A Completely Subjective Ranking of Every Agatha Christie Book I've Read (so far)

If you didn't know this about me, I love a mystery. I always have. It started as a child with The Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew, and as I grew up, so did the mysteries I loved. But it was only this year that I really dove into the most well-known mystery writer ever - Agatha Christie. So far in 2021, I've managed to read at least one of her books every month, and tbh, I'm thriving. Therefore, I wanted today to share with you my completely subjective ranking of what I've read so far!

And yes, I am putting off some of the more well-known mysteries like And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, mainly because I anticipate that I'll either love them or hate them and I'm scared, haha! But I've really enjoyed the ones I've read so far, there's something so cozy and comforting about the way she writes a story.

So today, let's take a look at the 10 Agatha Christie novels I've read so far, and which ones are my favorite.

10. The Murder on the Links

This is Poirot's second adventure, and it... wasn't the best. The ending was quite convoluted, and Hastings drove me a bit crazy in this one. Poirot himself was my favorite part of this story, with his sassy comebacks and mystery-solving prowess.

9. Poirot Investigates

This is a collection of Poirot short stories, and honestly, it's not my favorite. Christie's writing is stronger with a longer story, where she has more chance to set up red herrings and twists. But it was still enjoyable, and Poirot constantly looking at Hastings like, "ah my friend is an idiot but I love him" always makes me smile.

8. The Body in the Library

A winding and roundabout mystery that takes its sweet time to get to the final reveal, this was... odd. Not bad, necessarily. The set-up was interesting, and I liked getting to spend more time with Miss Marple in and around St. Mary Mead, but there were just too many characters, if I'm honest. I know Christie has a tendency towards big casts, but a lot of these characters were just unnecessary. Yeah.

7. A Pocket Full of Rye

The setup is classic - a tycoon has died and suspicion is cast on his shady family members. Miss Marple comes in to investigate, and is her iconic, sassy self. The reveal at the end I genuinely didn't see coming, but the inspiration of the classic "Sing a Song of Sixpence" was a fun twist!

6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The very first Poirot novel sees the Belgian detective brought out of retirement to solve a classic locked room murder, and it was great. This was the second Christie novel I'd ever read, and I enjoyed it so much! Poirot is the best at what he does, and he knows it. Doesn't have to brag about it, just states it as fact, and I think he's delightful.

5. Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

Was this one of the most ridiculous and convoluted mysteries I'd ever read/watched? Yes.

Did I have a bucket of fun while reading it? Also yes.

I initially picked this up because it was recently announced that Will Poulter (aka Eustace Scrubb) has been cast as Bobby in an upcoming adaptation, and I cannot wait. He's going to be perfect.

4. Sparkling Cyanide

This was the first Christie novel I ever read, and even though now I can acknowledge that it isn't her best, it has a special place in my heart. One victim, one year, six suspects. Who killed Rosemary? Out of the ten in this post, this is the only one where I've actually managed to guess whodunnit, lol.

3. A Murder Is Announced

The second Miss Marple mystery I read, this one was a whole roller coaster of trying to figure out what had happened. It's full of twists and reveals and morbidly curious neighbors, and just furthered Agatha Christie's queen status in my heart.

2. The Moving Finger

I picked this one up purely because the premise reminded me of an episode of Murder, She Wrote. I have no regrets. Jerry and Joanna, I think, are a big part of why I loved this one so much. There aren't many non-romance adult novels (at least, not that I've read) that focus on a pair of siblings, so I loved seeing these two work together to solve the crime! The only thing that could have improved it would have been more Miss Marple, because she's my fave.

1. Death on the Nile

THIS BOOK. This is why she's the queen, okay? I knew this was one of her most highly regarded books, and I wanted to read it before the new adaptation releases this October, and I'm SO glad I did! It absolutely blew my mind, keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole time to figure out what the heck was going on on this murder boat. I can't wait to see Kenneth Branagh take this one on, especially since he did such a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

And that's all the books I've read so far! I'm nowhere near done. There are so many of her stories that sound incredible, and I'm sure they will be. Have you read any of these? Do you agree with my ranking? What's your favorite Christie mystery?? Let me know all the things in the comments!

((all collages edited with and using images from Canva))

~ Abby