This shelf
- Books in the series
- 2
- Total words
- 138,307
- Reading time
- 7.7 h
Superintendent Battle is the least theatrical of Agatha Christie’s recurring detectives: a large, slow-spoken policeman who appears, listens, and then produces the fact that matters. He is not the point-of-view character in either of the novels below, and that is part of the method.
Both books are country-house mysteries on the surface and something larger underneath: The Secret of Chimneys turns on a lost memoir and a Balkan throne, and The Seven Dials Mystery is a sequel of sorts, set in the same house with some of the same people.
Superintendent Battle in reading order
Numbered by first publication. Word counts are estimates from the text.
| Year | Title | Words | Reading time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | The Secret of Chimneys | 73,000 | ~4 h |
| 1929 | The Seven Dials Mystery | 65,307 | ~4 h |
Where to begin
The Secret of Chimneys comes first and introduces both the house and Battle; The Seven Dials Mystery is a sequel with overlapping characters, so it is the one series page on the site where reading order actually matters.
Questions readers ask
How many Superintendent Battle books are on editions.ink?
Two: The Secret of Chimneys (1925) and The Seven Dials Mystery (1929), about 138,252 words together, or roughly 7.7 hours of reading.
Do I need to read them in order?
For these two, yes. The Seven Dials Mystery reuses Chimneys and several of its characters, and its ending assumes you have read the earlier book.
Is Battle the main character?
No. He arrives about halfway through each book and stays in a supporting role; the young people at the centre of the case carry the narrative.
Are these complete texts?
Yes. Each edition contains the complete novel, with the chapter guide and historical note on the book page, in EPUB, AZW3 and KEPUB.
Part of the Agatha Christie page and the detective and mystery shelf. Every book page carries the full text plus EPUB, AZW3 and KEPUB downloads.