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Canon of Hercule Poirot books in order

Agatha Christie

Canon of Hercule Poirot is a series of 38 books by Agatha Christie: 9,873 pages in the 35 with a known length, about 181 hours of reading. Shown in the numbered order.

38
books
9,873
pages in 35 of them
181 hours
to read those 35
362 days
at 30 minutes a day
1 The Mysterious Affair at Styles 1920 3.8 h 2 Murder on the Links 1923 4.1 h 3 Poirot Investigates 1924 3.5 h 4 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1926 4.7 h The Big Four 1927 4.1 h 6 The Mystery of the Blue Train 1928 4.7 h Peril at End House 1932 4.1 h
Lord Edgware Dies 1933 length not known
9 Murder on the Orient Express 1934 4.4 h Three Act Tragedy 1934 4.4 h Death in the Clouds 1935 4.7 h 13 The A.B.C. Murders 1936 4.3 h 14 Cards on the Table 1936 4.3 h Murder in Mesopotamia 1936 4.7 h 16 Death on the Nile 1937 5.2 h 17 Dead Man's Mirror 1937 4.7 h Dumb Witness 1937 4.8 h 18 Appointment with Death 1938 4.1 h Hercule Poirot's Christmas 1938 4.1 h 21 Sad Cypress 1940 4.4 h
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe 1940 length not known
23 Evil Under the Sun 1941 4.1 h 24 Five Little Pigs 1942 4.4 h The Hollow 1946 4.7 h
Taken at the Flood 1948 length not known
After the Funeral 1953 4.5 h Dead Man's Folly 1956 4.1 h 29 The Mousetrap and Other Plays 1978 12.1 h 30 The Under Dog and Other Stories 1926 4.1 h 31 Mrs McGinty's Dead 1952 4.3 h 33 Hickory Dickory Dock 1955 4.0 h 35 Cat Among the Pigeons 1959 24.5 h 36 The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding 1960 4.6 h 38 The Clocks 1963 4.7 h 39 Third Girl 1966 4.7 h 40 Hallowe'en Party 1969 4.6 h 41 Elephants Can Remember 1972 4.4 h 42 Curtain 1975 4.4 h

Bar height shows length. Books without a number have no number in our records.

The books

  1. 1

    The Mysterious Affair at Styles 1920 3.8 h

    Set in the summer of 1917 in an Essex country estate, the story follows the war-wounded Captain Arthur Hastings to the Styles St. Mary manor of his friend John Cavendish.

  2. 2

    Murder on the Links 1923 4.1 h

    Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is summoned to France after receiving a distressing letter with a urgent cry for help.

  3. 3

    Poirot Investigates 1924 3.5 h

  4. 4

    The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1926 4.7 h

    Belgian Inspector Hercule Poirot has retired to the countryside in the small English village of King's Abbot.

  5. The Big Four 1927 4.1 h

    They are a vicious international quartet of criminals known as "The Big Four".

  6. 6

    The Mystery of the Blue Train 1928 4.7 h

    Bound for the Riviera, detective Hercule Poirot has boarded Le Train Bleu, an elegant, leisurely means of travel, free of intrigue.

  7. Peril at End House 1932 4.1 h

    Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckley.

  8. Lord Edgware Dies 1933 length not known

  9. 9

    Murder on the Orient Express 1934 4.4 h

    While en route from Syria to Paris, in the middle of a freezing winter's night, the Orient Express is stopped dead in its tracks by a snowdrift.

  10. Three Act Tragedy 1934 4.4 h

    Sir Charles Cartwright should have known better than to allow thirteen guests to sit down for dinner.

  11. Death in the Clouds 1935 4.7 h

    From seat number nine, Hercule Poirot is almost ideally placed to observe his fellow air travelers on this short flight from Paris to London.

  12. 13

    The A.B.C. Murders 1936 4.3 h

    There's a serial killer on the loose, bent on working his way though the alphabet.

  13. 14

    Cards on the Table 1936 4.3 h

    It was the match-up of the century: four sleuths--Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard; Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, famed writer of detective stories; Col.

  14. Murder in Mesopotamia 1936 4.7 h

    Nurse Amy Leatheran had never felt the lure of the ‘mysterious East,’ but she nonetheless accepts an assignment at Hassanieh, an ancient site deep in the Iraqi desert, to care for…

  15. 16

    Death on the Nile 1937 5.2 h

    The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway ( Linnet Doyle) had been shot through the head.

  16. 17

    Dead Man's Mirror 1937 4.7 h

    Three Christie novellas from the '30s: Dead Man's Mirror, Murder in the Mews, and Triangle at Rhodes.

  17. Dumb Witness 1937 4.8 h

    Emily Arundel changed her will only days before her death, and Hercule Poirot must "determine which of the victim's disgruntled relatives did not have a motive for murder."--Cover.

  18. 18

    Appointment with Death 1938 4.1 h

    Agatha Christie set this book in Jerusalem.

  19. Hercule Poirot's Christmas 1938 4.1 h

    On the night before Christmas, cruel, tyrannical, filthy rich Simeon Lee is found in his locked bedroom with his throat cut.

  20. 21

    Sad Cypress 1940 4.4 h

    Cousins by marriage and lovers by inclination, Roddy and Elinor were the ideal match.

