If I want to read Murder on the Orient Express, where in the series do I start?
It’s come to my attention I have NOT ever read Agatha Christie. If I want to read Murder on the Orient Express, where in the series do I start?
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page one?
It’s a series, no?
No not really. There are lots of novels featuring the same detective, Hercule Poirot, but you can start on any of them.
@Angela Not a series. Each book is an individual story.
Miss Marple is her other main detective. All wonderful! Enjoy!
So can I equate it to Nancy Drew? Like I can just pick up any of the books?
Absolutely.
I suggest starting with any of her books. They are wonderful=)
And sorry for misunderstanding your original question 🙂
There’s not really any series. There are just groups featuring various detectives, the most popular being Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
Mysterious Affair at Styles is a good one to start but like everyone says you can start with any one of them. But i did read one think it was Sad Cypress and it mentioned who the killer is in Mrs McGinntys Dead.
Murder on the Orient Express is fantastic. I just read it for the first time and couldn’t believe I had never read any of her books. (& I’m 65)
There is no order to the books but if you read the Miss Marple books she is not thought well of at first but later the police recognize her talents and seek her out. I believe her mystery the Mysterious Affair at Stiles was based on a story that had been told to her by Rudyard Kipling. He told her that he didn’t do mysteries so why didn’t she give it a go. I think that book launched her career. She had to keep her first husband’s name.. Christie after the divorce because she was so famous by then.
What a treat to have her 80+ books and short story collections ahead of you.
@Hughie Think it must be another book as Sad Cypress was published some years before Mrs McGinty’s Dead
Aw okay wasnt sure thanks @Louise
Just pick a book that sounds good to you. They are all stand-alone.
I’ve also never read Agatha Christie! I think I’ll make it a reading goal for 2018.
I really enjoyed her Ten Little Indians
One of my favorites!
Ten Little Indians has more than one alternate title , most frequently, “And then there were None.” Christie’s original is disallowed in today’s more tolerant milieu.
@Louisa I don’t apologize for not being PC ? I get rather tired of the over-sensitivity of today’s society. jmho
Many Agatha Christie books were published with alternate titles, usually a different one for the USA.
Rather than ‘Indians,” Christie’s original title employs a derogatory term used against people of color and, inarguably, goes beyond everyday sensitivity and political correctness. Even when the book was published, it was questionable. For anyone who wants to know more of the history, it is easy to find on Google.
She was prolific. Her main detectives were Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple, and Tommy & Tuppence. Murder on the Orient Express is a Poirot story. You can read any of her books or short stories, in any order, they all stand in their own. There’s a nice list on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2126.Best_Agatha_Christie_Book
Thank you!
@Angela I used a list like this to read all of hers in order last year. She weaves in some things that reference past books that makes it fun. https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/agatha-christie/
Agatha Christie one of my most favorite writers.. Try the ABC murders,Elephants can remember,Curtain,Death on the clouds,one two buckle my show,Ten little Indians ( I bet you cant find the plot or murderer till the end in this)
The first one I read was Sleeping Murder and it’s still one of my favorites.
Sleeping Murder is my favourite!!
The murder of Roger Ackroyd was great
My favorite!
Yup. I’ve read them all but this is the one I would read first if I had it to do over again. Lucky you!
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/sep/15/top-10-agatha-christie-novels
To be honest you don’t have to read in any order there are a couple of series Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot also the tuppence berisford ones and then a number of standalone and short stories if you google you will be able to get a list in order but it doesn’t really matter as its nnot really about the private lifes of the detectives but the mysteries Have fun
Just a general FYI, “Ten Little Indians” is now titled “And Then There Were None”. You may find an occasional copy of the previous title, but if you are looking for it, that’s probably what you’ll find it listed as.
Many of her books had a different title in the U.S.
Yes. Thank goodness this one never had its original title in the US. The original title was incredibly offensive. Even “Ten Little Indians” is offensive (although not as much as its first title) and that’s why it is published as “And Then There Were None”.
I have a copy of this book with the original title….first published in 1939, but I feel it would be a bit offensive to actually write it….
@Megan I have a copy of the “incredibly offensive” one and I thought it was published in the US but I will have to look through my stacks for it. I remember being taught the nursery rhyme by the same name when I was a kid. Oh well. I never meant to offend anyone.
