New to the wonderful world of Agatha Christie? Not sure where to start? Read on for some recommendations from across her canon, from creepy Marple novels and classic Poirot mystery…
Which Agatha Christie novels to start with: Top Agatha Christie books
The Bostonians by Henry James (1886)
Henry James is a genius of social dynamics, which is evident in this classic, yet lesser-appreciated, novel that looks at politics, social class, and the ever-evolving “Woman Question”. First coming…
Meurtre au Champagne (Sparkling Cyanide) by Agatha Christie (Book review)
It was really fun to read this Agatha Christie in French! And the title was also beautifully translated….. This book has one of my fave Agatha Christie tropes: murder in…
Debout les morts by Fred Vargas (Book review)
I have to say, I love Fred Vargas. She’s one of my favourite French crime writers because of how she blends history with crime and mystery so effortlessly. These books…
Lullaby by Leïla Slimani (Book review)
This had been on my tbr for a while: I remember it making quite a splash when it first came out. And part of the reading experience was finally seeing…
Otages by Nina Bouraoui (Book review)
Pictured: reading in Montmartre with an iconic black cat in the vicinity. I picked up this slim French novel a while ago. When I started reading, I realised it was…
Flesh by David Szalay (Book review)
This book is really well written and I finished it quite quickly, but it also left me feeling a bit empty. There’s a bluntness to the narrative and a lack…
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Review)
I get the hype with this one: I read this pretty quickly & it’s not a short book! Set during the 1962-3 UK Big Freeze in a village outside Bristol,…
Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh (Book review)
This debut novel by Chukwuebuka Ibeh is a rewarding read; I devoured it and enjoyed discussing it at book club. It’s a layered queer/family story about a boy, Obiefuna, who…
I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There by Róisín Lanigan (Review)
This book is pitched as a millennial horror story about today’s bankrupt rental landscape. And I could definitely relate to much of the shit landlord and substandard housing chat in…
Murder of a Lady: A Scottish Mystery by Anthony Wynne (Review)
I picked up this book because I’d recently visited the Scottish Highlands, and I was in the mood for a classic murder mystery set in that landscape. And indeed, some…
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
A stunning debut from 2016, this vast multigenerational epic starts in the 18th century in the Asante kingdom, and follows the descendants of one woman. You have one family line…
Felicia’s Journey by William Trevor
A new discovery for me, Trevor won the Whitbread three times and was shortlisted for the Booker prize five times, so I am clearly late to the game! He comes…
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
I’ve been on a bit of a Muriel Spark binge, and Memento Mori is a great classic one to read! It’s a thriller that examines death and ageing, but in…
Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda
The premise of the book states that this is a story about two people, spending the night together (awake) in an empty apartment before they say goodbye, and both of…
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
This book is a bit of a head-fuck, and not necessarily in a bad way. It’s the kind of book that leaves you low-key thinking, what the actual fuck is…
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth
A sultry book about first love, desire, and growing up in a small Irish community. What happens in your bones and your heart when you’re with a person? If there’s…
Mrs. S by K.Patrick
This is a sultry summery novel, a weird one to read at the end of the year, but one that I found myself enjoying a lot! Good prose and premise…
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
What a fun Hercule Poirot story this was! From 1937, we have a “Victorian” lady who is being visited by younger relatives. They want her money, but she’s not going…
Not to Disturb by Muriel Spark
This was such a great little book! My second Muriel Spark of recent times, this is the sort of book where you just sort of let the story and the…
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
This is a fun and engaging read. It feels very Victorian, very Collins, very seasonal sensation somehow! This is a fireside fright told by the flickering fire with a hot…
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman, trans. Ros Schwartz
Honestly, I was surprised by how quiet and peaceful this novel felt to me. I think all the marketing around “women trapped in cages” and the dystopian label had led…
A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
I read A Pocket Full of Rye during a pretty stressful time of year, and as always, Christie delivered as a comfort read. This Miss Marple novel has a particularly…
Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
I really enjoyed reading this book, and pairing it with the corresponding “Swinging Christie’s” @christie_time podcast episode about it made the experience even more interesting, plus I also watched the recent Kenneth…
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor trans. Sophie Hughes
This book is so visceral that it almost leaves a taste in your mouth: the metallic taste of blood most likely…. Violent and taut, it’s a book that is nevertheless…
