Have we got any Agatha Christie readers here? What books do people like & dislike.
Have we got any Agatha Christie readers here? What books do people like & dislike.
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Have we got any Agatha Christie readers here? What books do people like & dislike.
Um, read them all in my day, several times. I think they’re a bit like the original series of Star Trek – they had to happen for later, better things to happen, and while they have their merits, they are far from perfect. On the other hand, I was nearly poked off a Good Reads forum with pitchforks for expressing such a view, so I shall now retreat behind a well-armoured structure of some kind and hum loudly so I don’t hear the Christie fans’ reactions!
Everyone likes different things if we all liked the same would be a very boring world ?
My mum @Carol is a massive Agatha Christie fan
@Jason yes she is
Read them all years ago. You just have to get in the era
I like a few of them a lot and others not so much. My favourites are A Murder is Announced and The Mirror Crack’d because I like the way they both mislead the reader before presenting ‘why didn’t I see it like that?’ solutions.
Loved A murder is announced my favourite Agatha!!
Oh, I enjoyed The Mirror Crack’d. Some of the old Fontana paperbacks had very creepy covers, I remember, and that was one.
I’m with @Nick……firing squad ready ?
I have to say I haven’t read any of them (is that bad ?)
You can borrow mine, I have them all, in hardback and paperback ?????
@Carol they will have to go on my to be read list along with the 624 books on my kindle ?
@Rebecca ?????
My all time favourite author.
LOVE them, am working my way through all of them! Not too gory? (Am a bit squeamish) and I get so carried along with each story that I forget to guess who did it! And I’m always wrong! Whereas later fiction has to be bloody and terrifying, which is fine on occasion, but as I’m a scardy cat, il stick with aggie!! But each to his/her own!
All. Still my best is ‘And there where none’
Always wanted to stay at burgh island- where it’s set!
My mum had collected and read pretty much all of her books. I now have her copy of the ABC murders as I love watching it on tv I just haven’t gotten round to reading it yet
I love Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and a Murder is announced. I find some of the short stories such as Parker Pyne Investigates a little slow for me
Me too- her short stories are not my favourites.
I’ve never read an Agatha Christie book, should give one a try
Me too,really enjoyed ordeal of innocence on tv so think I will definitely have a look.More books to get through ?
loved them all brilliant writer
I love them too- I often re-read them (although not so keen on tommy and tuppence). They are almost like returning to an old friend.
I have an “Agatha-fest” every few years. A couple of years back I read all the Miss Marples one after the other. Lovely.
I am reading my first one. Ordeal by Innocence. Started watching the adaptation and had to read the book!
I have read a few of the Poirot books. Love them. x
I think I’ve pretty much read all of her full length ones, not so keen on the short stories. Some better than others – favourites include Murder on the Orient Express, Cat Among The Pigeons, The Body in the Library and Sleeping Murder.
Because they are quite light and easy to read, I find them very useful to read in translation when learning a new language.
I love and collect them.
Read them all as a kid on a wet holiday, loved them, my introduction to crime novels. Enjoyed the BBC adaptation that finished tonight too. Anyone else?
Oh yes! Love Agatha Christie! Have just watched the end of Ordeal by Innocence on tv. Not quite the same as the book but a pretty good adaptation.
Does the name Mary Westacott ring any bells? Agatha Christie wrote some books using this pseudonym
My husband bought me those but I couldn’t get into them.
Love her writing
I love Agatha Christie and I’ve probably read most of them over the years. Can’t get enough of it on tv
Ten Little Niggers was a very controversial title for a book. Especially for a book that was written in the 50s
Indeed it was @Jason
I wonder what would happen if that book had been written in recent times
That word was still in use when I was a small child in the early 1960s. Eeny Meeny Miny Mo for example. My grandparents had a black cat with that name.
@Jason oh I reckon it would go on a black list for racism
They now sell it under the title “And Then There was One”
Funnily enough I’ve not read any of her books but am really enjoying Ordeal of Innocence on bbc just now
Maybe you should read the book & then compare it to the TV programme
@Jason yes I think I will,especially since tv had a different suspect.
Agatha Christie also wrote poetry. Has anybody read her poetry books?
Never read any of them but I used to watch them years ago with Jane Hickson on tv. My favourite Miss Marple.
Joan Hickson
I stand corrected lol
I am an Agatha Christie reader since my teens (now a long time ago!!!)
Loved M or N
Not a great Miss Marple fan
Torquay museum is worth checking out
I really want to go there
Always fascinated by her “disappearing act”
Loved the film “Agatha”
I love Agatha. My favourites are Mysterious Affair at Styles, Death on the Nile, After the Funeral, Sleeping Murder and The 4.50 from Paddington
Big fan. Like Miss Marple and Poirot. Maybe not so keen on the stand-alone thrillers. Probably my favourite is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Enjoy
I am with you for The Murder of Roger Acroyd
Not a big Miss Marple fan though
Love Tommy and Tuppence Beresford … great fun!
