a standalone story about a young british man named charles.
when we meet charles, he is working in cairo. There he meets Sophia: a British classmate who comes from a large suburban family in London: the Leonides family.
When they meet again in London, Charles wishes to marry Sophia, but the patriarch of his family has just died suddenly and mysteriously, and she refuses to marry until his death is resolved.
Fortunately, Charles’ father is an inspector, so the two spend time in the titular Crooked House, investigating the death and interviewing members of Sophia’s family.
If the concept of a large family home filled with unsavory misfits, a wealthy patriarch who dies suddenly, and a series of interviews and investigations sounds familiar to you, then you’re probably a fan of knives.
knives out happens to be this writer’s favorite movie, and that has probably influenced my love for this novel. but it is, in my eyes, perfect; especially the amazing twist ending.
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endless night
Endless Night is a strange novel in terms of public consciousness.
For people who know his name or have seen some film adaptations, this novel may not sound familiar. But for die-hard fans, Night Without End is one of Agatha Christie’s best books.
It’s not a household name like Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Was None, and yet it’s easily one of the best books I’ve ever written.
This is why Endless Night was unanimously placed at number two on the list of Agatha Christie books ranked by everyone who helped put this list together.
What makes Endless Night so unique is that it’s not really a murder mystery. is a piece of gothic fiction. this is agatha christie going full goth, and it’s amazing.
Endless Night is told from the perspective of Mike, a wandering soul and a person who is far from perfect.
When Mike ends up in a quaint English town, he takes a fancy to a big, beautiful house that the locals believe is cursed. death is drawn to this house.
On the same day, Mike meets a young American girl; the wealthy heiress to a great American business and fortune.
The two naturally fall in love, and with their money they are able to renovate and move into this cursed house.
To say more would be to spoil it, but Endless Night is a gothic fantasy novel. she’s still christie, which means she’s still a mystery and trusting people is a bad idea.
Combining her gifts of mystery and the gothic genre is a recipe for one of the best Agatha Christie books of all time.
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and then there was none
and then there were none is agatha christie’s best book. this is not a contentious statement. Countless fans consider it his magnum opus, and for good reason.
This is one of the few Christie novels that does not feature the iconic characters Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. It’s a standalone Christie novel set in her coolest secluded location.
Ten people, mostly unrelated, have been lured to an island off the Devon coast, the Soldiers’ Island, by letters or telegrams.
These people are varied: a policeman, a judge, a secretary, a children’s runner and more.
As everyone sits down to dinner, a record plays and a voice tells them that they have all committed murder and one by one they will die here on the island.
the title then there were none comes from a lullaby that hangs over the mantelpiece, and the deaths in the rhyme match the deaths in the book.
It’s a wonderfully simple premise, which is one of the novel’s greatest strengths. and the fact that we don’t have a detective gives it an air of claustrophobia and tension.
These are all complex people, evil in their own way, and they are all vulnerable victims, trapped together on an island.
And then there weren’t inspired works like Grant Morrison’s Batman: The Black Glove and Yukito Ayatsuji’s Decagon House Murders.
is a hugely impactful murder mystery novel and the definitive masterpiece from agatha christie. Most fans will agree that when you make a list of the best Agatha Christie books ranked, then none are going to be number one.
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