Author Leena Clover

Agatha Christie is arguably the most famous mystery writer of all time. She gave us Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and the lesser known Tommy and Tuppence. I read her books thirty years ago and I read her books today. I confess I just can’t get enough of them. Almost every book written by AC is a gem, so it’s really hard to pick a top 10. I’m sure everyone has their favorites.

These are some of mine.

If you have never read an Agatha Christie book (seriously?), what are you waiting for?

1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The cozy British village of King’s Abbot has typical inhabitants. There is the harried Dr. Sheppard who lives with his spinster sister. The local squire is Roger Ackroyd who has amassed millions but has no children. He does have a house full of family members though. Ralph Paton is the step son and has been with Ackroyd since childhood. Flora is the niece from Canada and makes her home with Ackroyd along with her mother. Major Blunt is a visiting friend. Raymond is the devoted assistant. Mrs. Ferrars is a village widow and there is talk of Ackroyd and her hooking up.

The first difference you will notice here from other Hercule Poirot mysteries is that there is no Captain Hastings. I really miss him here. And so does Poirot. As it turns out, his dream retirement of growing marrows has lost its charm. He happens to be the doctor’s neighbor and tells him how he misses his friend’s stupidity (poor Hastings)!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a must read because its end is more shocking than the typical Poirot novel. The plot is ingenious, and the true culprit is beyond your wildest imagination. Hercule Poirot is slightly low key here. We do not hear much about his mustaches or sirops or gourmet meals, nor about the formidable Miss Lemon. But The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is quintessentially Hercule Poirot, and a must read for all Agatha Christie fans.

2. And Then There Were None

Ten seemingly random people are chosen and invited to spend time on a remote island in a grand mansion. Each is invited on a different pretext. But they have something in common. Each of them has committed a murder and got away with it. Dr. Armstrong has accidentally caused a death during surgery. Marston is a drunk driver. Lombard abandoned an African tribe and left them to die. You get the idea.

On arriving at the island, the visitors are told that their hosts will arrive shortly. A poem about 10 Soldier Boys is framed and there are 10 small statues on a table. As the bodies drop one by one, the soldiers decrease in size. Of course, it takes the guests some time to figure out that they are being killed according to the poem, and that the little statues represent the people on the island.

There is a certain aura of danger and uncertainty in the book that will rival any Gothic novel. You can’t help but get goosebumps as the people start disappearing. The eerie song that plays in the background adds to the atmosphere.

3. The Moving Finger

Jerry Burton is an ex pilot who was in a crash. He has been severely injured and is convalescing in the village of Lymstock with his sister Joanna. Both of them are very urban and slightly older and sophisticated. As soon as they settle in, Jerry gets a nasty letter. So does Joanna. A Poison Pen is at work.

The Posion Pen is wreaking havoc in the village and Jerry Burton is tired of hearing the words ‘No smoke without Fire’. Mrs. Symmington is found dead from an overdose and everyone thinks it is suicide brought about by the Poison Pen. The mystery deepens when a maid in the Symmington household is found murdered. Jerry does some amateur sleuthing to help the police. The vicar’s wife calls in an expert, namely Miss Marple, who is mostly reduced to sitting in a corner knitting something. Does she provide any insight toward finding the culprit? Yes and No.

The Moving Finger is absorbing and complex, and it is almost certain you will not guess who the real killer is until the end. There are twists you don’t expect, but all ends are neatly tied before the book ends.

4. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

This book was also published as The Boomerang Clue. This does not feature any of Agatha Christie’s known characters.

Bobby Jones has been dispatched from the Navy due to poor eyesight. The youngest son of the vicar in a Welsh village, he is at a loose end. He is enjoying a game of golf with the local doctor when they hear a cry and find that a man has fallen off the cliff in the mist. Bobby is left with the dying man as the doctor goes for the police. The dying man suddenly wakes up, asks ‘Why didn’t they ask Evans?’ and takes his last breath. Bobby finds the photograph of a beautiful woman in the man’s pocket. Another stranger turns up, and Bobby hurries back home for a sermon.

