Series reading guide · guide verified September 8, 2026
Hercule Poirot Books in Order
Every Hercule Poirot book in publication order — 61 in total, spanning 1920–2019.
The egg-shaped head, the magnificent moustache, the little grey cells: Hercule Poirot walked into Agatha Christie's first novel in 1920 as a Belgian refugee turned private detective and stayed for 33 novels, more than 50 short stories and 55 years — the only fictional character ever given an obituary on the front page of The New York Times. Christie grew tired of him long before her readers did, which tells you everything about how good the books are. And since 2014, with the blessing of her estate, Sophie Hannah has been writing new cases.
Publication Order of Hercule Poirot Books
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Mysterious Affair At Styles | 1920 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 |  The Murder on the Links | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 |  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | 1926 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 |  The Big Four | 1927 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 |  The Mystery of the Blue Train | 1928 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 |  Black Coffee | 1930 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 |  Peril at End House | 1932 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 |  Lord Edgware Dies | 1933 | Amazon US UK |
| 9 |  Three Act Tragedy | 1934 | Amazon US UK |
| 10 |  Murder on the Orient Express / Murder in the Calais Coach | 1934 | Amazon US UK |
| 11 |  Death in the Clouds | 1935 | Amazon US UK |
| 12 |  The A.B.C. Murders | 1936 | Amazon US UK |
| 13 |  Murder in Mesopotamia | 1936 | Amazon US UK |
| 14 |  Cards on the Table | 1936 | Amazon US UK |
| 15 |  Dumb Witness | 1937 | Amazon US UK |
| 16 |  Death on the Nile | 1937 | Amazon US UK |
| 17 |  Appointment with Death | 1938 | Amazon US UK |
| 18 |  Hercule Poirot's Christmas | 1938 | Amazon US UK |
| 19 |  Sad Cypress | 1940 | Amazon US UK |
| 20 |  One, Two, Buckle My Shoe | 1940 | Amazon US UK |
| 21 |  Evil Under the Sun | 1941 | Amazon US UK |
| 22 |  Five Little Pigs | 1942 | Amazon US UK |
| 23 |  The Hollow | 1946 | Amazon US UK |
| 24 |  Taken at the Flood | 1948 | Amazon US UK |
| 25 |  Mrs. McGinty's Dead | 1952 | Amazon US UK |
| 26 |  After the Funeral | 1953 | Amazon US UK |
| 27 |  Hickory Dickory Dock | 1955 | Amazon US UK |
| 28 |  Dead Man's Folly | 1956 | Amazon US UK |
| 29 |  Cat Among the Pigeons | 1959 | Amazon US UK |
| 30 |  The Clocks | 1963 | Amazon US UK |
| 31 |  Third Girl | 1966 | Amazon US UK |
| 32 |  Hallowe'en Party | 1969 | Amazon US UK |
| 33 |  Elephants Can Remember | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 34 |  Curtain | 1975 | Amazon US UK |
| 35 |  The Monogram Murders | 2014 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Hercule Poirot Short Stories/Novellas
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 | The Affair at the Victory Ball | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 | The Adventure of the Western Star | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 | The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 |  Afternoon At The Seaside | 1962 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 |  The Patient | 1962 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | The Witness for the Prosecution | 1983 | Amazon US UK |
| 9 |  Four and Twenty Blackbirds | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 10 |  The Million Dollar Bond Robbery | 1998 | Amazon US UK |
| 11 |  Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb | 2000 | Amazon US UK |
| 12 | The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim | 2012 | Amazon US UK |
| 13 | Market Basing Mystery, The | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 14 | The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 15 | The Cornish Mystery | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 16 | Problem at Sea | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 17 |  The Under Dog | 2016 | Amazon US UK |
| 18 | The Case of the Missing Will | 2019 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Hercule Poirot Collections
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Labors of Hercules | 1947 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 |  The Witness for the Prosecution | 1948 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 |  The Under Dog and Other Stories | 1951 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 |  Poirot's Early Cases | 1974 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 |  Hercule Poirot's Casebook | 1984 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 |  The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories | 1997 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 |  The Double Clue | 2016 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | The Grey Cells of Mr. Poirot | 2019 | Amazon US UK |
Every title by year All 61, oldest to newest
