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Home > Bibliographies > Minibibliographies > Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot Mysteries by Agatha Christie
Content last modified November 1991
All over the world, in almost every modern language, mystery fans know the familiar figures of Agatha Christie's famous sleuths Miss Jane Marple and detective Hercule Poirot. Close to eighty, tall and thin with "china-blue eyes," Miss Marple is the proper English gentlewoman, but with a penchant for gossip. Poirot, on the other hand, is a short, little man with a waxed and twirled moustache who fled to England from his native Belgium during the World War I. Apart from physical appearance and nationality, Christie's two sleuths have much in common: both are exceptions, detectives sharing an acute sense of human nature and remarkable power of reasoning. These traits contribute to their unfailing success in unraveling one complex mystery case after another.
The exploits of these two detectives have not been confined to novels alone. Their popularity has led to the filming, broadcasting, and staging of their pursuits.
Following are lists, in order by original date of publication, of English-language books featuring Jane Marple or Hercule Poirot. The dates of publication are drawn from the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, edited by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler, and from Robert Barnard's Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie. Collections featuring both characters are listed under both. Several of the books were published under more than one title--generally a British-edition title and one or more American-edition titles. In such cases, book numbers are listed under only one title and the other title(s) are given following the statement: "Also published as..." All of the books are available from NLS network library collections.
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
In the peaceful village of St. Mary Mead, Colonel Protheroe, the churchwarden, is discovered shot through the head in the vicarage study. Everybody has ideas about who did it--including Miss Jane Marple, the village spinster, who knows everything. When two people confess to the killing, shrewd Miss Marple points out that there are several other possibilities.
RD 14915
The Body in the Library (1942)
The body of a dancing hostess from a seaside resort turns up in the library of a married colonel. Miss Marple is her customary canny self while helping the local police to find the killer.
RC 15312
BR 3687
The Moving Finger (1942)
In the quiet village of Lymstock everyone seems to be receiving mysterious, threatening letters. When suicide and murder follow, the police begin their investigation. But it takes the special expertise of Miss Jane Marple not only to save an innocent person but to nab the fiend.
RC 12151
A Murder Is Announced (1950)
A tale of blackmail and murder in an English village with Inspector Craddock and Miss Marple doing the detecting.
BRA 2901
"Three Blind Mice" and Other Stories (1950)
Also published as The Mousetrap. One novelette and eight short stories featuring either Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.
RC 20610
BR 4992
What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! (1950)
Also published as 4:50 from Paddington and Murder She Said. With the assistance of a young woman to do the leg work, Miss Marple solves the mystery of a murder seen from a passing train.
RD 6008
They Do it with Mirrors (1952)
Also published as Murder with Mirrors. Two hundred juvenile delinquents are no problem at all for Miss Marple--at least not compared with the half dozen members of a wealthy family who are intimately connected with murder.
RC 12612
RD 11219
BRA 15666
A Pocket Full of Rye (1953)
When a man is poisoned in his office, Miss Marple does the detecting.
RC 27878
Greenshaw's Folly (1960)
In her characteristically calm matter, Miss Marple finds and solves a murder on her doorstep.
BRA 18136
"Double Sin" and Other Stories (1961)
Eight short mysteries in which Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot face eerie challenges and achieve unforgettable solutions.
BR 3460
BRA 8673
Thirteen for Luck: A Selection of Mystery Stories for Young Readers (1961)
Thirteen short stories featuring some of the author's fictional sleuths, including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
RC 25040
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1962)
Also published as The Mirror Crack'd. Miss Marple solves a murder at Grossington Hall.
RC 21400
BRA 12246
A Caribbean Mystery (1964)
Miss Marple, vacationing on a Caribbean island, is listening to a major who is suddenly interrupted as he is about to show her a photograph of a murderer he has known. The next day the major dies suspiciously, and several murders occur before Miss Marple remembers the detail that helps solve the mystery.
RD 13862
BR 4312
At Bertram's Hotel (1965)
The hotel of the title, which Miss Marple knew as a girl, is still a marvel of Edwardian elegance and conservatism--but with a disturbing off-color touch of something new.
RC 10039
BR 339
Thirteen Clues for Miss Marple: A Collection of Mystery Stories (1966)
A dozen mystery stories drawn from the author's previous books.
BRA 3608
Nemesis (1971)
Miss Marple receives a letter from a wealthy businessman whom she knew briefly and whose death she has recently read about. His letter gives the code word "Nemesis" and states that he will bequeath a large sum of money to her if she will investigate a certain crime.
BR 1884
Sleeping Murder (1976)
In her last case Miss Marple warns a charming couple from New Zealand not to pry into the details of an old murder, but they are determined to solve the macabre puzzle.
RC 9960
RD 9960
BR 3320
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
The author's first novel, this mystery concerns the murder of a wealthy old woman and Hercule Poirot's efforts to wade through numerous red herrings before finding the real culprit.
BRA 4779
Murder on the Links (1923)
Millionaire P.T. Renauld urgently summons Hercule Poirot to his estate. When the detective arrives, however, he finds that the millionaire has been brutally murdered on his private golf course, and Poirot is left with only a few scant clues to the murderer's identity.
