help with Agatha Christie

Start with The Murder at the Viccarage and The Murder of Roger Acroyd and see what you think. There are several books set a road, but both of these are in English villages.

There's a lot more sex in them than I realised when I was a kid. On rereading some of them recently, I was surprised how much was about who was boning whom. It's not explicit though, and is mostly mentioned and talked about.

She has an extraordinarily high number of classics, considering most authors might only have a handful if that. Whether you like them or not, I couldn't say as everyone has different tastes. And within her works there are different types. Some are focused more on clever plots, and others more on character and others get the balance right. She has some thrillers too, some that are more romances, some that are more comedic, and some that are very dark.

They aren't all set in Britain, though that would be the majority of them. She sets a number in the middle East as well, occasionally in Europe.

Some of my favourites, in chronological order:

- The Murder at the Vicarage, 1930 (first Miss Marple story, a standard whodunnit, but a fantastic depiction of a small English village and the characters within, with a very well drawn narrator).

- Peril at End House, 1932 (Poirot and Hastings interact with a cast of bright young things gone sour, a decaying mansion in a seaside town).

- Lord Edgware Dies, 1933 (Poirot and Hastings again, this time interacting with the acting world and nobility of London).

- Murder on the Orient Express, 1934 (an absolute classic, travellers on the Orient Express trapped in a snowdrift in Yugoslavia and murder happens. Poirot).

- The A.B.C. Murders, 1936 (Christie's take on a serial killer with Poirot again).

- Death on the Nile, 1937 (Poirot travels down the Nile on a steamship where murder happens among the guests. Very well drawn main characters, and a really fun adaptation from 1978 than every DLer should know).

- Appointment with Death, 1938 (set in Petra, more of a psychological mystery with a truly vile victim).

- And Then There Were None, 1939 (possibly the original slasher. Certainly an inspiration for European horror films which in turn inspired the American slasher craze. A complete classic, possibly her best story).

- Sad Cypress, 1940 (a personal favourite of mine, bookended as a courtroom drama, the middle devoted to the crime and quite an understated yet clever crime with a very interesting female lead. Also an excellent adaptation in the Poirot series).

- Evil Under the Sun, 1941 (murder on an island with a cast of guests on holiday. A very interesting exploration of character and how we view victims. The 1982 movie, which I don't like personally, is famous here in DL for one actor bulging out of his speedos at every opportunity).

- N or M?, 1941 (if you're going to read a Tommy and Tuppence adventure story, this is the one to read. Set during WW2 as the pair, feeling unwanted in the war effort, are recruited to discover a fifth column. Christie's thrillers can get a bit silly, but this is a really good one still).

- A Murder is Announced, 1950 (a great little village mystery with Miss Marple, and probably Christie's most prominent and kindly drawn gay characters, Miss Hinchcliffe and Miss Murgatroyd).

- A Pocket Full of Rye, 1953 (after And Then There Were None, Christie's best use of a nursery rhyme mystery. Blackly humourous in parts with a great Inspector character and an ending that is actually quite emotional).

- Cat Among the Pigeons, 1959 (not everyone loves this one, it's a mix of murder mystery and thriller, but the murder mystery part, set at a girl's boarding school, is heaps of fun, with great characters throughout. Christie is good at writing children).

- The Pale Horse, 1961 (a very different Christie, a number of deaths are occurring, and there is thought to be a supernatural reason behind it).

- Sleeping Murder, 1976 (the last Miss Marple story published, though written earlier, and has a wonderfully gothic feel to it, undercurrents of supernatural themes, and a house that is a true character).

There are so many more good ones, but I have to stop somewhere!

[quote]Is it obvious who the killer is?

Never (with the rare exception). You'll also easily forget who did it (and the plot) after you've finished reading.

[quote] Are the characters are two dimensional?

Yes, they're as two-dimensional as the pawns on a chessboard,

[quote] You'll also easily forget who did it (and the plot) after you've finished reading.

