Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English writer of mystery books who perfected the art of the twisty plot and remains the bestselling novelist of all time. Her books include 66 mysteries and 14 short story collections and she also wrote the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap.

We asked her only grandson, Mathew Prichard—who spent decades managing her literary estate—to recommend the best Agatha Christie books to us. Her books have also been recommended across a range of interviews on Five Books, with many modern writers of mystery and crime including her books among their favourites. Agatha Christie’s memoir, based on her trips to the Middle East with her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, is also highly recommended.

The novel Agatha Christie herself was most proud of was Crooked House.

Last year (2022) saw new Miss Marple mysteries being published: a book of short stories by some of today’s most popular mystery writers, as well as a new Agatha Christie biography by Lucy Worsley.

The best Hercule Poirot books | The best Miss Marple book | Mysteries on Five Books 

Books by Agatha Christie

“She wrote many wonderful books without Poirot or Miss Marple in them. Not only Endless Night, but also the book she was most proud of, Crooked House. She was desperate to write more stories like that. Life was a constant struggle, throughout the 50s, to write the books she really wanted to write.”

Mathew Prichard recommends the Best Agatha Christie Books

Interviews where books by Agatha Christie were recommended

The Five Best Agatha Christie Books, recommended by Mathew Prichard

Agatha Christie wrote some 80 mysteries and short story collections, nearly all designed to entertain and delight readers with their ingenious plot twists. Here, her only grandson, Mathew Prichard, who oversaw her literary estate for many decades, recommends books that give a good sense of the range of her work, from Miss Marple to Hercule Poirot to mysteries featuring neither, and including her best short story.  

The Best Classic Crime Fiction, recommended by Sophie Roell

Since the early stories of the 18th and 19th centuries, crime fiction has been an incredibly popular and enduring genre, the investigation of murder somehow capturing the imagination of millions of readers around the globe. Here, Sophie Roell, editor of Five Books, uses strict but simple criteria to pick out the best classic crime fiction, from the Victorian age through to the 1950s.

The Best Mystery Books, recommended by David Baldacci

The best mystery books are completely unputdownable and addictive, the entertainment they provide more portable than watching TV and so much more satisfying than looking at your phone. Bestselling author David Baldacci, one of the masters of the genre and a passionate advocate for literacy and reading, talks us through some of the best mystery books ever written—as well as the contemporary authors he most admires.

The Best Locked-Room or Puzzle Mysteries, recommended by Tom Mead

In the Golden Age of mystery between the two World Wars, writers loved to devise fiendish plots where seemingly impossible crimes were committed. Tom Mead, author of two ‘locked-room’ mysteries set in the 1930s, introduces us to some of his favourite books in the genre, from the Golden Age itself to books written in more recent decades that pay tribute to its traditions.

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