Christie’s first nine novels, published between 1920 and 1929, are all on this site. They include the first Poirot novel, the first Tommy and Tuppence, the first Superintendent Battle, and the book most often named as her masterpiece.
This stretch of her career shows her learning the form in public. The first book is a country-house mystery with a detective she borrowed from earlier crime fiction; by 1926 she had worked out how to turn the final chapter into a performance.
There are three loose series here and several stand-alones, so publication order is not the only sensible route. But it is the only order in which none of the books spoils the one before it.
Where to start
The Mysterious Affair at Styles — the first novel and the first Poirot, and the cleanest introduction to her method. If you want the single book most often called her best, read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd after it.
Agatha Christie in publication order
Numbered by first publication. Word counts and reading times are for the text on this site.
| # | Year | Title | Words | Reading time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1920 | The Mysterious Affair at Styles | 59,580 | 3.3 h | First novel and first Poirot. · poirot |
| 2 | 1922 | The Secret Adversary | 78,347 | 4.4 h | First Tommy and Tuppence. |
| 3 | 1923 | The Murder on the Links | 64,793 | 3.6 h | Second Poirot. · poirot |
| 4 | 1924 | The Man in the Brown Suit | 75,020 | 4.2 h | Stand-alone adventure. |
| 5 | 1925 | The Secret of Chimneys | 73,000 | 4.1 h | First Superintendent Battle. · superintendent battle |
| 6 | 1926 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | 70,248 | 3.9 h | Poirot, narrated by Dr Sheppard. · poirot |
| 7 | 1927 | The Big Four | 55,601 | 3.1 h | Poirot, expanded from linked stories. · poirot |
| 8 | 1928 | The Mystery of the Blue Train | 70,132 | 3.9 h | Poirot in the south of France. · poirot |
| 9 | 1929 | The Seven Dials Mystery | 65,307 | 3.6 h | Second Superintendent Battle. · superintendent battle |
How to read Agatha Christie
- Poirot in order. The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Big Four and The Mystery of the Blue Train. Five of the nine.
- Superintendent Battle. The Secret of Chimneys and The Seven Dials Mystery, two thrillers rather than whodunits, published in 1925 and 1929.
- Shortest first. The Big Four, at about 56,000 words, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, at roughly 60,000, are the quickest reads here.
If you are reading for the puzzle, take The Murder of Roger Ackroyd early and avoid reading about it first. If you are reading for the company, the Poirot run in order is the better ride.
Every title above has a page here with chapter summaries, the word count, reading time, and free EPUB, AZW3 and KEPUB files. Agatha Christie’s shelf · Detective and mystery classics · Poirot in reading order — or go back to Agatha Christie for the full shelf.