Support Us
Five Books
 
Search
MENU MENU
  • Nonfiction
        • NONFICTION BOOKS
        • BEST NONFICTION 2023
        • BEST NONFICTION 2024
        • BEST BIOGRAPHIES
          • Historical Biographies
          • The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
          • Philosophical Biographies
        • True Crime
        • History Books
          • World War 2
          • World History
          • American History
          • British History
          • Chinese History
          • Russian History
          • Ancient History (up to c. 500 AD)
          • Medieval History
          • Military History
        • Art
          • Art History
        • Travel Books
        • Essays
        • Philosophy Books
          • Ancient Philosophy
          • Contemporary Philosophy
          • Ethics & Moral Philosophy
          • Great Philosophers
          • Social & Political Philosophy
        • Classical Studies
        • Science
          • New Science Books
          • Astronomy
          • Biology
          • Chemistry
          • Maths & Statistics
          • Popular Science
          • Physics Books
        • Nature
        • Environmental Books
          • Climate Change Books
        • Language
          • How to Write
          • English Grammar & Usage
          • Books for Learning Languages
          • Linguistics
        • Politics & Society
          • Political Ideologies
          • Migration
          • War
          • Foreign Policy & International Relations
          • American Politics
          • British Politics
        • Religion
          • Theology
          • Buddhism
          • Christian
          • Islamic
          • Jewish
          • Religious History Books
        • Law
        • Psychology
          • Mental Health
          • Neuroscience
          • Self Help
          • Child Psychology
        • Music & Drama
          • Film & Cinema
          • Opera & Classical Music
        • Economics Books
          • Behavioural Economics
          • Development Economics
          • Economic History
          • Finance
          • Financial Crisis
          • World Economies
        • Business Books
          • Investing Books
        • Technology
          • Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
          • Data Science Books
          • Computing
        • Health & Lifestyle
          • Happiness
          • Sex & Sexuality
          • Death & Dying
          • Education
        • Food & Cooking
        • Sports, Games & Hobbies
  • Fiction & Literature
        • FICTION BOOKS
        • BEST NOVELS 2024
        • BEST FICTION 2023
        • Contemporary Fiction
          • New Literary Fiction
        • World Literature
        • Literary Criticism
        • Literary Figures
        • Classic English Literature
        • American Literature
        • Poetry
        • The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
        • Comics & Graphic Novels
        • Fairy Tales & Mythology
        • Historical Fiction
        • Horror
        • Humour
        • Crime Novels
        • Science Fiction
        • Short Stories
        • Romance
        • Thrillers
        • Mystery
        • Fantasy
  • World
        • Africa
          • Egypt
          • Ghana
          • Nigeria
          • Rwanda
          • South Africa
          • Zimbabwe
        • Americas
          • Latin America
            • Argentina
            • Brazil
            • Caribbean
            • Chile
            • Cuba
            • Mexico
          • United States
          • Canada
        • Arctic & Antarctica
        • Asia
          • Afghanistan
          • Bangladesh
          • Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
          • China
          • India
          • Japan
          • Kazakhstan
          • Korea
          • Pakistan
          • Sri Lanka
          • Singapore
          • Vietnam
        • Australia
        • Europe
          • Azerbaijan
          • Belgium
          • Britain
          • France
          • Georgia
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Netherlands
          • Norway
          • Russia
          • Spain
          • Ukraine
        • Middle East
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Israel
          • Palestine
          • Syria
          • Turkey
          • Yemen
  • Kids
        • Kids Recommend Books for Kids
        • High School Teachers Recommendations
        • Prizewinning Kids' Books
        • Popular Series Books for Kids
        • BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS (ALL AGES)
        • Books for Toddlers and Babies
        • Books for Preschoolers
        • Books for 6-8 Year Olds
        • Books for 9-12 Year Olds
        • Books for Teens and Young Adults
        • THE BEST SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
        • BEST KIDS' BOOKS OF 2024
        • BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS OF 2024
        • Best Audiobooks for Kids
        • History
        • Economics
        • Environment
        • Mental Health
  • Best Books of 2024
        • Best Books for Teens of 2024
        • Best Kids' Books of 2024
        • Best Novels of 2024
          • Historical Fiction
          • Science Fiction
          • Fantasy
          • Mystery & Crime
          • Romance
        • Best Nonfiction of 2024
          • Travel Writing
  • New Books
    • NEW BOOKS
    • New History Books
    • New Literary Fiction
    • New Historical Fiction
    • New Biography
    • New Memoirs
    • New World Literature
    • New Economics Books
    • New Climate Books
    • New Math Books
    • New Science Books
    • New Philosophy Books
    • New Psychology Books
    • New Physics Books
  • Audiobooks
    • THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS
    • Actors Read Great Books
    • Best Audiobooks for Kids
    • Books Narrated by Their Authors
    • Best Audiobook Thrillers
    • Best History Audiobooks
  • Book Awards
    • Nobel Literature Prize
    • Booker Prize (fiction)
    • Baillie Gifford Prize (nonfiction)
    • Financial Times (nonfiction)
    • Wolfson Prize (history)
    • Royal Society (science)
    • NBCC Awards (biography & memoir)
    • Pushkin House Prize (Russia)
    • Walter Scott Prize (historical fiction)
    • Arthur C Clarke Prize (sci fi)
    • The Hugos (sci fi & fantasy)
    • Audie Awards (audiobooks)
    • Wilbur Smith Prize (adventure)
  • Experts