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Mysterious Affair At Styles | 1920 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | The Murder on the Links | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 | The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 | The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 | The Affair at the Victory Ball | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 | The Adventure of the Western Star | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 | The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb | 1923 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | 1926 | Amazon US UK |
| 9 | The Big Four | 1927 | Amazon US UK |
| 10 | The Mystery of the Blue Train | 1928 | Amazon US UK |
| 11 | Black Coffee | 1930 | Amazon US UK |
| 12 | Peril at End House | 1932 | Amazon US UK |
| 13 | Lord Edgware Dies | 1933 | Amazon US UK |
| 14 | Three Act Tragedy | 1934 | Amazon US UK |
| 15 | Murder on the Orient Express / Murder in the Calais Coach | 1934 | Amazon US UK |
| 16 | Death in the Clouds | 1935 | Amazon US UK |
| 17 | The A.B.C. Murders | 1936 | Amazon US UK |
| 18 | Murder in Mesopotamia | 1936 | Amazon US UK |
| 19 | Cards on the Table | 1936 | Amazon US UK |
| 20 | Dumb Witness | 1937 | Amazon US UK |
| 21 | Death on the Nile | 1937 | Amazon US UK |
| 22 | Appointment with Death | 1938 | Amazon US UK |
| 23 | Hercule Poirot's Christmas | 1938 | Amazon US UK |
| 24 | Sad Cypress | 1940 | Amazon US UK |
| 25 | One, Two, Buckle My Shoe | 1940 | Amazon US UK |
| 26 | Evil Under the Sun | 1941 | Amazon US UK |
| 27 | Five Little Pigs | 1942 | Amazon US UK |
| 28 | The Hollow | 1946 | Amazon US UK |
| 29 | The Labors of Hercules | 1947 | Amazon US UK |
| 30 | Taken at the Flood | 1948 | Amazon US UK |
| 31 | The Witness for the Prosecution | 1948 | Amazon US UK |
| 32 | The Under Dog and Other Stories | 1951 | Amazon US UK |
| 33 | Mrs. McGinty's Dead | 1952 | Amazon US UK |
| 34 | After the Funeral | 1953 | Amazon US UK |
| 35 | Hickory Dickory Dock | 1955 | Amazon US UK |
| 36 | Dead Man's Folly | 1956 | Amazon US UK |
| 37 | Cat Among the Pigeons | 1959 | Amazon US UK |
| 38 | Afternoon At The Seaside | 1962 | Amazon US UK |
| 39 | The Patient | 1962 | Amazon US UK |
| 40 | The Clocks | 1963 | Amazon US UK |
| 41 | Third Girl | 1966 | Amazon US UK |
| 42 | Hallowe'en Party | 1969 | Amazon US UK |
| 43 | Elephants Can Remember | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 44 | Poirot's Early Cases | 1974 | Amazon US UK |
| 45 | Curtain | 1975 | Amazon US UK |
| 46 | The Witness for the Prosecution | 1983 | Amazon US UK |
| 47 | Hercule Poirot's Casebook | 1984 | Amazon US UK |
| 48 | Four and Twenty Blackbirds | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 49 | The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories | 1997 | Amazon US UK |
| 50 | The Million Dollar Bond Robbery | 1998 | Amazon US UK |
| 51 | Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb | 2000 | Amazon US UK |
| 52 | The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim | 2012 | Amazon US UK |
| 53 | Market Basing Mystery, The | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 54 | The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 55 | The Cornish Mystery | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 56 | Problem at Sea | 2013 | Amazon US UK |
| 57 | The Monogram Murders | 2014 | Amazon US UK |
| 58 | The Under Dog | 2016 | Amazon US UK |
| 59 | The Double Clue | 2016 | Amazon US UK |
| 60 | The Case of the Missing Will | 2019 | Amazon US UK |
| 61 | The Grey Cells of Mr. Poirot | 2019 | Amazon US UK |
Hercule Poirot on screen
Poirot has been played by Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet and Kenneth Branagh, among others. Suchet's 25-year run for ITV, which adapted every single story, is the one most fans consider definitive.
- 1974Murder on the Orient ExpressFilm — Albert Finney; an all-star cast.
- 1978Death on the NileFilm — Peter Ustinov, who played Poirot six times.
- 1989Agatha Christie's PoirotTV series — David Suchet, ITV, 1989–2013 — all 70 stories.
- 2017Murder on the Orient ExpressFilm — Kenneth Branagh directs and stars; Death on the Nile (2022) and A Haunting in Venice (2023) followed.
Frequently asked
What order should I read the Hercule Poirot books in?
Publication order is the way to go, from The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) to Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (1975). The novels are independent mysteries, but the recurring cast — Hastings, Miss Lemon, Inspector Japp, Ariadne Oliver — grows richer if you meet them in sequence. Read Curtain last.
How many Hercule Poirot books are there?
Agatha Christie wrote 33 Poirot novels, two plays and more than 50 short stories. Sophie Hannah has added further novels since 2014, beginning with The Monogram Murders.
Which Hercule Poirot book should I read first?
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or Murder on the Orient Express (1934) — both are peak Christie and need no setup. Save Curtain for the very end; it was written to be his final case.
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