Bundle, My own Darling, I could never get tired of reading anybodies Top 10, Do you remember when go_leafs used to do his OMDBs or what ever he called it? I really miss those, I am really interested as to what books some like and others don't just like what Characters some lke and others don't, When I have read all the books I weill provide you with a list, I have made a file in my favourites and am adding to it when I finish an AC Book, As usual with you a Great Topic which I will one day add to, I promise.

A top ten! Fantastic idea but I don't know WHERE to start! I wouldn't have a CLUE how to whittle my choices down to ten!!

Give me a couple of days and I will have a good think about it....

Anyway, Bundle, what about yours?

I grew to dislike Top 10 lists over time. How do you explain to others why Murder on the Orient Express is #6 and Five Little Pigs is #5? Placing books in their respective spots is also really difficult in itself. I'll be interested in others' posts, but I'm rather divided whether to do one myself. I like your idea of trying to find out what types of mysteries others tend to like, Bundle. This will probably be an interesting topic.

I'm glad you remember the INDBs, Tommy! I thought of starting up a "new and improved" one, in which I'd provide more detailed thoughts than my mere "snippets" from last time. This would require my rereading a book before reviewing it. Alas, life (and school) got in the way, and at any rate, I've been rather busy 'hunting down' John Dickson Carr's books to seriously get around to rereading every AC (which, when considering books I didn't like the first time around, is not necessarily the pleasantest prospect throughout). I'll keep it in mind, though, now that I know there's some interest in that...

I also wonder whatever happened to bcr_lechaps_76? I always enjoyed our conversations, and our opinions were often surprisingly similar.

I really hope you do, I was starkwilder then on account of mme mishearing the name of a character - stupid me, I think how one does the task depends on the individual, I personally whill start nwith the 10s and think is one of the MMs with 10 better than one of the Poirots with 10 e.g. and work from there, I was going to do my own IMDB but the Site chasnged before I finished all the books which I stll haven't finished, I was going to go through each book saying which Characters I loved, liked, disliked or loathed, excluding Poirot, MM and T&T ofcourse and mentioning how books could have been improved IMHO and whether they needed certain Characters or could have done without them.

I too was wondering about bcr the other day, I could never remember his name so in my head I nicknamed him bacarat. 

I miss Boley a lot too!! He was so fun loving... As all of you are! think about him every now and then when I visit the forum here.

And thank you for your kind comments, Jill and Tommy!

I shall post my top 10 now. Just a note, first, I haven't read all of AC's books yet but this is just the list that I have compiled so far from the ones I have read. It hasn't changed all that much since the old forum.

1. The Seven Dials Mystery

2. Sparkling Cyanide

3. Thirteen at Dinner

4. Towards Zero

5. Sad Cypress

6. The Secret of Chimneys

7.  Endless Night

8. Nemesis

9. Murder is Easy

10. Peril at End House

So we can all decipher what style of books I like. If I had to comment I sould say that it looks as if I tend to enjoy books w/ character development.

Bundle even though my brother tried to explain what you mean I still don't quite understand, I suppose words and phrases like Narrative and Character developement are too high brow for me, I thought you wanted to know whether we seeemed to like Country House Murders over locked room Murders, or Books that mention cold cases or Capers or Spy Novels etc.

If you or anyone wants you can say things like "You seem to like stories that have a lot of character development." or "You seem to like Country House type of mysteries." or "You tend to like Spy novels.' All of these examples are correct. What it really boils down to is what TYPE of novels you think someone likes.

I hope I haven't confused anyone to the point where they don't want to particpate. Sorry about that, Tommy.

btw Character development means that the author really took the time to relay what the characters personailty was like. And that you felt like when you read the book that you really took a journey w/ the characters.

I'm more partial to the AC mysteries where the suspects are as important as the mystery. This seems to be a downfall of mine when reading AC books that solely concentrate on the crime. It just gets dull.

Usually my favourites conclude to having these factors:

- A great, unforgettable cast of suspects.

- A surpising solution with an amazing killer/killers.

- More than one murder. The novels with more than one murder seem to flow much better whereas investigations with only one body just seem to endlessly droll on that one crime (mainly one of the reasons why is dislike The Sittaford Mystery, The Mystery of the Blue Train etc.)

- Great narrative with the right amount of drama, wit, romance and sadness.

I'll have to have a serious think about my top 10.

(I for one, love reading people's top 10 lists. It gives me a great insight into which books appear to be the best)

At first, Bundle, I was surprised to see Endless Night in your top 10 but why that is is hard to answer. I haven't been chatting to you for too long but I was visualising you as someone who really enjoyed AC's more fast moving books (such as The Seven Dials Mystery, Peril at End House and, of course The Secret of Chimneys, all of which do feature in your list) and wouldn't like the slower paced, more psychological works. And by that last remark, I'm not passing judgement on anyones preferences, I'm just trying to say how interesting it is to learn new things about someone you thought you were beginning to know!! Do you see what I mean?

Thanks for posting it. I'm still finding the task of trying to think of my own a bit daunting. Did your list surprise you, Bundle?

I understand what you mean, Jill. I agree that I do have different tastes in books. Which really is surprising to hear.

But I've been thinking a bit about that and I realize that I do enjoy the fast paced books that feature lovable characters (I'm big on the importance of characters), and I like the fun adventures they go.

But it would be monotonous to only like to read adventure books, so I think that's why I also appreciate the more serious psychological mysteries like Towards Zero and Endless Night. Both of which, though, have a lot of character development.

Thank you for responding, Jill. And I'm looking forward to seeing your top 10 list soon!