RD 18258
Poirot Investigates (1924)
A collection of detective stories featuring Hercule Poirot. Contents: "The Adventures of the Western Star," "The Tragedy at Marsdon," "The Adventures of the Cheap Flat," "The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge," "A Million-Dollar Bond Robbery," "The Adventure of an Egyptian Tomb."
RC 9391
BR 4001
Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
Roger Ackroyd is murdered one night, under particularly perplexing circumstances. Suspicion centers on his stepson, who has a motive. Hercule Poirot handles the case skillfully.
RC 10641
BRA 7673
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
Wealthy Rufus Van Aldin gives his spoiled, beloved daughter a priceless necklace of rubies containing the famous "Heart of Fire" stone. When she is found murdered on the blue train with her jewels stolen, Poirot enters the case.
RC 11573
Peril at End House (1932)
Though Hercule Poirot has plenty of suspects for three near-fatal attempts on the life of Miss Nick Buckley, none of them seems to have a motive. Poirot must find a motive quickly if he is to foil the would-be killer.
RC 12344
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Also published as Thirteen at Dinner. Hercule Poirot is enjoying a pleasant little supper party as the guest of Lady Edgware when he hears her say that she would like to get rid of her husband, who refuses to give her a divorce. Within twenty-four hours Lord Edgware is dead, and Poirot's skills are put to immediate use.
RD 15556
Murder in Three Acts (1934)
Also published as Three Act Tragedy. Hercule Poirot is invited to a dinner party where a clergyman falls victim to a cunning murder and a brilliant doctor meets an insane end.
RC 11655
BRA 4146
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Also published as Murder in the Calais Coach. Hercule Poirot is puzzled by the fact that all the people aboard the Orient Express had a perfectly good reason to kill a mysterious man who was traveling under an alias.
RD 6161
BR 2922
BRA 3594
Death in the Air (1935)
Also published as Death in the Clouds. Who would want to kill a little old lady like Madame Giselle? The answer soon becomes clear as Hercule Poirot delves into her past and discovers that she was a blackmailer, a money-lender, and more.
RD 18206
BRA 3581
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Letters of warning are signed "A.B.C." It appears that detective Hercule Poirot's homicidal pen-pal is well on his way to completing the alphabet with twenty-six murders.
RD 8421
Cards on the Table (1936)
Five people in one room, four of them absorbed in a game of bridge and the fifth sitting quietly by the fire with a steel dagger in his heart--four suspects, and any of them might have committed the crime. Hercule Poirot heads the investigation in which the psychology of four bridge players is used to determine which one of them is the most likely killer.
RD 17586
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Hercule Poirot becomes involved in some Middle East archaeological explorations as he investigates the mysterious death of a woman in a room no murderer could possibly enter.
BR 4387
Dead Man's Mirror (1937)
Also published as Murder in the Mews. Four novellas featuring Hercule Poirot.
BRA 7378
Death on the Nile (1937)
A tiny, round bullet hole interrupts what seems to be the perfect honeymoon, and not even the great Hercule Poirot can work fast enough to prevent the murderer from striking again.
RC 12724
BR 3963
Dumb Witness (1937)
Also published as Poirot Loses a Client. When Hercule Poirot discovers the truth of the dog's ball incident, he is convinced that Emily Arundell did not die from natural causes. Among the suspects thought to be responsible for the death of this rich spinster are the slightly wanton Theresa, her spendthrift brother Charles, and her meek companion Miss Lawson.
RC 13992
RD 13992
BRA 8628
Appointment with Death (1938)
Detective Poirot searches Jerusalem for clues to the murder of a vacationing American mother who, according to some unusual evidence, was planning to kill her entire family.
BRA 10313
IC-BPH (CIL 62)RC
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Also published as Murder for Christmas and as A Holiday for Murder. As the holiday guest of Colonel Johnson, chief constable of his county, the little Belgian detective spends his Christmas investigating the brutal and baffling murder of rich, eccentric old Simeon Lee.
RD 13879
BRA 4292
An Overdose of Death (1940)
Also published as One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and as The Patriotic Murders. When his dentist is murdered, Detective Poirot vows to solve the case. The alarming number of suspects (all patients) includes a powerful millionaire, a madcap actress, a repulsive secret agent, and a beautiful young heiress.
RD 15643
BRA 9165
Sad Cypress (1940)
Elinor Carlise stands accused of murdering her aunt, a sensually beautiful young woman, out of jealousy. Amid a battle over the dead aunt's fortune, detective Hercule Poirot investigates the secret pasts of all possible suspects and nearly becomes a third victim of the killer.
RC 15089
RD 15089
BRA 17241
Evil under the Sun (1941)
Glamorous Arlena Marshall, vacationing with husband and stepdaughter in a hotel on Smuggler's Island, is found strangled to death. The famous Belgian detective finds that at least six of the other hotel guests had motives for the murder, but his usual faultless reasoning eventually discovers the murderer along with some surprises.