  21. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe 1940 length not known

  22. 23

    Evil Under the Sun 1941 4.1 h

    Set at the Jolly Roger, a posh vacation resort for the rich and famous on the southern coast of England, Evil Under the Sun is one of Agatha Christie’s most intriguing mysteries.

  23. 24

    Five Little Pigs 1942 4.4 h

    Sixteen years after Caroline Crale has been convicted of the murder of her husband, Amyas Crale, her daughter, Carla Lemarchant, approaches Poirot to investigate the case.

  24. The Hollow 1946 4.7 h

    E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on The Hollow;2) "The Poirots": the complete guide to all the cases of the great Belgian detective.

  25. Taken at the Flood 1948 length not known

  26. After the Funeral 1953 4.5 h

    When Cora is savagely murdered with a hatchet, the extraordinary remark she made the previous day at her brother Richard's funeral suddenly takes on a chilling significance.

  27. Dead Man's Folly 1956 4.1 h

    Whilst organising a mock murder hunt for the village fete hosted by Sir George and Lady Stubbs, a feeling of dread settles on the famous crime novelist Adriane Oliver.

  28. 29

    The Mousetrap and Other Plays 1978 12.1 h

    Table of Contents 1. Ten Little Indians 2. Appointment With Death 3. The Hollow 4. The Mousetrap 5. Witness for the Prosecution 6. Towards Zero 7. Verdict 8. Go Back for Murder

  29. 30

    The Under Dog and Other Stories 1926 4.1 h

    Indomitable detective Hercule Poirot is pitted against nine cunning adversaries in nine tales of murder, deception, terror, disappearance, and suspense, including "The Plymouth…

  30. 31

    Mrs McGinty's Dead 1952 4.3 h

    Poirot, disillusioned by the "senseless cruel brutality" of modern crime, pays no attention to the sad case of Mrs McGinty, an old woman apparently struck dead by her lodger for…

  31. 33

    Hickory Dickory Dock 1955 4.0 h

    Normally, a mere outbreak of petty thefts in a youth hostel wouldn't be enough to interest the great detective Hercule Poirot.

  32. 35

    Cat Among the Pigeons 1959 24.5 h

  33. 36

    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding 1960 4.6 h

    First came a sinister warning to Poirot not to eat any plum pudding...then the discovery of a corpse in a chest...next, an overheard quarrel that led to murder...the strange case…

  34. 38

    The Clocks 1963 4.7 h

    Sheila Webb, typist-for-hire, has arrived at 19 Wilbraham Crescent in the seaside town of Crowdean to accept a new job.

  35. 39

    Third Girl 1966 4.7 h

    Three young women share a London flat.

  36. 40

    Hallowe'en Party 1969 4.6 h

    Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver has been invited to a Hallowe’en party at Woodleigh Common.

  37. 41

    Elephants Can Remember 1972 4.4 h

    E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on Elephants Can Remember;2) "The Poirots": the complete guide to all the cases of the great Belgian…

  38. 42

    Curtain 1975 4.4 h

    wheelchair-bound Poirot returns to Styles, the venue of his first investigation, where he knows another murder is going to take place… The house guests at Styles seemed perfectly…

How much is left

After book 1, The Mysterious Affair at Styles about 177 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After book 2, Murder on the Links about 173 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After book 3, Poirot Investigates about 170 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After book 4, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd about 165 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After The Big Four about 161 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After book 6, The Mystery of the Blue Train about 156 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After Peril at End House about 152 hours left, not counting 3 books of unknown length
After Lord Edgware Dies about 152 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 9, Murder on the Orient Express about 148 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After Three Act Tragedy about 143 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After Death in the Clouds about 138 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 13, The A.B.C. Murders about 134 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 14, Cards on the Table about 130 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After Murder in Mesopotamia about 125 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 16, Death on the Nile about 120 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 17, Dead Man's Mirror about 115 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After Dumb Witness about 111 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 18, Appointment with Death about 106 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After Hercule Poirot's Christmas about 102 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After book 21, Sad Cypress about 98 hours left, not counting 2 books of unknown length
After One, Two, Buckle My Shoe about 98 hours left, not counting 1 book of unknown length
After book 23, Evil Under the Sun about 94 hours left, not counting 1 book of unknown length
After book 24, Five Little Pigs about 89 hours left, not counting 1 book of unknown length
After The Hollow about 85 hours left, not counting 1 book of unknown length
After Taken at the Flood about 85 hours left
After After the Funeral about 80 hours left
After Dead Man's Folly about 76 hours left
After book 29, The Mousetrap and Other Plays about 64 hours left
After book 30, The Under Dog and Other Stories about 60 hours left
After book 31, Mrs McGinty's Dead about 56 hours left
After book 33, Hickory Dickory Dock about 52 hours left
After book 35, Cat Among the Pigeons about 27 hours left
After book 36, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding about 23 hours left
After book 38, The Clocks about 18 hours left
After book 39, Third Girl about 13 hours left
After book 40, Hallowe'en Party about 9 hours left
After book 41, Elephants Can Remember about 4 hours left

Reading the whole series

About 181 hours

35 of 38 books, 9,873 pages. Estimated at 250 words a minute.

362 days (about 52 weeks) at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.