Agatha Christie created many unforgettable characters, but none is more famous than Hercule Poirot. The brilliant Belgian detective, known for his carefully groomed mustache, passion for order and reliance on his “little grey cells,” appeared in 33 novels written by Christie between 1920 and 1975.
I am continuing my goal of reading every Agatha Christie book, including every Hercule Poirot mystery. Because the series is much larger than the Miss Marple collection, I created this complete Hercule Poirot reading-order guide to help readers decide where to begin and what to read next.
The best way to read the Hercule Poirot books is in publication order, beginning with The Mysterious Affair at Styles and ending with Curtain. Most of the mysteries can be enjoyed as standalones, however, so new readers can also start with a famous case such as Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or Death on the Nile.
How Many Hercule Poirot Books Are There?
Agatha Christie wrote 33 Hercule Poirot novels. She also published Poirot short stories that were collected in books including Poirot Investigates, Murder in the Mews, The Labours of Hercules and Poirot’s Early Cases.
That distinction is important because some reading lists say there are 39 Poirot books. Those lists usually combine the 33 original novels with short-story collections and Black Coffee, a Christie play later adapted into a novel by Charles Osborne. This guide separates the novels from the additional Poirot books so readers know exactly what they are getting.
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles
- The Murder on the Links
- Poirot Investigates
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
- The Big Four
- The Mystery of the Blue Train
- Black Coffee
- Peril at End House
- Lord Edgware Dies
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Three Act Tragedy
- Death in the Clouds
- The A.B.C. Murders
- Murder in Mesopotamia
- Cards on the Table
- Murder in the Mews
- Dumb Witness
- Death on the Nile
- Appointment with Death
- Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
- Sad Cypress
- One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
- Evil Under the Sun
- Five Little Pigs
- The Hollow
- The Labours of Hercules
- Taken at the Flood
- The Under Dog and Other Stories
- Mrs McGinty’s Dead
- After the Funeral
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- Dead Man’s Folly
- Cat Among the Pigeons
- The Clocks
- Third Girl
- Hallowe’en Party
- Elephants Can Remember
- Poirot’s Early Cases
- Curtain
Hercule Poirot Books in Publication Order
1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
Poirot makes his first appearance when a wealthy woman is poisoned at Styles Court. The novel also introduces Captain Arthur Hastings and Inspector Japp, two important figures in Poirot’s world. This is the best starting point for anyone who wants to watch the series develop from the beginning.
2. The Murder on the Links (1923)
Poirot travels to France after receiving an urgent request for help, only to discover that his prospective client has already been murdered. Hastings returns as narrator, and the case places Poirot in competition with a French detective.
3. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
When Roger Ackroyd is found dead in his study, Poirot comes out of retirement to investigate the residents of a seemingly quiet English village. This is one of Christie’s most influential novels and one of my favorite Poirot mysteries.
4. The Big Four (1927)
This book gives Poirot a more international and action-driven case than readers usually encounter. Instead of solving a single country-house murder, he and Hastings confront a secret criminal organization.
5. The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
A wealthy American heiress is murdered aboard the luxurious Blue Train, and a valuable ruby disappears. Poirot must examine the victim’s troubled marriage, fellow passengers and the motives surrounding her fortune.
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6. Peril at End House (1932)
While vacationing on the Cornish coast, Poirot meets a young woman who appears to have survived several suspicious accidents. Convinced that someone is trying to kill her, he attempts to identify the culprit before the next attempt succeeds.
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7. Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
An actress asks Poirot to help her obtain a divorce from Lord Edgware. When Edgware is murdered and witnesses claim to have seen his wife at the scene, Poirot faces a case built around identity, performance and deception. The US title is Thirteen at Dinner.
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8. Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Poirot is traveling aboard the Orient Express when a passenger is stabbed to death and the train becomes trapped by snow. With the killer apparently still aboard, he must untangle the histories and alibis of an unforgettable group of suspects. Its snowbound setting makes it a useful example of a closed-circle mystery with a restricted suspect pool.
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9. Three Act Tragedy (1935)
A seemingly harmless guest dies during a dinner party, but there is no clear motive and no poison is found in his glass. A second death makes it clear that Poirot is dealing with a calculated killer. The novel was also published in the US as Murder in Three Acts.
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10. Death in the Clouds (1935)
A woman is murdered on a flight from Paris to London while Poirot is sitting only a few seats away. The confined setting and limited suspect pool make this an appealing choice for readers who enjoy locked-room-style mysteries. It has also appeared under the title Death in the Air.
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11. The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Poirot receives letters announcing murders before they occur, and the victims appear to have been selected alphabetically. I loved the ABC structure because it makes the investigation feel different from Christie’s typical country-house mystery.