Oh, absolutely! It would be dull if we all single mindedly only read one sort of book. And AC offers such variety. I can see character is the single factor that holds your top 10 list together. Can this tell me anything about the real Bundle, I wonder? Good judge of character, maybe? Fun loving? Perhaps we all reveal more of ourselves than we realise when we assemble lists like this. An interesting thought!

Thankyou Bundle for trhe Definition, I am a mass of Contradictions, I like Locked Room Murders but don't like The Murdewre of Roger Ackroyed, I think of Books set on Islands as locked room Murders as they can't escape but wouldn't put And Then There Were None in my top 10, I prefer books twere the Murderer is not a spouce but like one I can think of but not enough to put it in my top 10, I don't like the ones where the Host/Hostess is the Murderer but there is one I like and would even probably put iit in my top 10, I love Capers and love Books which have a victim's last words and also like Books where there are Puzzles on Pieces of paper or in books, I like the ones with Ariadne but 2 would definitely not get on my top 10, I don't like books where the Narrator is the Murderer as i don't like books where I think the solution is unfair and I like Murderers to be carted off to Jail, There are 2 books where the Guilty party commit suicide which I like but would not put them on my top 10 I also like books that have more than one element I like. I am finding it easier to think of booksd that aren't in my top 10 rather than ones which are but I haven't read all the books yet and will still keep thinking. 

MMmmmm, I'm now trying to work out which books you might include in your top 10, Tommy!! Sounds almost as if you have set a puzzle for us to work out!!

Again, I find myself insisting that the plot twist in Roger Ackroyd is completely fair. As Dorothy L. Sayers put it, it's the reader's business to suspect everyone. In fact, not only was the twist fair, but I find it far better hinted at than some of Christie's more loved works (especially And Then There Were None).

I know I kept my old lists somewhere on my computer, but since I'm currently out of town, I won't be able to find them. If I do find them, I might post them, but my tastes have dramatically changed since then. For instance, I loved Nemesis and Endless Night when I first read them; I grew to dislike Endless Night in particular the third time around (not only was it rather boring, but the characters did some rather silly things to fuel the plot: those who've read the book and recall discussions on the old site should know what I mean when I say "folly").

But my favourite book has always been Cards on the Table, probably because it was my first AC. Anyone familiar with her style will probably guess the killer without too much trouble; I didn't. When I read it the first time, I was patting myself on the shoulder for spotting all the "clues" which "had" to point to the "real killer".

(CONTINUED)

My tastes in Agatha are somewhat strange. The books I love most are often the ones that are often forgotten in light of Christie's other work. Some of my favourites include the fantastic supernatural mystery, The Pale Horse. It was one of the best detective novels of the 1960s, in my humble opinion, and AC didn't make the fatal mistake she would later on (in Third Girl the most prominently): commenting on the changing times.

Don't bank on seeing a list from me; I just would be incapable of deciding the order of titles (or the titles themselves for that matter) to make up a list. But no matter how my list has changed since way back when, the list would always be topped by Cards on the Table. The mystery is its most shallow level. It is a tour-de-force; a masterpiece about justice.

Well said! I completely agree with you about Cards on the Table. It's a wonderfully written book that operates on so many levels. Yes, you have a thrilling murder mystery, but, as you say leafs, this is only the (almost) superficial layer. AC looks at justice and what this means for different people in many of her works and, again, we get a new angle with this one. I really love books with a closed selection of suspects as it's such a challenge to the reader. "Surely", we say to ourselves "with so few suspect I can work this one out"! But, invariably, we don't!!

And, without trying to sound as if I'm just blindly agreeing with everything you post, I'm a big fan of The Pale Horse too. Didn't look forward to reading it, thought it would be creepy and stretch the imagination, but I still frequently reread it now as I love its atmosphere and its unsuspected twist. I find it very satisfying, somehow. Good to mention these two novels together as we get to meet Rhoda and Major/Colonel Despard in both. And I'm very fond of Mark Easterbrook as a narrator. Wish we had had more of him.

I wasn't really intending to set a puzzle Puffinjill but I do like the idea that I was as I love Puzzles, I wan'ted to ewxpress how difficult I thought the task was and also say wehat elements I like in a Book without spoiling Books for others but if you want to guess wether I like or dislike a book go ahead and I will say Like or Dislike It might be fun, I will also say if I haven't read it yet like Pale Horse and say wether I think iot woulkd or wouldn't be in my top 10, If anyone else wants to play fine by me, but if people do want to guess please say if you have read it then I won't spoil the book for you but I suppose if you haven't read it you weon't ask if I do will you?

Lets see... you must be a Tommy Beresford fan and a Bobby Jones fan judging by the name you go by!! So I think I can tick off The Secret Adversary and Why didn't they ask Evans? as likes to start with (I'll think about the other TT books later)!

Or it may just be your real name and I am talking nonsense, which is quite the ususal thing for me.

Top Ten Lists are great, sometimes it's just WAY too hard to narrow them down :)

I seriously can't put mine in order though, it's too hard to do, so yeah they're just listed as i remember them...

Mine would probably have to be as follows:

1. Seven Dials Mystery

2. Endless Night

3. Lord Edgware Dies

4. N or M

5. And Then There Were None

6. The Man in the Brown Suit

7. The Secret Adversary

8. Why Didn't they ask Evans?

9. They do it with Mirrors

10. At Bertram's Hotel.

Can't wait to get my analysis!

Cheers - Jack London.

Puffinjill I am a T&T fan and I do love Why Didn't They Ask Evans, It will probably make my Top 10 and if a T&T book is on my Top 10 it is likely to be Secret Adversary but it might be N or M but It is over 20 years since I read it so can't remember it as much as the others which I read in the last 4 years, my real name is not Tommy A Jones.

To Jack London you are absolutely right it is far too difficult to narrow a list down to 10, I could make it down to about 15. 

