Have Your Say

Discuss Poirot

Talk about everything Poirot related!

Your Top Five - Tell The World

Jack_London 22 Aug 09 at 11:53 a.m. GMT

Each and every Christie fan has a different opinion as to the 5 best books Agatha Christie has ever written. It depends on how you are feeling when you read the book, whether or not you already know what is going to happen, how much you like the characters, whether the plotline satisfies your craving for fast-paced action, yearning for a hint of romance, or need for some armchair ingenuity to totally insinerate your own thoughts and suspicions. These factors all add up to either make or break the book that you may be presently reading, or one you have already encountered.

So go on and tell us all which 5 Christie novels you found to be the best so far :)

Login or register to add posts and reply

5 replies

Reverse order

Hercuel_Poirot_7 24 Aug 09 at 7:47 a.m. GMT

1 : ''One, two, three buckle my shoe''

2 : ''Death on the clouds''

3 : ''The murder on the Orient Express''

4 : ''The mystery of the Christmas puding''

5 : ''Murder on the links''

All Poirot !!

Frndorfoe 23 Aug 09 at 10:16 a.m. GMT

The things I like to have in a Agatha Christie book are a laidback atmosphere, a cozy homely feeling, without too much mush or romance (a little bit is o.k. though!), without too many young, energetic people running about (that just makes me tired!). It's really hard choosing just five books because all of the books by AC are great. But still my top five favorites are,

 1. The Thirteen Problems. My love for short stories and Miss. Marple. That's one combination that's hard to beat!

2. The Pale Horse. The first time I read it it sent chills down my spine.

3. Sleeping Murder. This book also had the same effect on me as the above one. Also I liked the psychological angle of the story (jealousy, repressed memories .etc.).

4. Cards on the Table. A very clever book. The whole setting, the murder, the twists, everything is ingenious.

5. Parker Pyne Investigates. I believe Parker Pyne has been extremely neglected by every one. I really like his stories because they have a certain intimate feeling about them.

go_leafs_nation 22 Aug 09 at 1:25 p.m. GMT

Since I wrote mine on the old site, I've come to rather dislike these lists. How to explain why MOTOE is #5 and ATTWN is #4, instead of the other way around to board member p_t_barnum? (A fictional member, I hope. I made that one up.) However, I do know one thing: my favourite AC ever is Cards on the Table, and The Pale Horse follows closely behind that. I loved TPH because I have a strange taste for the supernatural, particularly in mysteries. As for Cards on the Table, I've written plenty of reasons before as to why I love it, and I'm too lazy to write anything about it now. I might expand on these books later, but honestly, I don't feel like it now.

Bundle_ 22 Aug 09 at 1:03 p.m. GMT

1. The Seven Dials Mystery: This book has some of the best characters that AC ever created i.e Bundle (of course). I also appreciated  the humor in it and enjoyed the mystery and adventure too. Not to mention it had romance too! And the nineteen twenties setting is Christie's prime time! In short, everything you could want in a book it has it!

2. Sparkling Cyanide: I like this book because of its emotional appeal besides mystery, there's sorrow, anger, heart ache, romance, and suspense. And the ending was really such a surprise! I really don't mind that this was expanded from a short story (the latter of which I haven't read)- but if AC thought that it was good enough to expand and make it into a full length novel then it is good enough for me.

3. Lord Edgware Dies: My favorite HP story ever. I loved seeing Hastings and Japp together in this story. And all of the other characters were so suspicious that you really had to guess everyone -- which I like because then there is more of a surprise factor in which you have more characters to suspect.

4. Towards Zero: This one's a real thriller! I think the whole plot and the solution was not only suspenseful but logical as well: AC really played fair in this book but at the same time the clues were subtle enough for you to wonder if you were guessing right.

5. Sad Cypress: I had a hard time deciding between Sad Cypress and Endless Night. In the end I chose SC because I like Elinor Carlisle, and I also wasn't disappointed w/ who AC picked as the culprit(s). With EN I was a tad disappointed. But what makes SC great, to me, is that it's so poetic. Poetry and mystery go well together.

Jack_London 22 Aug 09 at 12:07 p.m. GMT

Hahah. I know it probably seems incredibly lame being the first to answer my own post, but i am going to get the ball rolling.

My personal Favourites in no specific order:

1: The Secret Adversary. I loved this one because it was a Tommy and Tuppence, and i love those two because their stories are always exciting and there is more physical action than mind-power being employed to solve things.

2: The Seven Dials Mystery. Loved it also, and for much the same reason as above. I also like the trust twist (believing in a character, then finding out they are up to their eyeballs in it).

3: Why Didn't They Ask Evans: Same reasons again, however i like how the answer to the question posed is so out of the way, it is insane, and it seems impossible for the characters ever to arrive at a conclusion.

4: N or M. Again, it's a Tommy-Tuppence. How can you go wrong??

5: The Mysterious Mr Quin was another personal favourite because in some stories, it wasn't just crime, it was solving the more personal problems of certain characters. Parker Pyne was also a favourite of mine for the same sort of reason.

There we have it! Please comment with your own opinion if you want to share : )