There is an inquest where the dead man’s sister turns up and the death is termed accidental. Bobby meets Frankie or Lady Frances who he has grown up with. Class differences have driven a wedge in their relations, but they still adore each other. When an attempt is made on Bobby’s life, the two get talking and suspect that there is more to the dead man than meets the eye.

The Boomerang Clue is really like peeling an onion. The plot thickens as the story progresses. In the end, the real culprit almost hoodwinks Frankie and Bobby. Badger, the loyal friend, provides some comic respite.

Who is Evans, and why was he left out? Will Frankie or Lady Frances work it out with Bobby? Will Bobby find gainful pursuits that please his father? Don’t miss reading The Boomerang Clue or Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?.

5. The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side

Miss Marple is recovering from bronchitis. The doctor has ordered her to have round the clock care bringing the over zealous Miss Knight to take care of her. Miss Marple’s sarcasm is lost on the uptight Miss Knight. As old Dr. Haydock says, the only thing needed to cheer up Miss Marple is a nice juicy murder. Little does he know one is just around the corner.

Marina Gregg is a famous movie star. She has been suffering mental illness for some years but has bought Gossington Hall. She is working on a new picture and is all optimistic about living in an English village in her old fashioned Victorian mansion. She invites Dolly Bantry to a fete that is organized for some charity. St. Mary Mead has grown a lot and there is a new development near the village, with semi detached houses and a host of new residents. The Badcocks are just such a couple and Heather Badcock is a devoted worker for the charities.

The day of the fete dawns. The Hall is crowded with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the great film star. Heather heads the charity committee and is invited up among some exclusive guests to meet Marina Gregg is person. So is Mrs. Bantry. Heather Badcock is very excited and tells some story about how she had got Marina’s autograph as a child. Dolly Bantry is astounded to see a frozen look on Marina’s face but the attention soon shifts to Mrs. Badcock when she drops dead. The investigation begins and murder is announced.

Inspector Craddock consults Miss Marple. Although she cannot do any leg work, she has all the information at hand. It turns out that Mrs. Badcock was killed instead of the film star. Many things about her past come to light. As always, people panic and others try to take advantage of the situation. There are more murders and the police and Miss Marple are both stumped.

In the end, it is going to take some deep sleuthing from Miss Marple before she can solve the murder. But will she be in time?

6. Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express is one of the most famous Hercule Poirot mysteries. Unfortunately, many people seem to have seen the TV or movie version rather than read the book. I remember reading this as a precocious teen, when we bartered books amongst kids. Owning a copy of this book was very valuable, because almost everyone wanted to read it. This was a time before the current era of excess, when you had to do something spectacular like be at the top of the class or have a birthday for someone to buy you a book.

The Orient Express is a luxurious train that ran between Istanbul in Turkey and Paris, France. Hercule Poirot books a first class compartment on the train while rushing to answer a summons to London. His services are propositioned by a wealthy American called Ratchett. Finding the man odius, Poirot declines. The next night, the train encounters a snowdrift. The morning reveals that Ratchett has been murdered. Hercule Poirot, being on the scene, is asked to investigate.

Just imagine the scene – a train full of different characters, stuck in the snow in a remote area. There is no where the murderer can escape. As Poirot investigates, he finds that almost everyone on the train had a reason to kill the old man. Hector MacQueen, the secretary, Masterman the valet, Mrs. Hubbard, a famous American actress, a Countess, a Princess, an English spinster, an American car salesman, a Swedish missionary – all seem totally unconnected and the most unlikely to have had any connection whatsoever with the dead man. But there is a common thread that binds them. Wouldn’t it be easier to assume that some stranger boarded the train, killed Ratchett and jumped off?

Hercule Poirot has to make a choice. Will he choose to overlook a cold blooded murder?

7. Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile is another Agatha Christie mystery in an exotic location where the culprit doesn’t have much room to escape.

