Poirot is best known for his iconic mustaches and using his “little grey cells” to solve the most puzzling cases from the right set of clues. We're giving away a $50 gift card to your favorite indie bookstore. Peril at End House This was definitely the most suspenseful of all time. Probably the last really good book Christie wrote before her natural decline took away her genius, this is also the novel Christie herself named her favorite.

(Even Poirot is a former detective.) She’s unexpectedly brilliant but enjoys her camouflage as a harmless old woman. The level of intricacy involved in pulling this one off makes it an absolute must-read. Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10) by Agatha Christie. Jane Marple is an amateur detective who also happens to be a sweet little old lady from the village St. Mary Mead. You must have a goodreads account to vote. Hercule Poirot, the fussy, fearless Belgian detective who was Christie’s greatest creation, meets his final case. This one takes a Rashomon-style approach, with Poirot investigating a cold case and all five suspects writing up their own version of events. Shop. Here’s some of the most important ones.

Simply put, this is Poirot’s last case and I recommend you save it for as close to last as you can.

Go into it spoiler free if at all possible. She wrote Poirot’s last case—setting it in the same location as his first—and locked it in a vault, bringing it out only when she knew she had no more novels in her.

Many of her books and stories have been adapted for television and movies. Christie was a genius.

Paperback A standalone mystery that lets you dive in deeply to one strange family. It’s notable in large part because the character is very different in this book, not quite the sweet old lady we come to know later. The ABC Murders One of Christie’s most famous novels for a reason, it remains a part of modern pop culture for two reasons: one, the devious twist behind the solution to the murder, and two, the sumptuous descriptions of a train ride, and a lifestyle long vanished from the world (while there are still train rides labeled “Orient Express,” they are mere recreations for tourists).

The British Crime Writers’ Association voted it the best crime novel ever. The Murder at the Vicarage Her books are almost entirely set among the British upper classes, and are commonly termed British cozy mysteries. She first appeared in Christie’s short stories but eventually was featured in a dozen novels. The result is widely regarded as Christie’s best book, and is today the most popular mystery novel of all time, with more than 100 million copies sold. This is one of those books where the solution almost makes everything seem too obvious—if not for the fact that, a few pages before the reveal, the atmosphere was tense with mystery, and finding the truth seemed nearly impossible. I was so sure I … $19.99. One of Christie’s personal favorites, this is a book that breaks most of her rules, with a memorable narrator, a cursed estate, and a love story that doesn’t go the way you think it’s going to go. (It is still running in London and has been since 1952!). $7.99. Christie writes very simple, straightforward prose with a focus on plot and dialogue.

Keep an eye on your inbox. As each crime occurs, the sense of danger and paranoia increases to a level almost impossible to withstand.