10 Greatest Agatha Christie Books

Published Oct 9, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT

Abby Shewmaker is a journalist covering books, art, entertainment, and culture. She studied Communications and History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and is a Contributing Writer at FLAUNT Magazine. 

Agatha Christie didn't become the best-selling fiction writer of all time by writing forgettable mysteries. Across more than 60 detective novels, Christie created some of the genre's most famous characters, took readers on winding journeys full of twists and turns, and defined the mystery genre as it stands today.

Of course, not every Christie book is created equal. Some stand out for an impossible mystery, others for a particularly good Poirot or Miss Marple case, and a handful completely changed how readers thought about what was possible from a mystery novel. From isolated islands to luxury trains, seemingly peaceful villages to deeply dysfunctional families, these are the 10 Agatha Christie novels that best demonstrate why she remains the Queen of Crime.

And Then There Were None

1939

And Then There Were None takes one of Christie's long-favored setups—a group of suspicious people trapped in a confined space—and pushes it right up to the edge. Ten strangers are invited to an isolated island under different pretenses, only to discover that each of them has been accused of causing another person's death. Then, in an even more shocking twist, they all begin to die off one by one.

With no principal detective to take the lead, and everyone on the island both a possible killer and a potential next victim, the group becomes more paranoid with every death that follows. It's one of Christie's darkest novels, and one of her smartest. The entire mystery is built around a seemingly unsolvable problem, and Christie manages to make its resolution work; of course, that's why And Then There Were None has become one of the most famous murder mysteries ever written.

And Then There Were None is available to purchase now through this link.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

1926

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels for a reason. The mystery follows Hercule Poirot as he investigates the murder of wealthy widower Roger Ackroyd, who is found stabbed to death in his study shortly after learning a secret connected to another recent death.

This story starts as classic Christie. There are multiple suspects with multiple motives, and no way to escape. But what makes The Murder of Roger Ackroyd exceptional is the way Christie plays with the reader's expectations, with a twist ending that has readers wondering how they could have missed the signs that were there all along. This is widely considered one of the most influential plot twists in mystery fiction.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is available to purchase now through this link.

Murder on the Orient Express

1934

Murder on the Orient Express has one of the best setups in Christie's entire bibliography. Poirot is traveling aboard the luxurious Orient Express when a passenger, Samuel Ratchett, is stabbed to death in his compartment. The train is trapped in the snow, meaning the killer must be one of the passengers still on board.

Murder on the Orient Express's ending makes the novel one of Christie's finest. Poirot gets his answer—but has to decide what justice should look like—bringing a deeper thematic exploration than many other works within the genre.

Murder on the Orient Express is available to purchase now through this link.

Death on the Nile

1937

Death on the Nile showcases Christie firing on every cylinder. It's full of drama, with a compelling central love triangle, a dazzling setting, a memorable cast of characters, and interlocking relationships that throw the whole case on its head.

The novel follows wealthy heiress Linnet Ridgeway, who marries Simon Doyle despite the fact that he was recently engaged to her friend Jacqueline de Bellefort. Jacqueline begins following the newlyweds around, including onto a Nile cruise, where Linnet is eventually murdered.

The setup gives almost everyone a motive. As the novel progresses, Christie continues to add fuel to the fire, complicating the relationships and implicating nearly everyone on board. Underneath all the alibis and clues, Death on the Nile is about jealousy, obsession, money, and how far people are willing to go for love.

Death on the Nile is available to purchase now through this link.

Five Little Pigs

1942

Five Little Pigs throws Poirot into a case without any of his typical tools he uses to solve cases, causing him to get creative with his detective work. He's investigating a 16-year-old murder, and the woman convicted of the crime has already died in prison.

That structure turns Five Little Pigs into one of Christie's most interesting mysteries. Poirot has to work through memory instead, comparing the varying testimonies of five different people. Five Little Pigs is quieter and more character-driven, but the mystery is crafted just as carefully as any of Christie's meticulous mysteries.

Five Little Pigs is available to purchase now through this link.

The ABC Murders

1936

More serial killer thriller than the typical Christie novel, The ABC Murders puts Poirot in one of the most exciting setups of Christie's career. Poirot must solve a string of murders occurring in alphabetical order, taking him back and forth across England in search of the culprit.

What makes The ABC Murders one of Christie's best novels is its scale. Deviating from her typical confining of suspects into a small village or space, Christie shows how sometimes the best mysteries are the ones that feel impossible to predict. It also works as an excellent decoy, as readers trying to solve the puzzle with Poirot may miss the answer, right under their noses.

The ABC Murders is available to purchase now through this link.

A Murder Is Announced

1950

A bizarre setup brings Miss Marple into one of her best mysteries in A Murder is Announced. The novel starts with one of Christie's most memorable setups: a notice in the local newspaper announces that a murder will take place at Little Paddocks at 6:30 that evening, and when residents show up, assuming it's a joke, someone is shot.

Miss Marple has a different sleuthing style than Poirot. She's highly attentive to behavior, miniscule inconsistencies, and commonalities between her current suspects and people she's met before. In A Murder Is Announced, that's especially useful, because the case is full of people whose identities and histories aren't quite as straightforward as they appear.

A Murder is Announced is available to purchase now through this link.

Crooked House

1949

Crooked House is one of Christie's darker family mysteries, following three generations of the Leonides family after wealthy patriarch Aristide Leonides is murdered in their home.

The family is wealthy, complicated, and deeply dysfunctional, giving Christie plenty to work with. Instead of centering the story around Poirot or Miss Marple, Crooked House keeps the focus almost entirely on the Leonides family and the strange dynamics inside their home. With a focus on intergenerational dynamics and one of the most disturbing endings Christie ever wrote, Crooked House is one of her darkest novels.

Crooked House is available to purchase now through this link.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

1920

Agatha Christie's first published novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, also introduced Hercule Poirot—and many of the elements Christie would spend the rest of her career implementing and perfecting.

The novel follows Poirot as he investigates the poisoning of wealthy Emily Inglethorp at Styles Court, where nearly everyone in the household has something to gain from her death. Between inheritance disputes, secret relationships, suspicious alibis, and a complex method of poisoning, the case quickly complicates beyond reason.

Christie would go on to write bigger and more surprising mysteries, but The Mysterious Affair at Styles remains one of her most important books, bringing to life her most well-known character and introducing her signature storytelling style.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is available to purchase now through this link.

Endless Night

1967

Endless Night is a strange Agatha Christie novel, which is exactly why it belongs among her best.

The book follows Michael Rogers, a working-class young man who falls in love with wealthy heiress Ellie Guteman. It's an atypical Christie setup, absent an immediate murder followed by a traditional investigation. Instead, Christie spends much of the novel building up Michael and Ellie's relationship and the uneasy atmosphere around Gipsy's Acre.

It reads more like a psychological thriller than a classic Poirot mystery, and it proves Christie didn't need her usual formula to pull off a great twist. The novel gets darker and darker as it goes, leading to one of the most unsettling endings in her bibliography.

Endless Night is available to purchase now through this link.