One exception to that: The Murder of Ruger Ackroyd.

Always Beware the handsome bloke

Or even Roger. WTF, autocorrect?

I read all her books while in my teens. Loved them, great fun, but I was able to pick out the murderer every time, never missed even once. Maybe I'm just good at that sort of thing, I dunno.

I agree with Miss Lucy.

Christie has some patterns, and you can sometimes use your knowledge of those to figure out who the killer is. She is very “fair” in that the killer is never a minor character. The killer always is right there under your nose the whole time.

Blessings to R2. Maybe you are not meant to be my husbear, but posts like yours are one of the reasons I've been on the DataLounge for over 20 years (Mary!). Thanks for taking the time.

Though I'm a lifelong mystery fan, I've only come around to reading Christie as an adult, so I'll be checking out the ones on your list I've not read.

Just because Christie is popular--she remains the bestselling author of all time, outsold by only Shakespeare and the Bible, and the most successful female playwright of all time--some people use it as an excuse to rag on her. That work as popular and prolific as hers must all be formulaic hack work. But actually she's a genius at all the big things that matter, particularly in popular fiction: plotting, characterization, and dialogue. Writing as many books as she did, there was bound to be some overlap and repetition. But on the whole there are a number of indisputable, genre-defining classics, and even the 'B' titles are satisfying, quick reads. Very few clunkers in the lot when you consider the total number. Some of her later work, written long after she was established, can still be satisfying and surprising. And many times she does have a larger point to make, about social class, about life or death, about biases in the system.

Also, OP, if you read paper books and you want more of an "experience" there are beautiful, affordable first-edition facsimiles available of most of her titles, all printed in the past decade or so. They're smaller than today's hardcovers...nice and compact. The original dust jacket art for her books is often striking and evocative of the era when the book was published. Spend $20 or so and treat yourself. Even if you just end up donating it to a book sale or selling it at a used bookstore, someone else will definitely want it.

My grandmother also loved Christie and I was a big fan over 50 years ago. I've recently rediscovered her by watching Ms. Marple and Poirot investigates. It makes a very nice change from today s shallow but action packed crime dramas.

As far as reading a book (vs. watching a movie), I liked "Crooked House."

"Are they mostly set in Britain? Are the characters are two dimensional? Is it obvious who the killer is? I they written in a kind of Victoria way with no sex and no swearing?"

1) Mostly set in Britain, sometimes among Brits traveling abroad.

2) No.

3) No.

4) Well... she writes about characters who do very dark and horrible things, in a rather detached way. Her characters do things like kill the married man they're screwing when he goes back to his wife, or murder a blameless wife so they can fuck the hot maid without interference, or marry rich and kill their spouse so or screw around or commit serial murders. But the bloody or sweaty parts of life are never described in detail.

When I was young I thought Christie was a rather priggish writer, but now that I'm old, I'm aware she's a very dark and cynical one. Her characters are genteel on the surface, and 90% of them are seething hellbroths of rage under the gentility, and are one step away from murdering their nearest and dearest.

I see no one else has mentioned it yet, but I always liked Endless Night too, although it’s been many years since I read it. People have mentioned so many good ones!

To the poster who shared the old hard book version of Murder on the Orient Express— do you know if there’s any easy way to see all of the titles they have that have covers like that? I had trouble finding others on the website you linked. Thanks in advance.

R15 the best way I have found is heading to the dreaded Amazon and searching "Agatha Christie Facsimile Edition Hardcover". From there, the pub date and the price will tell you the relative scarcity, which appears to have grown since last time I searched.

Can't believe r2 left it off their list but THE MIRROR CRACK'D is one of Christie's most diabolical mysteries.

Naughty gal

R15 Endless night was a favorite of mine. A haunting depiction of clinical sociopathy.

[quote]help with Agatha Christie

Sorry, but I don't own a shovel.