Linnet Ridgeway has it all – an obscene amount of money and radiant beauty. As someone in the village says, it’s not fair that she has both money and beauty. She ought to have been ugly! Linnet breaks the girl code when she snatches fiancé Simon Doyle away from her best friend Jackie who is penniless. Hercule Poirot comes across Simon and Linnet when they are honeymooning in Egypt. The Doyles bump into Jackie, appearently accidentally. When Poirot learns that Jackie has been stalking Linnet and her husband, he implores her to leave them alone.

The Doyles employ evasive tactics and book passage on a Nile cruise on the Karnak. Poirot is on the same cruise. There is a motley crew of Americans and Europeans on the boat and Jackie turns up again like a bad penny. An attempt is made on Linnet’s life and Jackie is implicated. The next day, Linnet is found dead and there are plenty of clues pointing to Jackie as the murderer.

You can apply your little grey cells to your heart’s content, but I doubt you will be able to guess who is the culprit here. This is one classic plot which I am sure must have been used in many contemporary novels. Death on the Nile is one of Poirot’s more interesting cases, and is a must read for Agatha Christie fans.

8. A Murder is Announced

Miss Marple is enjoying a visit at a spa to get over her rheumatism, funded by dear nephew Raymond West. She notices a handsome young man in her hotel who is good with the ladies. In the nearby village of Chipping Cleghorn, a strange notice appears in the paper. A murder is announced, to take place at seven at Little Paddocks, the residence of Miss Letitia Blacklock.

Various people in the village read it and have mixed reactions. An odd group of people live at Little Paddocks. Patrick and Julia are distant cousins of Miss Blacklock, Bunny is an old friend and Philippa is their lodger. Various people turn up at seven – the colonel and his wife, Hinch and Murgatroyd, two spinster ladies, Edmund Sweetenham and his mother, and the vicar’s wife. Only the vicar’s wife is naïve enough to ask when the murder is going to be committed. Just then the lights go off, there are shots fired and screams abound. When the lights come on, the body of a young man is found. It turns out to be the handsome young man working at the hotel. Inspector Craddock starts investigating.

A Murder is Announced is comfortable territory for Agatha Christie fans. You will be hard pressed to guess who is at the bottom of the whole thing. In the end, the culprit is apprehended and the young people find love.

9. What Mrs. McGillicudy Saw

This is one of my absolute favorites! Also known as the 4:50 From Paddington.

Miss Marple is almost 90 in this story. The whole thing starts when Mrs. McGillicudy, all agog with her Christmas shopping, witnesses a man strangle a woman. What is different is that she is traveling in a first class compartment going toward Market Basing, and the murder happens in another train that is passing by. Miss Marple believes her friend Elspeth and they tell the police about it. But no dead body turns up anywhere. Mrs. McGillicudy goes to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) but Miss Marple wants to get to the bottom of this funny business.

Never known for her leg work, Miss Marple writes to the forces – her grand nephew and the vicar’s son. Based on information she gathers, she deduces where the body may have been dumped. Then she hires a woman – Lucy Eyelesbarrow – to go and get hired in a property she zeros in on.

What Mrs. McGillicudy Saw or 4:50 from Paddington starts off really farfetched. But the industrious ‘old biddy’ Miss Marple makes a tangible picture out of it. This is an absolute must read for all Agatha Christie fans and mystery fans.

10. The Body in the Library

Miss Marple fans can rejoice. The Body in the Library is a book where she is idolized by three big policemen – a prior head of Scotland Yard, a Superintendent and the Chief Constable. The village of St. Mary Mead is in a furor when a young girl’s body is found in the library of its top citizen.

Arthur and Dolly Bantry have appeared in other Miss Marple books. So have some of the characters in St. Mary Mead. The Bantrys wake up one morning with the shocking news that a dead body lies in their library. Miss Marple is summoned without preamble by Mrs. Bantry and the police also get there. The investigation leads to a nearby seaside town where the young girl was a substitute dancer. Who killed Ruby Keene and why?

Like any Agatha Christie story, there is a large cast of characters. The important one is Conway Jefferson, an invalid rich man who is staying at the Majestic Hotel with his family. He was quite taken with the young girl. Mark Gaskell is the shady son in law and Adelaide the obedient daughter in law. There is a child in the picture who has been raised as a grandson. Raymond Starr is the flamboyant tennis pro and Josie is the dance hostess. Josie is the one who got Ruby hired at the hotel and is sad at her demise.