And Then There Were None is one of my favourites: a mystery novel by Christie, widely considered her masterpiece and described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as Ten Little Niggers, now obviously verboten. The US edition was not released until December 1939; its American reprints and adaptations were all retitled And Then There Were None.
It is Christie’s best-selling novel; with more than 100 million copies sold, it is also the world’s best-selling mystery and one of the best-selling books of all time.
Thanks for the likes, Marie, Karen, Jean and Jason.
What is so special about Star Over Bethlehem?
Read them all as a youngster. Was my introduction to crime novels
Not read any of them. But just started Damaged By Martina Cole and can’t put it down!
I love them. The mirror cracked from side to side is good. Read them all as a teenager but recently re-reading some
I went through all her books in my teens, now listening to them again on audiobook. Still enjoy them even though some seem to have rather stock villains. Her best ones are psychologically very astute.
I still have all the poirot books from my early teens and love them. But, and then there were none is a masterpiece.
A very interesting post @Jason ?
Agatha Christie is the reason I write crime fiction. I’ve read all her books, some of them several times, and they never pall. She is, was, and will always be the Queen of Mystery, IMHO. I strive to write a plot as tightly woven as hers, with that surprising twist at the end, and her books are full of humour – Miss Lemon’s filing system, Poirot’s vanity, etc. I love Poirot, Miss Marple, and Tommy and Tuppence. As to favourites, Five Little Pigs and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans. In a golden age for female crime writers – Patricia Wentworth, Marjorie Allingham, and Dorothy Leigh Sayers – the great AC stands head and shoulders above them. However, some of the modern TV adaptations are a complete travesty of her work – Ordeal by Innocence being a case in point – though I cannot read a Poirot book these days without seeing (the excellent) David Suchet in my mind.
Totally agree. Love AC, tried watching ordeal by innocence. Watched first episode, turned off 20minutes into episode 2, what a load of rubbish. If it had been just an ordinary TV drama I probably would have persevered to the end, but as it was an adaptation (supposedly) of AC book, I couldn’t bear it any further!!! David Suchet, best HP, who is best Miss Marple?….Joan Hickson gets my vote.
@Maggs Agree on Joan Hickson (though she looked nothing like Jane Marple as described in the books). I think that is because the stories Hickson appeared in stayed relatively true to the originals.
I think too that in personality she matched the Marple of the books – not too waspish, certainly not flamboyant, but quietly observant and just a little pleased with herself.
I first read her books as a teenager. Some of the books are stronger than others in my opinion. I didn’t like The Big Four for example. I like the ones that a previous poster describes as psychologically astute.
love her books don’t like the modern versions by authors. My very first Christie book was crooked house and I was hooked
Sophie Hannah has written a Poirout book. I won’t be reading it
I dont like them. I also dont like new bond stories
Superintendent Battle, Parker Pyne, Colonel Race & Tommy Tuppence are all new characters to me. I wonder why these are not as well known as Miss Marple & Poiroit
I also read her books as a teenager and I’ve been studying her as an author because my protagonist is a big AC fan – so I thought I had better find out all about her! She had a fascinating life, which has fed into her writing – and what an incredible output – over 100 novels – not sure I can manage even a quarter of that!?
How many have you written so far? BTW, Ed McBain wrote nearly 150 novels 😉
@Jason Only two published so far! Book 3 is due out this June – so I had better get my skates on!! ?
I discovered the blessed Agatha at the age of about 12 and have loved her ever since. The only book that I didn’t like (or, I think, finish) was Murder On The Links.
Me neither
I’ve been reading Agatha Christie since I was twelve. Without her, I might not be living in the U.K. or writing mysteries. Most of her work is excellent, and even the weaker ones are still good.
Have you got a favourite series? Or a favourite book?
@Jason several! A Murder is Announced, Five Little Pigs, Murder on the Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, N or M among them.
Star Over Bethlehem is the only book that had the name Agatha Christie Mallowan on the cover
It was reading Agatha that got me into a life of crime – in the literary sense, of course! ?
My first AC was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which I read at the age of 14 on the recommendation of my English teacher.
Read all of her poirot and marple Books and loved most of them. My fave is probably Crooked House and also love And then there were none.
Read them and read them and read them. Such confort reading!
I think that schools should get children to read AC books.
So they should
They are now classics
A bit of mystery a bit of romance and a lot in the human nature
Intemporal!
They might enjoy these books more than Charles Dickens novels
can’t blame them?
Loved all her Poirot books, couldn’t get into Marple at all
Very these when I was very young – one of the reasons I got into reading crime fiction!
Doh – should have said ‘Very much, read these…’ fingers not working well on the typewriter today!
was brought up with her books
Started reading AC as a teenager, still have every copy of her books in paperback.