MMmmmm, Jack, lets have a look at your list. Quite a few of the more fast-paced youthful novels (Evans, Secret Adversary, etc),but the others are a little more diverse. Endless Night and And then there were none show an interest towards plots with a psychological twist. Maybe you are like the rest of us, a complete mixture!! Thanks for posting the list, and well done for being able to name just 10!! I just can't seem to do it!! And if anyone wants to guess what sort of person I am from that, I'm sure you can see that I'm hopeless at decisions!!

Interesting point, though....only the one Poirot book in your list and two Marples. Plus you include four non-series books. I'm seeing you as an independant thinker who doesn't follow the herd.....am I close?

Someone who's favorite books are The Seven Dials Mystery, and Lord Edware Dies and Endless Night! (Those were on my list too). First of all, it's obvious you have good tastes in books, Jack London :0). Also, you seem to like books w/ international intrigue i.e. N or M, The Man Brown Suit, Seven Dials, Secret Adversary. At the same time you seem to be very patient ( a great virture, btw) because the other books you like tend to be rather long - not in pages but in how the plot develops: At Bertrams Hotel, Endless Night is a good example too, as well as Brown Suit.

Oh, good points Bundle, yes some of the plots are slower burning ones. I hadn't thought of that aspect. Well, patience is a virtue, as you say! So, maybe Jack, you like a book that draws you in slowly almost without thinking about it. Yes, the faster, more action books appeal, but so do the quieter books where the action is scarce, such as Bertrams Hotel and Endless Night.

But aren't we all this sort of mixture? Loving opposite types of book as different ones will appeal to us during different moods and times of our lives. Interesting to know if your lists, Jack and Bundle, are much different to what they would have been a few years ago and if all our tastes mature and change. There were plenty of AC's that I didn't particularly like when I first discovered the books but I was in my early teens then and now (as I am no longer in my early teens, alas!!) I really love them.

Hey guys :) thanks for the compliments.

In response to your comments Puffinjill, I must admit i love the psychology that Christie writes into many of her books, it's one of the things that REALLY gets me in every time. I must say, Tommy and Tuppence are my favourite Christie characters simply because the action  has a faster pace than in Poirot and Marple stories, and i think the fact that often the threat is aimed at Tommy and Tuppence rather than at their "clientele" makes it a bit more interesting. All personal opinion of course.

I'm actually doing a study on "And Then There Were None" atm which is very interesting really.

Hey Bundle, good to see we have like minds. Seven Dials and Brown Suit were incredible in my experience. As a side note, I think that i would have had Orient Express in my top 10 as well if a friend of mine hadn't told me the ending before i read it! Totally ruined the book.

Thanks for the compliments :):):)

This certainly has been an interesting topic so far!

I don't want to be awkward but when you ask for peoples top 10 do you mean the 10 best books or do you mean for Number 1 to be the best and number 2 to be the 2nd and so on? I tried doing mine last night and have enough trouble working out what my favourite Poirot is without trying to work out if my faourite poirot (Either Death In The Clouds, ABC Murders, Evil Under The Sun, Cards On The Table or The Clocks) is better than my favourite Miss Marple (4.50 From Paddington, A Murfer Is Announced, Sleeping Murder, Nemesis.) or Favourite T&T (The Secret Adversary, Postern of Fate) or favourite Non-series Book (Why Didn't They Ask Evans or The Man In The Brown Suit and I kept on putting The Secret of Chimneys Higher, There are some books I clearly wouledn't put in the top 10 even though I might have given themn a mark of 10, There are elements of some books that aren't in others, Alot of MM and Poirot books aren't capers are they but how do you say they are better or worse than other books like Why Didn't They Ask Evans, The Man In The Brown Suit and The Secret of Chimneys that are? and some books have 2 elements, they might be capers and Murder Mysteries - Miss Marple sends Lucy on a Caper doesn't she and Why Didn't They Ask Evans, and The Clocks are both Caper-like aren't they? aswell as Murder Mysteries but there again perhaps I see things differently to other people.

It's a difficult one, isn't it Tommy. I'm just finding it impossible to get my choices down anywhere near 10! I'm not sure it matters what order they come in and it's all going to be entirley personal as we all see different things in the same books. As I've said before, decisions are something I am USELESS at, so looking at everyone elses' choices is facinating.

But I'm glad you are thinking of including The Clocks as I've never found anyone else who really liked the book too!! I feel you are a sympathetic soul, Tommy!! 

Puffinjill, I have found that too, alot of people have been critcal of The Clocks but I loved it It is one book I was really sad to finish, I thought Colin Lamb was Great, The humorous way the book started, You have just given me an idea for "Guess The Quote" but having said that If I try it people will know where it comes from, I loved the way the Book mentions Ariadne (and I think but I am probably wrong) Hastings and if you believe as I doi that Colin isd Battle's Son it sought of makes me think of Battle, Do you think as I do that until Colin goes to see Poirot in Chapter 15 people could think that Colonel Race is Colin's Father? but he tells Poirot that he is in a different line to his father and I think when Hardcastle meets Colin it is suggested that he is in the Secret Service and so Colin's Dad can't be him and when Colin goes with Hardcastle to speek to Miss Martindale he mentions that he slightly knows Ariadne Oliver who appeasrs with Hercule, Race and Battle in Cards On The Table (A Book I have read 3 times) so I think Battle is Colin's Father. My Mum says I am a sensitive person and quite often women say things in front of me that they wouldn't say to other Men and a woman used to use me to let of steam.

