While I read and enjoyed Sherlock Holmes series as a child, Agatha Christie was who opened my eyes to the wide world of detective novels. Not only was her She a master plotter, but also she had great understanding of darkness in human nature. While she was most known for the Hercule Poirot series, her other detective series Miss Marple and Tommy & Tuppence series are great too, as well as her stand alone work.
Hercule Poirot
With recent movie adaptation, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile rightfully caught the spotlight. If you want to read more of this Belgium detective using his grey brain cells, I recommend The Murder of Roger Achryd and Five Little Pigs among her many good works.
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Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a small gentle old lady who loves knitting, so she's often underestimated and overlooked. However, she's also keenly observant and a master of darkness in human nature, based on extensive life experience in her quaint murderous English home village.
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Tommy and Tuppence:
Tommy and Tuppence start out as friends who start a detective agency for excitement and money. Then they fall in love and get married at the end of The Secret Adversary. Unlike the other series, Tommy and Tuppence age in real time and the series has a more period specific favour. While the first book, The Secret Adversary is a good introduction to the series, my personal favorite is Partners in Crime. It's lighthearted and charming on its own, and you will get a bonus if you have read detective novels around the same period .
Standalone:
And Then There Were None: Ten strangers are summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none.
It will be an oversight if I don't mention And Then There Were None for Agatha Christie's work. It's full of suspense, and the build up of terror and tension is excellent.
Hercule Poirot
With recent movie adaptation, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile rightfully caught the spotlight. If you want to read more of this Belgium detective using his grey brain cells, I recommend The Murder of Roger Achryd and Five Little Pigs among her many good works.
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a small gentle old lady who loves knitting, so she's often underestimated and overlooked. However, she's also keenly observant and a master of darkness in human nature, based on extensive life experience in her quaint murderous English home village.
Tommy and Tuppence:
Tommy and Tuppence start out as friends who start a detective agency for excitement and money. Then they fall in love and get married at the end of The Secret Adversary. Unlike the other series, Tommy and Tuppence age in real time and the series has a more period specific favour. While the first book, The Secret Adversary is a good introduction to the series, my personal favorite is Partners in Crime. It's lighthearted and charming on its own, and you will get a bonus if you have read detective novels around the same period .
Standalone:
And Then There Were None: Ten strangers are summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none.
It will be an oversight if I don't mention And Then There Were None for Agatha Christie's work. It's full of suspense, and the build up of terror and tension is excellent.