RD 13854
BR 4135
BRA 7713
Five Little Pigs (1942)
Also published as Murder in Retrospect. A young girl pleads with Hercule Poirot to prove the innocence of her dead mother, who was convicted sixteen years earlier of murdering the mother's husband, a famous artist. Poirot accepts the challenge and solves one of his most complicated cases.
RD 11503
BRA 8858
The Hollow (1946)
Also published as Murder after Hours. Death is no laughing matter, especially at a luncheon party in an English country house. When Poirot finds a handsome young man on the edge of the swimming pool with blood dripping into the water, he thinks his hostess is staging a 'murder' for his benefit. But he soon realizes the man is really dying.
RD 14139
The Labors of Hercules (1947)
A visit by Dr. Burton and conversation on the classics lead Poirot to the idea of a modern "Labors of Hercules." He decides to undertake twelve cases that have a special reference to the twelve labors of the ancient Hercules. Each case appears to be more baffling than the last.
RC 18954
BRA 13845
There Is a Tide (1948)
Also published as Taken at the Flood. Because Hercule Poirot arrives too late to head off the fate of a rich and beautiful young widow, he is left with the task of solving a maddening and macabre mystery.
RD 11283
"Three Blind Mice" and Other Stories (1950)
Also published as The Mousetrap. One novelette and eight short stories featuring either Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple.
RC 20610
BR 4992
"The Underdog" and Other Stories (1951)
In these short stories detective Hercule Poirot matches wits and nerves with nine of the most fearsome foes he has ever had to hunt.
RC 12057
Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952)
Mrs. McGinty, who lived alone in a small cottage except for a lodger, is found dead in her bedroom from a sharp blow to the head. James Bently, the lodger, is accused, found guilty, and sentenced. Poirot decides to investigate.
BRA 2
TB 4374
Funerals Are Fatal (1953)
Also published as After the Funeral. After the funeral it is suspected that the deceased was murdered. A collection of appealing characters, young and old, provides suspects until Poirot finally unmasks the least likely.
RD 6127
Hickory, Dickory, Death (1955)
Also published as Hickory, Dickory, Dock. Hercule Poirot tackles a case of several thefts and a murder in a student hostel.
RC 22919
BRA 6729
Dead Man's Folly (1956)
Detective Poirot is summoned to Devon by a frantic phone call from the famous detective novelist Adriadne Oliver. Oliver has been engaged to arrange a murder hunt complete with mock clues and a victim, but is convinced that a real murder will result.
RC 11676
Cat among Pigeons (1959)
Detective Hercule Poirot faces a challenging case when a killer terrorizes an English private school for girls.
RC 17942
BRA 9341
Theft of the Royal Ruby, a Short Story (1960)
Detached from "Double Sin" and Other Stories. One of the many stories featuring Hercule Poirot.
BRA 8673
"Double Sin" and Other Stories (1961)
Eight short mysteries in which Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple face eerie challenges and achieve unforgettable solutions.
BR 3460
BRA 8673
Thirteen for Luck: A Selection of Mystery Stories for Young Readers (1961)
Thirteen short stories featuring some of the Agatha Christie's fictional sleuths including Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
RC 25040
The Clocks (1963)
Young Colin Lamb, working on an espionage case, happens on a murder that has more than its share of baffling clues. Eventually Hercule Poirot sifts out the revelant details, and Lamb also catches his spy.
RC 17068
BRA 12154
Poirot Loses a Client (1964)
A letter requesting the renowned detective's service arrives too late--one month after the sender's demise. But Poirot, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, faces one of the most unusual challenges of his career.
RD 20990
Surprise! Suprise! (1965)
A collection of mystery stories with unexpected endings.
RC 9097
BRA 1769
Third Girl (1966)
A young girl who can't remember committing a murder finds herself with a compelling motive and a blood-stained knife. She approaches the incomparable Hercule Poirot, but decides he is too old to be of any help to her. His pride at stake, Poirot is challenged to the utmost.
RC 12694
BRA 3902
Spies among Us (1968)
Three vintage mysteries: They Came to Baghdad is a novel of intrigue set in the capital of Iraq; Murder in Mesopotamia places Hercule Poirot in the midst of some archeological explorations in the Middle East; and N or M? is a thriller set in a seashore boardinghouse.
TB 2288
Halloween Party (1969)
After a child boasts that he saw someone murdered, he is found dead within a few hours. Hercule Poirot is faced with a challenging case of criminal pathology.
TX-BPH (CBT 3291)RC
BRA 3722
Hercule Poirot's Early Cases (1974)
Also published as Poirot's Early Cases. A collection of eighteen of the short stories that introduced the shrewd little Belgian detective to mystery fans all over the world.
RD 7571
BRA 15472
Curtain (1975)
The final case of Hercule Poirot. Old and arthritic, he returns to Styles Court, the scene of his first case in England. When it becomes evident that someone at Styles is a murderer, he sends for his friend Captain Hastings to help investigate, but Poirot refuses to disclose his suspect's name.
RD 8390
BR 2963
Compiled by Ellie Friedman
Revised by Joyce Y. Carter
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Posted on 2006-02-24