The Body in the Library has a slightly refreshing point of view. That is because no one thinks of Miss Marple as senile. Almost everyone is eager to know what she thinks and solicits her services. At some times, it feels as if they expect something fantastic from her. But Miss Marple does not disappoint.

Best Agatha Christie Books

I have gone through several phases in terms of having a favorite. There was a time when I preferred Poirot over Miss Marple and didn’t even touch the Beresfords. Then I started liking Tommy and Tuppence. Miss Marple became my favorite for a while too. So I won’t mind if you have other favorites.

I want to know what your best picks for Agatha Christie books are. Please feel free to add yours in the comments below.

Have you heard? Cozy mysteries are killing it. If you love reading as much as I do, especially cozy mysteries, I am sure you had plenty of new books to read in 2017. Many good writers are finally taking the plunge and dipping their feet in the indie publishing waters. And cozy mystery seems to be the genre many of them are going for.

Cozy mysteries offer everything I love in books. Suspense, intrigue, crime without guts and gore, and sometimes even yummy food and puppies. What’s not to like, huh? As an avid reader, I gobble up every new cozy mystery series I come across. These are some of the series that came up in 2017. They ruled the roost and the authors kept delighting us with plenty more books in the series.

Top Cozy Mystery Series of 2017

I read more than I write. And I search the book sites high and low for good books. These are some of the new cozies that were very popular this year.

Peridale Café Cozy Mystery Series

Author Agatha Frost released Pancakes and Corpses in January and never looked back. She is now coming up with Book 10 in the series, right in time for Christmas.

Set in the British Cotswolds, this cozy series brings us Julia South, a divorced woman who is back home in her hometown of Peridale. She is running a café and discovering bodies. There is a handsome policeman she falls for, and plenty of other enjoyable characters like her grandmother.

Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mystery Series

Carloyn L. Dean takes us to a small beach town in the Pacific North West with this charming series. Amanda Graham inherits a bed and breakfast which seems like the perfect new start she needs. Before she can start remodeling, a body turns up in her yard. There’s plenty of small town characters to keep you interested. There are nine books in the series with a new one coming up next year.

Amanda gets into some scrapes alright so you won’t be starved of action here. There’s yummy food and a touch of romance too.

Oceanside Hotel Mystery Series

Ceecee James brought us a second series this year, this one set in Florida. Maisie Swenson is the manager at a Florida hotel and lives there with her mother. She handles your usual five star hotel crises and a dead body or two with aplomb. You will love Maisie’s Mom, especially if you like some good home style food. Maisie’s basset hound Bingo is an active participant.

Red Pine Falls Cozy Mysteries

Here is another new cozy mystery series set in the PNW. Author Angela C. Blackmoore brings us to the small town of Red Pine Falls. Abby Morgan is trying to build a new life after losing her husband. She moves to Red Pine Falls to be with her husband’s family. She’s got new friends, a loving grandma and a handsome park ranger who she’s getting plenty friendly with. There’s an evil senator and treasure!

Just the thought of hidden treasure makes any story better, right? There’s an over arching story arc that makes sure you’ll wait impatiently for the next book in the series.

Movie Club Mysteries

 Author Zara Keane’s Movie Club Mysteries couldn’t be more different. Set on a small island in Ireland, it introduces us to Maggie Doyle, an ex-police officer from San Francisco. Maggie is about to be divorced and looking for a clean break. She starts helping out in her aunt’s café and reconnects with old friends. When an odious local woman drops dead after drinking a cocktail Maggie mixed, both she and her aunt become suspects.

Cozy readers love scenic locations and Whisper Island is going to be your next favorite. Maggie comes off as a know-it-all but we hope her heart’s in the right place.

 Have you read any of these ‘hot’ mystery series of 2017? What are you waiting for? Another new cozy mystery series that is not part of this list is the Meera Patel Cozy Mystery series written by yours truly. Don’t forget to check it out too :).