I have 60 pages of ther |Miss Silver book to go and then I will read They Came To Baghdad and see if I agree with Bundle and others, it was going to be Destination Unknown but changed my mind out of Curiosity, those 2 and The Pale Horse are the only 3 I haven't read where I don't know the Conclussion, I have seen Adaptations of others I haven't read but usually find slight changes to make them fresh for me but I don't re-watch a Poirot like (Hicdkory Dickory Dock) until I have read the book and some books I can't remember like (The |Crooked House) so will have to re-read them

I love the clocks and reread it quite often and, like you Tommy, on of the main reasons I love is the character of Colin Lamb. I'm afraid I was rather dense and was never sure who was his father until you all put me right on here! I always wavered between Race and Battle but Race didn't seem right somehow and I mistakenly thought Battle only had daughters! But now I'm in the know, and glad that you can see that it could be either of them up until a certain point. I'm pretty sure (oh, perhaps not, it would actually involve making a decision) that The Clocks would feature high up in my list of favorites.

I would love to hear your opinion of They came to Baghdad when you have read it as I (again!! - are there actually any of these books I don't love!!) adore it!! It was one I read later than most of them and glad I did as I don't think I would have cared for it when I was a bit younger. I so hope you enjoy it. (Well done for persevering with the Patricia Wentworth, I hope you feel it was worth your while.)

By the way, I can tell your Mum is right about you!! Your sensitive side shows in your choices and also in your posts! But don't let others take advantage of your good nature, will you, as thats unfair on you.

I liked The Clocks when I read it, and although the mystery is intriguing, with a plethora of interesting points to be explained, the explanation is extremely uninteresting, particularly the secret of the clocks itself.

Ah that is one i am yet to read. What do you guys think it is about the book that people are put off by?

(Side Note... :P Finished "Death on the Nile" last night, and it was excellent! Does anyone find that with some books, you read a few chapters and you just can't pick it up again? Death on the Nile was one of those books for me, but it was definitely worth it in the end i think. )

In all honesty, it's probably because of its rambling nature. Its mystery is a glorious setup which is explained very poorly. Poirot withholds a clue that would give it all away, which is doubly annoying yet necessary at the same time to keep the mystery- well, a mystery.

Ah i see.

You know, a book i thought was a bit rambly and to complicated to ever get any sort of a hold on was "The Sittaford Mystery". There never seemed to be any sort of order with what was happening (definitely a case Poirot would not have enjoyed). Do you agree?

I disagree. Although not TOO much happens in Sittaford, few mysteries can rival its fantastic misdirection, its evil atmosphere, and the supernatural (which I've always loved in mysteries).

My complete rankings have been lost to the sands of time I'm afraid, but I did succeed in recovering my lsits for the individual series: Poirot, MM, T&T, and nonseries. My tastes have changed enormously. When I see some of the titles, I nearly shudder to think what I must've been thinking. But some actually remain in their places or thereabouts. It's complicated.

My top 10 Poirots were:

1) Cards on the Table (1936)

2) Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)

3) After the Funeral (1953)

4) Hallowe’en Party (1969)

5) The Hollow (1946)

6) Death on the Nile (1937)

7) Appointment With Death (1938)

8) Evil Under the Sun (1941)

9) Taken at the Flood (1948)

10) Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (1975)

My top 10 Miss Marples were:

1) A Pocket Full of Rye (1953)

2) A Murder is Announced (1950)

3) The Moving Finger (1943)

4) Sleeping Murder (1976)

5) Nemesis (1971)

6) The Body in the Library (1942)

7) The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)

8) 4:50 From Paddington (1957)

9) The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side (1962)

10) A Caribbean Mystery (1964)

[CT'D.]

The order of my liking for T&T was as follows:

1) By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968)

2) The Secret Adversary (1922)

3) N or M? (1941)

4) Partners in Crime (1929)

5) Postern of Fate (1973)

The top 10 non-series were:

1) The Pale Horse (1961)

2) And Then There Were None (1939)

3) Murder is Easy (1939)

4) The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)

5) Towards Zero (1944)

6) The Sittaford Mystery (1931)

7) Ordeal by Innocence (1958)

8) Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (1934)

9) Death Comes as the End (1944)

10) Endless Night (1967)

Rewriting these lists is a task that is more or less impossible for me at the moment. But perhaps some members will enjoy this trip down Memory Lane.

Well, it's the first time I've seen them as I'm relatively new to these boards, but they make interesting reading. Thanks for looking them out and posting them! I think this is the only way I might get anywhere close to any form of list too, as I can't condense mine down to anywhere near 10. I'll have another try.

I'm glad you champion The Sittaford Mystery too! Yes, a great atmosphere and set in AC's beloved Devon, plus a wonderfully headstrong character in Emily. Ac is the master (mistress?) of misdirection - nothing is ever what it seems, and both Sittaford and The Clocks show this to perfection. Both weave a web that draws us further and further away from the very humdrum truth. Oh, and of course, her best example of this is The Pale Horse.

Keep in mind, of course, that these lists were written more or less 2 years ago.

Two years can make a huge difference in taste and preferences - the past few years have certainly affected the way I view different books. Any in your list you would now remove completely?

Puffinjill

Two years can make a huge difference in taste and preferences - the past few years have certainly affected the way I view different books.

Jill is right. Just recently I have grown to appreciate "The Hollow". When I first read it I found it midly interesting, but during the last four chapters I got bored w/ it and it was hard for me to pick it  up again (like Jack London said). But now that I've seen the adaptation and have thought about the wonderful plot and the beautiful scenery AC described I find that I like the book much more now. I wouldn't put it in my Top 10 but certainly it would be somewhere on my top 20 favorite AC list.

Go leafs, I hope you don't mind, but I would like to assemble what I would think your new top 10 list would be if you were to compile it now. I'm only doing this for fun and maybe if I compile it you might be able to figure out which ones you would chose, if you should so happen to make another list.

