How I Started Reading Agatha Christie Books

In third standard, I was given a holiday reading assignment: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. When the dust settled, I came away with a fear of books. 

When I was in seventh standard, a friend’s mother gifted me Enid Blyton’s Rockingdown Mystery and The Rilloby Fair Mystery. This serendipitous gift got me back to the reading habit – I started reading Enid Blyton’s books and Hardy Boys mysteries. But nothing that can be considered heavyweight, no “real” books. (I read Perry Mason stories, I was fascinated with the courtroom. In retrospect, I didn’t understand much of the plot elements).

Adults routinely gave me book recommendations. Alistair Maclean. P.G. Wodehouse. Jeffrey Archer. And of course, Agatha Christie. I thanked them for the recommendations. And continued to stay away from “real” books. Until the summer after my tenth standard board exams.

After my tenth standard board exams ended, the Andes mountains had been lifted out of my shoulders. I could breathe freely again. I could do fun stuff. No, I did not consider studying fun (though if I had a chance to do it all again, I would).

My friend and I decided to check out a lending library in a different neighborhood. In this library visit, I decided to try out a “real” book – an Agatha Christie murder mystery. I chose a book titled Murder in the Links.

Die-hard Agatha Christie fans recommend the following books: And Then There Were None, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.  Murder on the Links would not make the cut. Yet, this was the perfect Agatha Christie book for me to start with, as I would soon find out.

Murder on the Links was boring at the outset. The book was slow-paced in comparison to Hardy Boys or even Sherlock Holmes. Paul Renauld, who lives in France, requests Hercule Poirot’s help. Before Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings (who is Agatha Christie’s version of Dr. Watson) travel from London to France, Renauld is murdered. Hercule Poirot investigates the murderer. So do the local police.

The local police detective Giraud fits the textbook description of a detective. He is a human bloodhound. He is always on the move, constantly looking out for clues. This greatly impresses Captain Hastings. Poirot, on the other hand, doesn’t go hunting for clues the same way. He makes unusual observations. He sits on his armchair and uses his world-famous “grey cells” and reconstruct the crimes. 

In spite of the boring start, I’m glad I persevered through to the middle of the book – there was a significant plot twist that made me sit up on my chair. And piqued my interest. Reading the ending was pure delight. Finding out the identity of the murderer was like eating a triple layer chocolate cake. It was a feeling that no book had given me before. I was hooked.

The rest of the summer, I devoured Agatha Christie books. Pretty soon, I had read every single Agatha Christie murder mystery. And re-read some of her books. I’ve read And Then There Were None more than 5 times. Yes – I re-read a murder mystery after knowing who the killer is. Go figure. 

Despite my sublime experience, Murder on the Links is not a book I would recommend to a first-time Agatha Christie reader. For a couple of reasons.

• There are subplots that you would enjoy more if you are familiar with Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings. This is the book where Captain Hastings finds his love interest. 
• This book is like aged cheese – it takes an acquired taste to appreciate it. I was appreciated the nuances when I returned to re-read this after reading Agatha Christie’s earlier books. For example, the stark contrast between Girard and Poirot delights me in retrospect as a Poirot fan. It had minimal effect on me when I first read the book.

I would recommend And Then There Were None to a first-time Agatha Christie reader. This book has mystery, human nature, poetry, twists and turns, woven together in right proportions. 

While this is a slice of life post, intended to tell a story rather than edify, nevertheless here are some takeaways:

• Agatha Christie books are awesome.
• Children should be given books at their current level. My experience, while anecdotal, is a caution against scaring children from reading books.
• If you’re a first time Agatha Christie reader, I recommend And Then There Were None.
• Did I mention Agatha Christie books are awesome?

Image Credit: Jeremy Horvatin from Unsplash