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Such a beautiful short book: I am glad I listened to the hype on this one. A book about youthful hopes and dreams, it’s also an elegiac tale about changing…
By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
This book made for a cozy, seasonal experience: all mystery, atmosphere, and a touch of the uncanny with a soupçon of the ridiculous. I actually think the Tommy and Tuppence…
The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
This is such an intriguing and quietly powerful mid-century murder novel. Despite having inspired hit film adaptations and earning praise from Raymond Chandler, it still seems to have flown under…
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
This was an intense but good read, Shakespearean/ mythical in its portrayal of sibling conflict and prophecy in an Igbo family. We’re in Akure in the 1990s and Ikenna, the…
A Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell
This is a more obscure Orwell read, one that he himself and critics found lacking, but I really enjoyed this. Dorothy is daughter of a curmudgeonly Anglican rector, and the…
After Leaving Mr Mackenzie by Jean Rhys
This is a bleak novel about precarious survival in big cities, perfect for this time of year. Despite the bleakness, the beautiful prose of Rhys carries you through this narrative…
A Separation by Katie Kitamura
Taut and engaging, this reminds me of the sparse and emotionally direct prose of Rachel Cusk and Deborah Levy, with a thriller edge. Really glad I picked this up to…
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
This book had some uneven qualities for me, but it turned out to be a surprisingly apt seasonal read, blending humour with a creeping darkness. On one hand, parts of…
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Felt like an obvious September pick, but this wasn’t the effortless read I expected. I’ve enjoyed Bowen before, yet I found myself wading through a slightly disjointed narrative, with many…
Howards End by E.M. Forster
This work cements Forster’s ability to capture emotional truths within their wider social context. Love, jealousy, friendship, and suspicion are never free-floating, but shaped and refracted through history, class, and…
A Mind To Murder by P.D James
This was a fun #spinsterseptember read where both the victim and some suspects fit the spinster description! Spinsters plus murder make for a fun read. What happens when an unpopular medical…
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
This novel was not what I expected: I had imagined something closer to a memoir or a journalistic exploration of post-civil war Sri Lanka. Instead, A Passage North is a…
All That is Left of Life by Roberta Recchia (Review)
Translated superbly by Antonella Lettieri, this 2025 Italian novel by Roberta Recchia is a winner. Tutta la vita che resta came out in 2024, and it’s great to see this…
Beast in View by Margaret Millar
From 1955, this Hollywood psychological thriller won the 1956 Edgar Allan Poe award, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a horror thriller with a creepy and oppressive feel. Helen…
Strong Poison by D.L. Sayers
Iconic, sarcastic, totally over the top as only a 1930s aristocratic sleuth can be, this is the novel where Lord Peter Wimsey meets his match, Harriet Vane (though Harriet will…
Meridian by Alice Walker
Beautiful prose, tough subjects, challenging perspectives. This Civil Rights movement and Bildungsroman collide in the figure of determined and independent Meridian. Meridian is drawn to the Civil Rights movement; we…
Murder at Mt. Fuji by Shizuko Natsuki
Another great read for Women in Translation Month! This book from 1982 hooked me and I finished it super quickly. I really enjoyed it. It’s a classic murder mystery thriller…
Acts of Infidelity by Lena Andersson (Review)
This was a book that I loved, but the main character is one that will try your patience! I actually didn’t realise it was the second book of a series…
Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai
Formally experimental at times, this book is a beautiful stream of consciousness narrative of a Tokyo housewife. Her “ladies who lunch” group and their rivalries, her neighbours and their dramas,…
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
This book calls out our generation hard! Confronting in a good way, it peaks into the world of creatives who move from city to city, digital nomad style, and who…
Tilt by Emma Pattee
I love a debut novel that focuses on one intense day like this. Interspersed with some interesting flashbacks, we are basically in the head of Annie, who is heavily pregnant,…
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
I feel a sense of inadequacy when it comes to reviewing this as it’s just such an intense, violent, visceral, but also hypnotic and compelling book. Lilith is a slave…
The Secret House of Death by Ruth Rendell
I loved reading this: I feel like well-paced thrillers are my summer jam. Imagine a boring London suburb with boring roadworks. Now, add some curtain twitching, infidelity, divorce, fear, and…
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
This is a recent debut novel from Irish writer, Ferdia Lennon, and it deservedly caused a stir! It’s a punchy, humorous, but also, gruesome and devastating telling of what happened…
Voices in the Evening by Natalia Ginzburg
Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991): Anti-fascist writer Natalia Ginzburg is everywhere at the minute: it’s great to see her work getting recognition as more of her work is being translated. This slim…