Here goes:

1. Cards on the Table

2. Evil Under The Sun

3. After the Funeral

4. The Pale Horse

5. BTPOMT

6. A Murder is Announced

7. Cat Among the Pigeons

8. Hallowe'en Party

9. Appointment With Death

10. The Moving Finger

Now I haven't chosen any of these randomly it's just my own opinion and referring to your old lists, and attempting to remember a few things about certain books that you've mentioned you liked on the forum.

Thankyou for your kind words Puffinjill, I try not to let others take advantage of me, I think many people would dissagree with you about my posts, I can be very Undiplomatic at times, If I had a chance I would apologise to them.

I will be sure to tel you what I think of They Came To Baghdad, Nearly finished Patricia Wentworth, it is a bit dissapointing at the moment, 5 Chapters to go and the Murderer might be revealed, too early for my liking, but hopefully I am wrong.

go_leafs I can see what you mean about the Mystery being explained poorly, by the time I had got to it I had forgotten a key part that was in the Explanation, I am sorry if this sounds cryptic but I don't want to cover up my post and don't want to ruin it for others, If you weant I will put a spoiler next time and I think I know what clue you mean, I would have loved to read that Book!, Have youy read the blog from someone saying about what else the Writers could do in the Adapts like televise Ariadne's Sleuth's Mysteries? I tyhink they could turn the Book mentioned in the solution of The Clocks into a Drama, I was listening to a Sherlock Holmes story on R4 and at bthe end they said it was based on something mentioned in another story sdo perhaps they could do that If you know what I mean.

My opinion of what books should go on the Top 10 changes or they go higher or lower, that is due to debating tyhem and thinking differently about some, some times I have rose-tinted spectacles about books but my least favourite books are still my least favourite books.

Bundle_

Go leafs, I hope you don't mind, but I would like to assemble what I would think your new top 10 list would be if you were to compile it now. I'm only doing this for fun and maybe if I compile it you might be able to figure out which ones you would chose, if you should so happen to make another list.

I don't mind at all, but, like I said, the task is monumental. Most of those books I still admire, some less than I did, some more; and some that weren't in the respective top 10 categories would certainly be there now. I appreciate the effort, but my list would probably look very different.

Puffinjill

Two years can make a huge difference in taste and preferences - the past few years have certainly affected the way I view different books. Any in your list you would now remove completely?

Several, actually. I'd start with Nemesis and Endless Night (I've grown to dislike both). I'd bump down A Caribbean Mystery and Hallowe'en Party (both decent books that I enjoyed, but both very flawed- I enjoyed Hallowe'en Party more, though), and as far as I'm concerned, Postern of Fate never happened (there's only 5 T&Ts, though, which is why it is even there). I'd also probably demote Why Didn't They Ask Evans? and Death Comes as the End (not because I dislike them, though; I just like others more now, and those could go without much trouble). I also can't help feeling that the top 4 rankings I had for MM were totally wrong, but rearranging them is a pain, because they still seem wrong either way; those are among my favourite novels ever, and I really can't assign one of them more or less value than the others.

Thats interesting, leafs. I would agree with you over Endless Night as it's a book that only worked for me on the first time of reading and, I'm afraid, wouldn't come anywhere near my top 10. It'c clever, but a bit of a one trick pony for me. The others you mention, oh, I don't know, I try to assemble ANY kind of favourite list and my brain goes to jelly. I can't even arrange the Marples or Tommy and Tuppence books in order of preference - and there isn't that many of either of them!!

Great idea, Tommy, about dramatising the other plot mentioned in The Clocks! If we could get Bert Coules to write them as he does the Sherlock Holmes ones based on references in Coan Doyles stories, it would be worth reading!! 

I am glad you like thge idea Puffinjill but I don't know who BertCoules is but you are probably right. Endless Night would only be on my top 10 if you stood the list upside down, It is my least favourite AC Book, even Passenger To Frankfurt has ther advantage of mentioning that Stafford Nye likes Murder Mysteries (Or is it Adventures? I can't quite remember), Lord Edgware Dies and The Murder of Roger Ackroyed (Bundle and others will know I don't like those two) both have Poirot and I think Japp to make them not as bad, I think it was brave of AC to set a book in a different era even though I don't like Death Comes As The End and I can't remember much about Crooked House (Another I didn't like when I read it.)  

Bert Coules writes wrote some of the adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes canon of short stories when BBC Radio 4 decided to dramatise them all. Oh, God bless him and his pen as they are truly WONDERFUL (and Clive Merrison IS Holmes, no question). Once they had completed this body of work, he then wrote the series you have heard, Tommy, writing original adventures from references in Conan Doyles stories.

I'm not a fan of Death Comes As The End either, but can never really make my mind up about Passenger to Frankfurt. But then, I'm not known for making my mind up.

Couldn't stand Frankfurt. Read it in a day, not because it was engaging: to get it over with. I hated, hated, hated, hated, hated, hated, hated, HATED that book. (The introduction was great, though.)

Personally, I think that Anthony Boucher's Sherlock Holmes pastiches are the best. He was one of the main writers for the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and did a very good job grabbing allusions to Holmes' cases and expanding from then on. At the end of the show, they'd say which sotry suggested it, so it was fun to go back into the story to find the reference. He explained very well just what the Paradol chamber was, for instance. He also wrote a sequel to A Scandal in Bohemia, entitled The Second Generation, which was very well done.

Sherlock Holmes has turned into a huge industry! I'm always amazed at how many books featuring him are on the shelves of my local library and none of them written by Conan Doyle!!

Any other AC's you disliked, leafs?

Are you going to go see the movie of Sherlock Holmes when it comes out, Jill?