It was originally called Ten Little N****s
My personal favorites aren’t Marple or Poirot, but the five Tommy and Tuppence novels, where the couple age with the books. But you do have to read them in order…
1 The Secret Adversary
2 Partners in Crime (short stories)
3 N or M?
4 By the Pricking of My Thumbs
5 Postern of Fate
I’m in love with those books! I read all of them in order, thanks to my local library for having them all. They are brilliant! I love the characters and the plots and everything! ??
I’ve never read her books either
I can’t remember the name of her very first novel starring Hercule Poirot but I also started with Murder on the Orient Express. It was brilliant! Read it!
The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Oh yes! I read it a while ago. It was confusing as to who the killer was, but it was good. ?
Poirot’s Last Case also took place at Styles. I cried during that book when Poirot died. Felt like I’d lost someone important to me.
Well I guess that’s always the case with one’s favourite characters
read mystery of the blue train to begin… a Christie series.
Partners in crime is a great place to start
I feel that each novel could be read without reading the proceeding and you’ll understand the characters etc.
Seconded! Especially MotOE, it is basically nothing BUT character development.
The order doesn’t matter—except that the earlier books are better.
I’ve never read her either!
I read it alone, having been my first book of her, and had no questions. She did a good job explaining Poirot and building his character.
I read her for the 1st time this year too. I started with “‘Orient Express,” then “The Clocks,” “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas,” & now 1/3 way into “And then There Where None.”
I love the plots, character development and the language… but there are places where it’s antiquated & it can become offensive, as in sexist/racist; she uses many cultural stereotypes. If she were alive today, we’d classify her a political conservative & she likely was in her time. She certainly doesn’t subvert racist & misogynistic conventions and that distracts from her brilliance, IMO.
And Then There Were None was my first Agatha Christie.
Enjoy reading it Angela Clock
Maybe you can watch the movie~
It’s fine to start w it. It is the 10th Hercules Poirot but it stands alone fine
One of the most famous, and for good reason, is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
I agree. My favorite so far.
I found this on thrift books a couple of weeks ago and I’m really excited to have choices on which to read! !
Love Death on the Nile, but these are all good.
Photo:
Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels
Death on the Nile. Murder on the Orient Express. The ABC Murders. Cards on the Table. Thirteen at Dinner.
And Then There Were None! Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile. 🙂
+1
+1?
I love Miss Marple
Although I liked Hercule Poirot my favourite are the Jane Marple books. Didn’t warm to Tommy and Tuppence Beresford unfortunately.
I spent a summer reading nothing but Agatha Christie . In no particular order. But I do prefer Miss Marple over Hercule Perot . ( thinking I spelled his name wrong)
Love both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
I am a huge Agatha Christie buff. They are simply fabulous and worth reading and rereading. First Hercule Poirot is The Mysterious Affair at Styles, but no need to follow any sequence.
My favorite is What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw. Also published as The 4.50 From Paddington.
The only Christie books you should read in order are the five Tommy & Tuppence books. Unlike Poirot and Marple, they aged in real time.
Someone once posted that nobody likes that couple Agatha Christie has. I replied, “Tommy and Tuppence? Bite your tongue. I love them.”
The best one she wrote was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, though Orient Express is good.
I’ve read several of her biographies, and a novel called T he Woman on the Orient Express. Highly recommend.
Murder on the Orient Express
I found The Mysterious Affair at Styles on Kindle for free so I’m starting there. Thanks all!
Check out the AChristie audiobooks too, on library Overdrive/Libby app if you have access, they’re amazing!
SHOCKING CONFESSION!! :0 !
The good news is: you have a full shelf to keep you occupied for a bit! She was a master writer, enjoy the journeys you take with her!
My favorite author!!!
Anywhere! Enjoy!
Start with 10 little Niggers or Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Title to the first one is now And Then There Were None”
@Barbara That’s correct.
“And Then There Were None” is my all time favorite!
They are all great and don’t need to be read in any order.
Her books are all self contained stories and there is no need to read them in any particular order, if Murder on the Orient Express is the one you fancy, just read it. If you like it you might enjoy reading Hercule Poirot’s Christmas as it is a good one for this time of year.
I just saw the movie, and even though I am an avid reader, I have not read any of her books, I really enjoyed the movie.
I like her books but they make me so mad. I get down to the last few pages and without a doubt I have figured out who did it only to turn the page and find out that I really did not know……..LOL.
Dive right into Murder on The Orient Express! All her Poirot stories can stand alone. In fact, that was the very first of hers I read way back when 🙂