Perfect first Christie for a teenager?

Hi all,

I'd appreciate your suggestions for a first "Christie experience" for my 13-year-old daughter. She is a fluent and avid reader but hasn't really read any detective stories so far, unless you count Blyton's "Famous Five" or Hitchcock's "3 investigators" novels :D And even the latter are sometimes a bit scary for her taste... She likes e.g. fantasy, adventure, old-fashioned "girl fiction".

I'm wondering what would be a good starting point with "adult" detective novels, and as I loved Christie's stories as a teenager I thought they might work with her as well.

But where to start? I think one of the first I read myself was "N or M", and I loved it. So maybe that - or something else? Do you still remember what were your Christie-favourites as a teenager?

My first Christie was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and I read it when I was probably 13 or 14. It sparked my Christie obsession. If that's a little short on adventure, then maybe And Then There Were None would be better. Death on the Nile or Death in Mesopotamia are both good solid ones to start with. And then there's Murder on the Orient Express. Always great. Those are some of my favorites and ones that I think showcase Christie at her best, and are still interesting enough for a teen. I hope that helps! Good job spreading the mystery love.

My first was either Evil Under the Sun or Sparkling Cyanide. I read them both one summer while helping in my grandmothers used book store - I think I was 14. I always wondered if Grammy (an avid Christie fan herself) suggested them on purpose...

And Then There Were None is the first Christie I read- I was in the 5th grade and looking for a challenge. I've been hooked ever since, and it is still my favorite! I think it's the perfect Christie to start with- the adventure is there, the story moves right along, and the whodunit is seemingly impossible to solve. The end just leaves you thirsty for more Christie novels! I could also see a young teen girl enjoying the romance-adventure of the Tommy & Tuppence stories, too The Secret Adversary.

My first was Evil Under the Sun at the age of 12. I remember buying it quite nervously in case the shop assistant disapproved of me getting a 'grown-up' book. I guess even hard-bitten fans would have to admit one Christie is not that unlike another though I never did take to the Tommy and Tuppence ones. Another I read around that age was Cat Among the Pigeons because I enjoyed the boarding school setting.

I started with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in English when I was 14 but I had read Evil Under the Sun and Death on Nile in Bulgarian before that. Either of those works for a start - and they made me a life-long fan.

I got hooked by Cards on the Table, The ABC Murders, Thirteen at Dinner and Murder on the Orient Express, in that order.

I have to second And Then There Were None because it's so classic and clever -- when you're that age, it's jaw-dropping clever.

Thank you to whomever started this thread. I have been watching some classic movies with my son to stretch his taste buds a bit and get a welcome break from the otherwise good Avengers movies and after watching the old Murder on the Orient Express from 1974 he is completely hooked on Poirot. We've watched a couple more Agatha Christie movies since then and I now think he might enjoy reading some of the books. I came here looking for suggestions as to which books might be a good fit for an 11 year old avid reader, and I think we're going to try And Then There Were None and Death on the Nile for starters.

>9 Fjola: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is great, and should be read before somebody spoils the plot for the new Christie reader. :=)

>9 Fjola: Fjola... I'm glad you watched the 1974 movie version of Murder on the Orient Express... it's the best! I cannot abide the recent remake. I would also suggest watching Death on the Nile... Maggie Smith is superb... it's a cast of everybody with enchanting Cole Porter music. Then... read both books.

>10 tealadytoo:, I'd argue that Roger is best left until you've gotten some other Poirot under your belt, to better appreciate what it does differently. I don't imagine any 11-year-old in 2019 is going to have many in his peer group capable of spoiling it, in any case.

>12 Cecrow: Adults (relatives, teachers, etc.) will spoil it for you when they realize a kid reads Christie and that's SO CUTE. :=) I agree that you should read a couple of others first, but not too many. All you really need is a feel for the conventions of a mystery, which you can get from juvenile mysteries if he reads them.

Article in The Guardian about Golden Age Detective Novels:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/13/top-10-golden-age-detective-novels...

I also started reading AC as a teenager. I think my first ones were Halloween Party and Murder on the Links.

I remember thinking "And Then There Were None" was brilliant when I was in my late teens. And the recent mini-series was terrific, IMO.

When I started reading crime novels five years ago, I started with AC‘s 450 p.m. at Paddington. Now I‘m most sad not to find another author who could replace her...