I am senseing that you didn't like Passenger To Frankfurt Go_leafs, I think there were worse books, it has its qualities, unlike Endless Night, As character Stafford Nye was a Character I could live with, I liked the way he liked Murder Mysteries (Or was it Adventures?) and I loved the Preface or whatever it was called that gave us a glimpse of how ideas come about and itg started well but after a short time I went off it, I can't say I liked Michael Rogers because I hated him.

I haven't heard much of the Sherlock Holmes series on Radio 4 at all Puffinjill, I agree about Clive Merrisdon though, he sounded Perfect although another Actor I think could play Holmes is Jonathon Hyde, I have a Book of all the stories as I was given them by my brother but I haven't read them yet.

Puffinjill

Any other AC's you disliked, leafs?

Several, but most notably the rather bland and overdone The Mysterious Mr. Quin, which has been RIDICULOUSLY overrated, adn Destination Unknown... oh, and let's include Endless Night, Nemesis, Postern of Fate, and a few generally boring short story collections... These, of course, are the novels I positively despise. There are others that I merely somewhat disliked but generally liked (One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is borderlined between my "hate" list and "not fond of" list, but these titles include Murder in Mesopotamia and Death in the Clouds)

I love Agatha Christie, of course... but there are a few stinkers that, unless I have reason to, I'll never get around to again.

First up, Bundle, I may well pay hard earned cash to see the new Sherlock Holmes film but I'm a bit unsure about going as I do like films to be faithful in the way they use characters and I have a (really bad) feeling that the new Sherlock will bare little resemblence to Conan Doyles creation. I don't have a problem with using an original story but I will object if Holmes himself is altered too much.

Secondly, leafs, interesting to see the books you not fond of. I have to agree with you on some - Endless Night and Destination Unknown definately. And I had forgotten your dislike of Mr Quin. Not growing any less, is it!! In your earlier post where you listed your previous top 10's you said that some had changed as you now disliked some. Would there now be any on that favourites list that you once disliked?

And, thirdly Tommy, we will have to form a Clive Merrison appreciation society!! Good point about Jonathan Hyde too. Did you like Jeremy Brett's Sherlock on ITV (a know it a few years ago now, but they are always being repeated somewhere!)?

Brett was the best Holmes ever, in my opinion, or at least the only one who was able to put a candle to Basil Rathbone's portrayal. I'm disappointed at what I've seen from the production so far. I was enthusaistic at first, hoping that it would spark a revival in detective movies. Obviously, that's not the case.

If anything, the book I appreciate far more now than I did then is "The Thirteen Problems". I underestimated short story collections in general, actually, and since then, I've come to consider it one of the best short mystery story collections ever.

Puffinjill

First up, Bundle, I may well pay hard earned cash to see the new Sherlock Holmes film but I'm a bit unsure about going as I do like films to be faithful in the way they use characters and I have a (really bad) feeling that the new Sherlock will bare little resemblence to Conan Doyles creation. I don't have a problem with using an original story but I will object if Holmes himself is altered too much.

I'm surprised that you are so ambivalent over seeing Sherlock Holmes, Jill. I mean the movie has Jude Law in it!!! That should be enough incentive to go and see it ;-) It is for me!

I remember watching the Basil Rathbone movies on TV when I was small and they introduced me to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. He was always THE Holmes to me, even after I had seen Jeremy Brett as I've always been a little unsure of his portrayal. But why that is is difficult to say. I know the poor man suffered at the time as he really lived a breathed Holmes and yet there is something in his performance that doesn't connect with me or my imagination. Not sure any of this makes sense to anyone but me!!! Clive Merrison to me IS perfect as Holmes and as he plays him on radio I can use my imagination and fill in the rest. So, although Jeremy Brett and his series was well made and faithful, Merrison and the pictures radio conjure up always do it for me.

And Bundle, his presence will help, I'm sure, but will it be enough to carry the film if it is disappointing in other ways? I doubt it. I would LOVE to think those in the movie industry would look to murder mysteries for new projects too!

I'm a HUGE fan of short stories too, never tire of reading them. I'm very fond of The Labours of Hercules although it's another book I didn't read until after I had read most of the rest. Thought it would be dull but I think it's great fun. I agree that The Thirteen Problems spins its own very special atmosphere that pulls me in time after time.

Yes we will have to form an Clive |Merrison Appreciation Society Puffinjill, he was terrific in the JH version of Pocketful of Rye aswell as everything else I have seen him in.

I too love Short stories I have just had 2 Audio Cassettes of AC short stories go odd on me, I don't know if it because they are old or if it is my Machine, I will try The Blue Geranium and Other |Stories sometime and if it is the machine will buy another.

I lthink Mr Quinn is excellent go_leafs.

I've had to give up on my audio tapes and now buy CD's instead. Trouble is, I have the majority of AC's novels already on tape and I'm having to pay out again to replace them. I've broken so many tapes, either with overuse or rubbish players, and it breaks my heart every single time it happens. I also put some of them (especially the short stories) on my MP3 so when I go for a long walk or a cycle ride, I can listen to my favourite author!! I've got some of the Sherlock Holmes on there too. Good luck with playing your tape!

Puffinjill

And Bundle, his presence will help, I'm sure, but will it be enough to carry the film if it is disappointing in other ways? I doubt it. I would LOVE to think those in the movie industry would look to murder mysteries for new projects too!

His presence doesn't hurt though :0)

To me, Jeremy Brett is the only Sherlock Holmes. When I read the books it's him I see. I am also a great fan of Laurie R King's Mary Russell books. She works on the premis that SH was much younger than most people think and retired in his early 40's. Mary Russell starts off  as a 15 year old girl who lives near Holmes' cottage and becomes first his apprentice in crime solving and eventually,hold onto your hats, his wife.

