Reading order
| # | Title | Year | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Mysterious Affair at Styles | 1920 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 2 | The Murder on the Links | 1923 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 3 | Poirot Investigates | 1924 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 4 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | 1926 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 5 | The Big Four | 1927 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 6 | The Mystery of the Blue Train | 1928 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 7 | Peril at End House | 1932 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 8 | Lord Edgware Dies | 1933 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 9 | Murder on the Orient Express | 1934 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 10 | Three Act Tragedy | 1934 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 11 | Death in the Clouds | 1935 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 12 | The A.B.C. Murders | 1936 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 13 | Murder in Mesopotamia | 1936 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 14 | Cards on the Table | 1936 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 15 | Dumb Witness | 1937 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 16 | Death on the Nile | 1937 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 17 | Murder in the Mews | 1937 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 18 | Appointment with Death | 1938 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 19 | Hercule Poirot’s Christmas | 1938 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 20 | Sad Cypress | 1940 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 21 | One, Two, Buckle My Shoe | 1940 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 22 | Evil Under the Sun | 1941 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 23 | Five Little Pigs | 1942 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 24 | The Hollow | 1946 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 25 | The Labours of Hercules | 1947 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 26 | Taken at the Flood | 1948 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 27 | Mrs McGinty’s Dead | 1952 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 28 | After the Funeral | 1953 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 29 | Hickory Dickory Dock | 1955 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 30 | Dead Man’s Folly | 1956 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 31 | Cat Among the Pigeons | 1959 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 32 | The Clocks | 1963 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 33 | Third Girl | 1966 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 34 | Hallowe’en Party | 1969 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 35 | Elephants Can Remember | 1972 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 36 | Poirot’s Early Cases | 1974 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
| 37 | Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case | 1975 | Agatha Christie | Buy |
Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous and long-lived fictional characters of all time. Created by Agatha Christie, the Belgian detective appeared in 33 novels, two plays, and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.
Poirot is known for his fastidious appearance, his obsession with order and method, and his brilliant mind. He often disparages more traditional detective methods, such as looking for physical clues on hands and knees, preferring instead to sit and use his “little grey cells” to solve the mystery through psychological insight and logical deduction.
The series is mostly set in the “Golden Age” of detective fiction, often featuring high-society settings, country house weekends, and a wide cast of suspects. While many of the stories are standalone mysteries, several recurring characters appear, including his friend Captain Arthur Hastings, his valet Georges, and the novelist Ariadne Oliver (a self-parody of Christie herself).
The publication order is the standard way to read the series. Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case was written during World War II but kept in a safe for over thirty years, only published at the end of Christie’s life to serve as the definitive conclusion to Poirot’s career.