That is one hell of a collection
Same. A few years ago they did a book and magazine thing which I collected. Each book is hardback and in their original covers.
I particularly loved Death on the Nile. The plot was absolutely ingenious.
Love the all. Started to read the when I was 10 Many years ago. Still have the first book of hers I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Read most of it over the years while babies in betwix!
Love AC, also Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh etc., the Era of these books make them so special.
I love Agatha Christie, have all her books .
Love Agatha. We live not far from where she comes from. My ultimate favourite is Death on the nile. It only irritates me when they film them and either change the killer or ending.
The first crime books I ever read. My mother had them all so I read and re-read them.
Do you still read her books?
Now and then, have to admit I haven’t for a long time. Maybe I might start to work through them again.
I still like them.
Have you got a favourite?
Not really but I di like the Miss Marple short stories, they are probably my favourite
Love her! A few years ago I read her mysteries in the order they were written and it was great fun to see, through her books, the changes that were taking place in English society from the 1920s to the 1970s. (Although it was less fun to realize that the books she wrote in the 1960s, when I first started reading her, would now be considered museum pieces!)
Ever read her poetry or non fiction books?
@Jason I didn’t know she wrote poetry. I’ve read a few of her novels written under her pen name, Mary Westmacott. I would like to read her memoirs about her experiences on the archaeological digs. I live in Jerusalem and I sometimes write about new archaeological finds in Israel. It’s a fascinating topic – and very similar to a good mystery story in that the archaeologist, like a detective, has to find and sift through the clues.
You can find the books listed on http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/
Good idea. I’ll do that.
Great idea! Think I’ll do this
Haven’t read any for years, but they were a good safe read for a teenager!
The last one I read was a couple of years ago – the one that David Walliams et al ruined on TV a few months later. And I’d thoroughly enjoyed the book.
The tv versions do ruin them. Especially when they change too much about it.
She was a genius. Her crisp, spare style doesn’t feel dated.
There’s a programme on Sky arts called Urban Myths about Agatha Christie, starring Anna Maxwell Martin.
I like loads of books @Jason and try not to dislike books as a principal as a great deal of effort goes into them. It mightn’t be my bag but I support the writer to the nth degree. I make exceptions with the writings of Hitler, the Marquis de Sade and Ian Brady.
There are others I’ve overlooked no doubt.
Love Agatha Christie! :).
Have you read many of her books?
Have you read many of her books?
@Jason I have. I have the entire works including her plays (not read those). My favourite is And Then There Were None, but I’m not a fan of the Tommy and Tuppence books.
I’m still deciding what to start with
The Poirot novels are the better written, but I really like the stand alones. If you do the whole series, read all of Poirot, then Marple, the standalones.
I’m doing Chris carter at the moment .. not for the faint hearted tho . Excellent .. alas I haven’t reviewed.. I’m feeling terribly guilty .. but I’m hooked and working my way through them all ?
He’s good. A great slicer and dicer I say. You couldn’t read these if you hate the idea of blood or gore or even violence as they have it all. Brilliant combinations.
I’ve just started I Am Death.Tbh it makes me on edge just reading it (I know what a wimp) so tho I’ll read to the end don’t think I’ll be reading another.Just not for me ?
I’m going to start off with Hound of Death
Ordered it from the library this morning
Now that was another excellent cover in the Fontana edition!
I cut my crime reading teeth on Agatha Christie novels. I loved the puzzle element but when I reread them now they do come across as a bit dated.
Sometimes I like the dated-ness of them. Takes me back to another era.
The last one I reread was Murder on the Orient Express because I was actually on the Orient Express at the time and I thought that would be apt. 🙂
I think they could be re-branded as historical mysteries now.
Currently reading The Secret Adversary. The first Tommy & Tuppence book.
Have you read these books before?
I read this one as a teenager. But can’t remember much about it. Just started it.
I do remember back then thinking the romance was very tame and boring. Now I think I’ll find it more nuanced.
I love Tommy and Tuppence
Noo been there and done that..I’m liking more modern day gritty stuff these days ..❌
I started out with Agatha Christie and i remember loving her books but as i grew up and my book likes matured, I find myself not being intestered in them anymore. I’m more into darker, grittier and more suspence stuff now.
What authors do you like?
Fiona Cummins, Mo Hyder, Chris Carter, Peter James, Harlan Coben, Joe Hill, Tess Gerritsen. Just started reading the books by Robert Bryndza which im really enjoying
Have you read the new Fiona Cummins book?
Not yet, i seen a post regarding it earlier and ordered it
I met Fiona a few weeks ago. Got signed copies of both books
How was she? Heard she’s really nice, ah thats awesome!
She is a lovely person
Not revisited her since reading many of them in my Teens. Too many other books to read.