The Best Fiction Books » Mystery

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
Buy now Listen now

A Murder is Announced

by Agatha Christie

Recommendations from our site

“It might have the greatest premise I’ve ever heard in my entire life. And she pulls it off! She absolutely nails it. It’s not just a gimmick. She uses it to explore psychology, to explore how people just turn up to watch. It’s grotesque. She’s always fascinated by that, and this is the book where you see the idea absolutely coalesce: she turns murder into a spectator sport.” Read more...

The Best Murder Mystery Books

Stuart Turton, Novelist

“I’ve chosen this because it’s a great Miss Marple. It features my favourite murderer. He or she (I’m not going to reveal the plot) behaves predictably one moment and unpredictably the next. The setting is an English country house in a village: classic Miss Marple territory. It’s got what all good books have: a wonderful ending and a wonderful beginning.” Read more...

The Best Agatha Christie Books

Mathew Prichard

In writing The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman doubtless took inspiration from the Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie. Yes, everyone has heard of them, but they really are among the best. No one has really ever managed to do plots as well as Agatha Christie did, which is probably why she remains so widely read and translated. In terms of which Miss Marple to read, there are 15 of them (including two books of short stories) in total, but some of the best ones are A Murder is Announced, Murder at the Vicarage and 4.50 from Paddington. They’re also fun to listen to as audiobooks. Often Joan Hickson, who plays Miss Marple on TV, is the audiobook narrator (even when, as in the case of Murder at the Vicarage, the ‘I’ in the book is not Miss Marple, but the vicar). I found her voice hard to adjust to at first, but unforgettable: I can still hear her speaking to me now.

From our article Books like The Thursday Murder Club

Commentary

In writing The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman doubtless took inspiration from the Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie. Yes, everyone has heard of them, but they really are among the best.

Books Like The Thursday Murder Club

Other books by Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1921) by Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1921)
by Agatha Christie

Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952) by Agatha Christie

Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952)
by Agatha Christie

A Hallowe'en Party/A Haunting in Venice (1969) by Agatha Christie

A Hallowe'en Party/A Haunting in Venice (1969)
by Agatha Christie

Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) by Agatha Christie

Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
by Agatha Christie

Appointment with Death (1938) by Agatha Christie

Appointment with Death (1938)
by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938) by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
by Agatha Christie

Our most recommended books

  • A Murder is Announced
    by Agatha Christie

  • The Big Sleep
    by Raymond Chandler

  • The woman in white cover

    The Woman in White
    by Wilkie Collins

  • The Detective Stories of Edgar Allan Poe: Three Tales Featuring C. Auguste Dupin
    by Edgar Allan Poe

  • The Murder Wheel
    by Tom Mead

  • All the Sinners Bleed
    by S.A. Cosby

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce, please support us by donating a small amount.

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

Newsletter Contact us Privacy Policy Terms of Service Mastodon Social

© Five Books 2025

Get our newsletter