I have also started reading The Mrs Bradley Mysteries by Gladys Mitchell. The TV version really butchered it. Diana Rigg was hopelessly mis-cast and all that sexual chemistry between her and the chauffeur is not in the books.

Anyaway, back to the plot. My Top Ten Books are

1. Murder in the Vicarage

2. 4.50 from Paddington

3.A murder is announced

4.The Mysterious Affair at Styles

5.The body in the Library

6.Dumb Witness

7.A pocketful of rye

8.Hercule Poirot's Christmas

9.Nemesis

10. Sleeping Murder

I think I detect (hardly need Poirot to help me with this one) a distinct bias towards Miss Marple! Thanks for the list, Ampman, it makes interesting reading. And no non-series books at all. Has Miss Marple always been your favourite, I wonder?

I've recently read a couple of Gladys Mitchells' books. They were quite fun and, as you said, COMPLETELY different to the TV series a few years ago. There have been a couple of good dramatisations on Radio 7 - much more faithful to the characterisation and really good listening.

I bought one of Laurie Kings' books a little while ago, but haven't read it yet. Somehow I feel a little uneasy with the thought of Sherlock Holmes married. I should give it a go, really. I recently read Caleb Carrs' The Italian Secretary, another Holmes and Watson story and I thought it came quite close to the originals.

I'm not a fan of Sherlock Holmes at all, but I do love a list, so I'll throw my two bob's worth in and await your analysis!

I've read all of the Marples and approximately half of the Poirot's (in order) so I reserve the right to change my mind!

1. Murder on the Orient Express

2. Death on the Nile

3. The Secret of Chimneys

4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

5. Peril at End House

6. Appointment with Death

7. 4.50 from Paddington

8. A Carribean Mystery

9. Murder in Mesopotamia

10. At Bertram's Hotel

I think I already know the link for most of mine....

I can see a preference for an exotic location, 3rdGirl!!

Oh yes, travel and transport. It won't surprise you to know that in my real life (when I'm not at home on maternity leae with my bub), I'm a travel agent!

Oh, a new little person! How lovely! Many congratulations!! Have you called him/her Hecule or Jane?

By the way, any cheap holidays going begging and I'm your girl. Hate things to go to waste.

Wonder if we have any dentists out there that love One, Two, Buckle My Shoe? Or Death in the Clouds?

Congatulations 3rdGirl. I think naming a baby Hercule would be going a bit far but I do know a little girl called Agatha.

Puffinjill, do try Laurie R King I think you would like her. I must preface my next statement with the usual disclaimer that I am a female despite the user name. I MUST get round to changing it. You soon get used to Sherlock Holmes being married albeit a very unconventional arrangement and Ms King writes some very steamy scenes where nothing is actually described but a lot is implied!! As I always picture Jeremy Brett as SH I almost swoon when I read them!

3rdGirl

Oh yes, travel and transport. It won't surprise you to know that in my real life (when I'm not at home on maternity leae with my bub), I'm a travel agent!

Congrats, 3rdGirl! And many well wishes to you and you're family!

Now, now, Ampman, calm down! Perhaps I'll give them a go then...

my top tens always include the books ppl love to hate! (mine, in no particular order)

Murder Come As the End

Secret of Chimneys

Towards Zero

Appointment with Death

The ABC Murders

Body in the Library

Pocket Full of Rye

Murder on the Orient Express

Mystery of the Blue Train

Cat Among the Pidgeons

 and i've hit ten before i was done (shoot)

Thanks everyone for your kind words and my  month old baby girl's name is Tess (as 'Of the D'urbervilles'). Hopefully she won't be as tragic as poor old Tess D though! My sister tried very hard to sway us to Agatha funnily enough! We are a family that loves to read and thankfully my husband is a huge Thomas Hardy fan as well.

When I'm back a work in January I'll let you know of any deals Jill. Maybe I should put together a Christie tour of the Orient and we can all go on that together. Sans murder of course!! LOL

I like your list susandiane, its quite diverse. There are a few on there I've not read as yet though.

Quite a list, susandianne! There are some on there that would (I think) make it onto my top 10 list and others that I've really struggled to read. Really, really diverse! Thanks for posting it!!

3rdGirl! I'm delighted for you! She sounds lovely! I'm glad you didn't called her Hercules, then!! Good luck to you all. Tess is a really pretty name. As for the Thomas Hardy thing..... I was made to read The Mayor of Casterbridge at college for my literature A level and (please bear in mind I was very unhappy at college and becoming very depressed) and. in consequence, HATED it!! Then they followed up with Tess of the D'Urbervilles and by that time I had developed an aversion to Hardy! If afraid I've never quite shaken it off, even though I have tried. Sad to think that great books and authors can be lost to us forever if we encounter then at difficult times!

Before I read on, as soon as I saw the name Tess I was going to ask you, 3rdGirl, if you got inspiration from "Tess of the D'ubervilles"! It's a lovely name, BTW.

Apologies for my spelling on my earlier post! I'm getting a bit slap-dash. I will try to improve!

Bub is very sweet and sleeping lots to let me read!

Jill, I'll be honest and say I've only read Tess D and Jude the Obscure by Hardy, however I absolutely hate Wuthering Heights and Madame Bovary, so I know what it's like to dislike classics intensley. Sometimes you just can't help it!

Back to the topic, I haven't really read many of the AC non-series books. Only the Chimney's duo and 'They Came to Bagdhad' (which I wasn't too keen on), so I must read a few more in the hope that they make it into my top 10!

It's amazing how different everyone's list is and how differently everyone approaches AC.