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12. Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
At an archaeological dig in Iraq, a nurse is hired to care for a frightened woman who believes she is in danger. When that woman is killed, Poirot investigates a group isolated by professional rivalries and personal secrets.
13. Cards on the Table (1936)
The mysterious Mr. Shaitana invites four investigators and four people he suspects of getting away with murder to the same dinner party. When the host is killed during a game of bridge, Poirot knows that one of the four suspected murderers has struck again.
14. Dumb Witness (1937)
Poirot receives a delayed letter from an elderly woman who believed a recent fall was no accident. By the time he begins investigating, she is dead and her relatives are already focused on the inheritance. The US title is Poirot Loses a Client.
15. Death on the Nile (1937)
A glamorous honeymoon becomes a murder investigation during a Nile cruise. The exotic setting, complicated relationships and memorable solution have made this one of the most popular Hercule Poirot books.
16. Appointment With Death (1938)
Poirot encounters the deeply unhappy Boynton family while traveling in the Middle East. When its controlling matriarch is found dead near Petra, nearly everyone close to her appears to have a motive.
17. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (1938)
A wealthy and cruel patriarch summons his family home for Christmas, then is found murdered in a locked room. Despite the festive title, this is a tense family mystery filled with old resentments. It has also been published as Murder for Christmas and A Holiday for Murder. For more puzzles centered on seemingly impossible crimes, explore our best locked-room murder mysteries.
18. Sad Cypress (1940)
Elinor Carlisle stands accused of poisoning a romantic rival, and the evidence against her appears overwhelming. Poirot takes on the case to determine whether the obvious explanation is also the correct one.
19. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Poirot’s dentist is found dead after a routine appointment, leading the detective into a case involving politics, money and identity. American editions have used the titles The Patriotic Murders and An Overdose of Death.
20. Evil Under the Sun (1941)
A famous actress is murdered at a seaside resort where nearly every guest has been watching the beach. Poirot must determine how the killer committed a crime that seemed impossible to carry out unnoticed.
21. Five Little Pigs (1942)
Poirot reopens a murder case 16 years after a painter was poisoned and his wife was convicted of killing him. With little physical evidence left, he reconstructs the past through the memories of five witnesses. The book was published in the US as Murder in Retrospect.
22. The Hollow (1946)
Poirot arrives for lunch at a country house and discovers a man dying beside the swimming pool while his wife stands nearby holding a gun. The scene looks staged, but whether it was staged for Poirot is another question. The US title is Murder After Hours.
23. Taken at the Flood (1948)
After a wealthy man dies in an air raid, his surviving relatives learn that his young widow may inherit the family fortune. Rumors, resentment and a disputed identity draw Poirot into the conflict. The US title is There Is a Tide.
24. Mrs McGinty’s Dead (1952)
A lodger has been convicted of murdering his landlady, Mrs McGinty, but the investigating officer doubts that the right person is going to hang. Poirot searches a village full of secrets for the detail that could overturn the case.
25. After the Funeral (1953)
After a family patriarch’s funeral, his sister suggests that his death may not have been natural. Her own murder soon gives the remark new importance, and Poirot enters a case shaped by inheritance and family distrust. The US title is Funerals Are Fatal.
26. Hickory Dickory Dock (1955)
A series of unusual thefts at a student hostel initially appears trivial. Once the incidents escalate to murder, Poirot investigates the residents and the hidden connections inside the house. It was published in the US as Hickory Dickory Death.
27. Dead Man’s Folly (1956)
Crime novelist Ariadne Oliver asks Poirot to attend a village fête where she has designed a mock murder hunt. Her feeling that something is wrong proves justified when the fictional game becomes a real murder case.
28. Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)
Murder disrupts life at a prestigious girls’ school, where international intrigue and missing jewels are hiding beneath the orderly surface. Poirot enters relatively late, but his arrival brings the mystery’s many threads together.
29. The Clocks (1963)
A typist is sent to the wrong address and discovers a dead man surrounded by clocks. Poirot initially works from the facts gathered by others, treating the mystery as a challenge to his belief that careful reasoning can solve a case without visiting the scene.
30. Third Girl (1966)
A young woman tells Poirot that she may have committed a murder, then disappears before explaining what happened. With help from Ariadne Oliver, Poirot tries to determine whether a crime occurred and why the woman doubts her own memory.
31. Hallowe’en Party (1969)
At a children’s Halloween party, a girl boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When she is later found dead, Ariadne Oliver brings Poirot into a disturbing case involving secrets from the past.
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32. Elephants Can Remember (1972)
Ariadne Oliver is asked about a decades-old tragedy involving the parents of her goddaughter. She turns to Poirot, and together they question people whose long memories may contain the truth.
33. Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (1975)
Poirot and Hastings return to Styles, the setting of their first published case, to confront a killer unlike any they have faced before. Although Christie wrote Curtain decades earlier, it was deliberately published as Poirot’s final novel. Read this one last because it concludes his story.
Hercule Poirot Short-Story Collections in Order
Readers who want every Poirot case should add these collections to their list. Contents can vary between UK and US editions, and some collections repeat stories found in other volumes, so check the table of contents before buying multiple editions.
- Poirot Investigates (1924)
- Murder in the Mews (1937) — four novella-length cases
- The Labours of Hercules (1947) — 12 connected cases inspired by the labors of Hercules
- The Under Dog and Other Stories (1951) — a US collection containing previously published Poirot stories
- Poirot’s Early Cases (1974)
The official Agatha Christie website also offers a Poirot short-story catalog and downloadable reading list, which is useful when comparing editions.
Does Black Coffee Count as a Hercule Poirot Novel?
Not as one of the 33 novels written by Agatha Christie. Black Coffee began as a Christie stage play that premiered in 1930. Charles Osborne later adapted the play into a novel, published in 1998. It features Poirot and can be added as a bonus read, but it should not be credited as an original Christie novel.
Do You Need to Read the Poirot Books in Order?
You do not have to read most Hercule Poirot books in order. Christie designed the majority of the mysteries as self-contained cases, and readers can understand them without knowing everything that happened earlier.
Publication order is still my recommendation for a complete read-through. It lets you meet Poirot, Hastings and Japp in their original context and see how Christie’s approach changes across more than five decades. Two books deserve special treatment: start with The Mysterious Affair at Styles if you want Poirot’s proper introduction, and save Curtain for the very end.
Where Should a Beginner Start With Hercule Poirot?
There are three especially good ways to begin:
- Start with the first book: Choose The Mysterious Affair at Styles for the full publication-order experience.
- Start with the most famous mystery: Choose Murder on the Orient Express for the iconic setting and suspect lineup.
- Start with one of Christie’s boldest puzzles: Choose The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to see why Christie transformed the mystery genre.
I would also recommend The A.B.C. Murders to readers who prefer a faster, serial-killer-style structure, while Death on the Nile is ideal for anyone drawn to destination mysteries and complicated personal relationships.
My Favorite Hercule Poirot Books So Far
Choosing one favorite is difficult. Murder on the Orient Express remains one of my all-time favorite Christie novels, but it faces strong competition from The A.B.C. Murders and Death on the Nile. All three show a different side of the series: an enclosed mystery with an unforgettable solution, an unusually structured pursuit and a character-driven murder in a striking setting.
I have not chosen a least favorite yet. With 33 novels and numerous short stories, some cases will inevitably work better for me than others. I will keep updating this guide as I continue my goal of reading every Hercule Poirot novel.
What About Sophie Hannah’s Hercule Poirot Books?
Sophie Hannah writes officially authorized continuation novels featuring Poirot. Her series began with The Monogram Murders in 2014—not 2013—and has since expanded to six books, most recently The Last Death of the Year in 2025. The official Agatha Christie site lists Hannah’s continuation novels in publication order.
Those books are not part of the 33 Poirot novels written by Christie, so I have not included them in the main order. They are an optional next step for readers who finish the originals and want new mysteries featuring the detective.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first Hercule Poirot book?
The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, is the first Hercule Poirot novel. It also introduces Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp.
What is the last Hercule Poirot book?
Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case is the final Poirot novel and should be read last. It was published in 1975, shortly before Agatha Christie’s death in 1976.
Are all Hercule Poirot books connected?
Most Poirot novels tell independent mysteries. Recurring characters and small continuity details connect parts of the series, but readers can enjoy almost any individual case on its own.
Did Agatha Christie write 39 Poirot novels?
No. Christie wrote 33 Poirot novels. Higher totals generally include short-story collections or the later Black Coffeenovelization.
Should I read the short stories between the novels?
You can, but it is not necessary. For the simplest complete reading plan, read the 33 novels in publication order and explore the short-story collections separately.
Conclusion
Reading the Hercule Poirot books in order is a long adventure, but that is part of the appeal. Across the series, Christie takes Poirot from English country houses and London streets to luxury trains, archaeological digs, airplanes and cruises on the Nile. The settings change, but his confidence in logic, psychology and the little grey cells remains constant.
I enjoyed reading the Miss Marple novels, but Poirot’s cases have a different energy that makes them difficult to put down. His friendships with Hastings, Japp and Ariadne Oliver add continuity while the mysteries remain welcoming to new readers.
If you want to read every case, begin with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, follow the 33 novels in publication order and finish with Curtain. If you only want to sample the best-known books first, Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The A.B.C. Murders and Death on the Nile are excellent places to start.
For more Christie recommendations, read our guide to the best Agatha Christie books.
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