How many Hercule Poirot mysteries did Agatha Christie write, and if anyone has read a large majority of them, what do you think the five best Poirot mysteries are?

JReid

I don't know the exact number of Poirot mysteries that Agatha Christie wrote, but I can tell you my five favorites, if that's helpful. First, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Then, The ABC Murders, Ten Little Indians (also known as And Then There Were None, its more politically correct title), and Death on the Nile. Finally, Curtain, Poirot's last case and the book in which Christie kills him off - more certainly than falling off the falls of Reichenbach. Jul 06 01, 1:37 PM

Brainy Blonde

After checking several web sites, I have come up with the following numbers. She has written 35 Hercule Poirot books, one with Charles Osborne called 'Black Coffee' is included in that number. She has 9 books that are compilations of short stories about Poirot, and she has 1 book that is a compilation of plays called 'The Mousetrap and Other Stories' about Poirot. There may be a little confusion in regards to 'The ABC Murders', because when it was made into a movie they called it 'The Alphabet Murders.' They are however, one and the same. That makes a grand total of 45 books about Hercule Poirot! See the following: www.amazon.com www.angelfire.com/fl/christianx/page14.html www.stmarymead.com/menu_pe.html Jul 06 01, 6:17 PM

Brainy Blonde

Brainy Blonde says: After re-reading JReid's answer, I was a little confused. He mentions that Ten Little Indians or And then There Were None, is one of his favorite Poirot mysteries. In my research I had not seen either of those titles mentioned as being a Poirot book. After looking at dozens of sites, I think I have solved this mystery! The book is called And Then There Were None, when it was adapted for the stage and later the screen, it was called Ten Little Indians. When the book was re-released they used the name Ten Little Indians. Neither the book, play or movie include Piorot as a character. She did write a book, which is included in the numbers I gave you, called Three Act Tragedy and Murder in Three Acts when it was adapted for the stage. The plot is similar to Ten Little Indians. Thirteen people are invited to a dinner, one by one they are poisoned in a way that seems to be impossible. Poirot who is one of the guests, steps up to the plate, and of course solves the mystery. I, after solving this mystery, will be able to sleep better tonight, I hope! Fri Jul 06 14:52:52 CDT 2001 I am very sorry I forgot to mention something else I found while I was solving the mystery mentioned below. 'Black Coffee' was not a book, but an original play written by Agatha Christie and Charles Osborne. Therefore, the number of Poirot books is 34 and the total number of books about Poirot is 44. I am now going to leave this question as answered, in my usual novella style, and if anyone has anything more to add, please be my guest. After all this, if I have missed something, I would sure like to know about it. Fri Jul 06 15:05:19 CDT 2001 (Reposted as one entry - McG) Mar 25 03, 10:57 PM

McGruff

Hercule Poirot -- This brilliant Belgian detective had a long and glorious career in thirty-three novels and sixty-five short stories. Hercule Poirot was created in 1916 as the detective star of Agatha Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920. Before his escape to England during WWI, Poirot, a retired Belgian police officer, was a celebrated private detective on the Continent. By his final appearance in Curtain (1975), Poirot was confined to a wheelchair, although his little grey cells remained as sharp as ever. Upon his death, Hercule Poirot became the only fictional character ever to be honored with an obituary on the front page of The New York Times. http://www.agathachristie.com/essentials/crime.shtml Feb 08 05, 3:04 AM