I've been working on a top 10 but I'm finding, far from it being a relaxing and interesting look at my favourite books, it's proving to be so STRESSFUL!! I could probably write 4 lists, as go leafs did, outlining my 10 Poirots, 10 Marples, etc, but I can't seem to get any closer than that. Just as I think I'm getting quite close (and I've been quite strict with myself!), I suddenly think of another title and it all falls to pieces like one of Poirots card houses! I'm just useless and freely admit it.

Glad you are getting lots of reading time, 3rdGirl! Your little one sounds a real poppet! I think my two cats keep me awake more than Tess disturbs you!! Thats as near to being a parent as I am ever likely to be!! And I will agree with you about Madame Bovary. Never got on with that one at all, but do have a soft spot for Wuthering Heights.

One of my little darlings has just been sick on my carpet. Thought I would just share that with you all.

Awww...What are your cats names, Jill?

They are Pippin and Tigger. They are both tabby, make alot of noise (well, Tigger does as she acts like a spoilt two year old) and shed copious hairs.

And I didn't name them. I am not a Winnie the Pooh fan OR a fan of Lord of the Rings. But I love cats.

They sound darling. Bless them.

I love cats, but the husband doesn't. I'm glad I don't have to clean the carpet Jill! We're in an apartment, so no dog. I have a lovely goldfish whose name is Derek. I don't know why we named him that, he just looks like a Derek!

We do get a bit random on the topics don't we? Hahaha..

I have rather a random brain. Have you not guessed that yet?

I'm not a dog lover, I have to say. That is one thing I can't understand about AC - she loved dogs but disliked cats. How is that possible?! ALRIGHT, i'm only joking, before all the dog lovers out there protest! Each to his own.

Nice name for a fish, Derek. I had an Uncle called that. Derek, I mean, not fish.

Just rereading the posts on this tread, as I am STILL trying to assemble my list, and I noticed that non-series books tend not to be included very much. I wonder why that is? Are there just too many quality Poirot or Marple books to choose from or do some of you out there not consider them to be of the same quality as books containing the more recognisable detectives? Just a small point, but I wondered how people felt about them. And no volumes of short stories at all.

Looks like I'm one of the few that have a lot of non series books on my list, I just counted and I have 6!

Yes, I know Bundle, your list was the exception that proves the rule!! I am aware that you did include quite a few non-series books but other lists that have been posted mainly ignore them. I was just interested why this was. Do you know what appeals to you so much about them?

It's only because of you guys that I have even started to read the non-series books. The very first AC I read was T & T's The Secret Adversary which was okaay-ish. Then They Came to Baghdad which I did not like at all. Then I started Poirot and Marple and loved them, so it was only Bundles insistance that I read the two Chimneys books that made me divert from my Poirot mission. I loved them so am happy to read a few more. I've not returned to Tommy and Tuppence either.

I was rather reluctant to start the non-series books, too. As soon as I did, though, I simply devoured them.

As for T&T, they're far from my favourites (I find them rather stupid and sometimes rather dull), but they DO star in one of my personal favourites, By the Pricking of My Thumbs.

I like the non series books so much because I found that I was more surprised about the plot and how it panned out. In the Poirot's and Marple's you know which tactic they will use to solve the crime, although it is always fun to read it. And for the non series detective(s) you don't know  what their sluething style is.

But he best part for me about the non series is that there are always new characters to explore! I mean there are in the Poirots/Marples but the book usually focuses on them or Hastings, not that that is a bad thing, I like Marple and LOVE Poirot.

But all in all I say the non series always add the exciting element of surprise!

Just why I love them too! It's the element of the unknown that draws me to them. Just like you, Bundle, I adore Poirot and Miss Marple and indeed did tend to read these books before I was completely comfortable with AC as a writer. But then it was a delight to discover more of the non-series books as they are so varied in their plots, characters and atmospheres.

I still have my top 10 to complete and I shall be interested in how many non-series books I include!

I think a couple of the Non-serieds books would have been better if they had had a recurring Character, Allthough I don't like Colonel Race if he had been in They Came To Baghdad and Passenger To Frankfurt they would have helped the books along and in my view Endless Night needed a Character readers had met before for the same reason but Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is one of my favourites, btw are Murder Is Easy, Towards Zero, The Man In The Brown Suit and Sparkling Cyanide classed as Non-series books as they have either Battle or Race who are recurring Characters? Anyway, I love Why Didn't They Ask Evans, Towards Zero and The Man In The Brown Suit and didn't like the others.

I think they do count as non-series books because they don't have the central detectives AC usually wrote about. And I like that about them too. It widens her universe and places both Marple and Poirot in a wider world. Plus, it satisfies the reader's curiosity about how certain characters would behave in their own dramas. And it also makes us happy and helps us feel we are part of the something as we recognise the character, therefore we know her work and are the people she wishes to entertain.

But, as I've said before, they are just GOOD.

Again I agree with you Puffin but Battle is the Detective and to some extent the central Character in Towards Zero which is why I am not to sure about it, he is in Murder Is Easy I read without realising he was in it, silly me.

Battle is the central character (well, the central detective anyway) in Towards Zero, you are right, but most people who are a little less familiar with AC's work would probably only be able to name Poirot and Miss Marple as her main characters. Even Tommy and Tuppence would be unfamiliar to the majority of people. So I think any book where Battle appears without Poirot can be classed as a non-series book because these appearences are few and far between and are almost random.

Yes, I know T and T only appeared in a few books but their stories were very much written to include them and their characters ( and show the way they had aged due to the passage of time) whereas Battle is used by AC in a less structured way, dropping him in almost by accident it seems, the provide us with a familiar link. Battle acts almost as a bridge between the very familiar Poirot books and the slightly less comfortable world of the non-series texts. His memories of Poirot's little ways prove crucial to the case in Towards Zero.

If some readers are a little concerned about branching out into a new direction non-series books, one like this will help them over that void as it brings the best of both worlds together.