Books like Agatha's.

Agathasmykid

Hello everyone.  The admin team created this new section on the forum and thought I would start a discussion where people could post books that they have read that resememble Agatha Christie's style.  Has anyone read a book that reminded them a bit of Agatha Christie, a mystery set in a secluded setting, perhaps an old dark house, a book with lots of suspects, etc..Please list your books here!  As a huge mystery book fan, I always enjoy hearing other people's suggestions.

johnwaynefreak

I also would be interested in suggestions for Christie-a-likes.

 

Sayers <spit> aside, I enjoy the majority of golden age mystery writers; Dickson Carr with his leaning towards the supernatural, Anthony Berkeley and his dry wit and cynicism, Edmund Crispin, a latecomer to the genre but one who has me crying with laughter, even Gladys Mitchell whose work, for me, was very hit and miss for the duration of her half-century of crime writing.

 

But I have never found anyone who made me consciously feel the book I was reading was very Christie-like.

tudes

I think Patricia Wentworth resembles Christie's style,although she has written before Christie. In her books, there is a dectective, Miss Silver that is quite like Miss Marple. And the settings are very similar too. But, I just read two of her books: The Ivory Dagger and The chinese shawl.
                                                                                                                                                                                              

MissQuin

I was recommended Georgette Heyer, as I was told that the books are a little like Agatha Chrisite. I've only got round to reading 2 and a half! I wasn't too impressed. The books are mainly based around the rich and upper classes and bright young people. There's a murder and lot's of suspects.  That's about the only similarity. It's so far been very easy to work out the murderers, there's not that amazing ending you get with AC. The pat where you realise she's hoodwinked you completely. 

I know the Dandy Gilver mysteries have some fans, but I didn't like the one I read. But maybe the others are better, if anyone's read those?

I've read a spoof  murder in a village called Agatha Raisin, anyone read those? I wasn't impressed with that either!  Reading this post, I realize that I sound hard to please. It's just that Agatha Christie was the first crime author I read and she's a hard act to follow.

tudes

MissQuin said:

I was recommended Georgette Heyer, as I was told that the books are a little like Agatha Chrisite. I've only got round to reading 2 and a half! I wasn't too impressed. The books are mainly based around the rich and upper classes and bright young people. There's a murder and lot's of suspects.  That's about the only similarity. It's so far been very easy to work out the murderers, there's not that amazing ending you get with AC. The pat where you realise she's hoodwinked you completely. 

I know the Dandy Gilver mysteries have some fans, but I didn't like the one I read. But maybe the others are better, if anyone's read those?

I've read a spoof  murder in a village called Agatha Raisin, anyone read those? I wasn't impressed with that either!  Reading this post, I realize that I sound hard to please. It's just that Agatha Christie was the first crime author I read and she's a hard act to follow.

I think you're right, MissQuin. When you start reading Agatha Christie and, after that you will read someone else. Inevitably, you compare and you always expect Agatha Christie, especially the endings.
I think you can enjoy another book, but it will never be the same.

maxamillion

Patrica Wentworth are alot like Miss Marple stories Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver is a lot like Miss Marple I have all Agatha Christie books and all Patricia Wentworth books. AA Milne book The red house mystery is set in Agatha Christie style as well an up to date author i find is M C Beaton Agatha Rasin Mysteries they are like up to date Miss Marple but not the gentle old lady Miss Marple but young feisty one Ngaio Marsh is similar Inspector Alleyn mysteries but all these books are set in the same setting as Christie books but you are never going to get anything that is exactly the same as Agatha Christie because Christie books stand all on there own Agatha Christie was brilliant at what she did.

Tommy_A_Jones

The Alderley Trilogy by James Anderson are good Candidates for this Thread, sadly there were ony three written before he Author Died, but they are very enjoyable ands the Author obviously had a love and Knowledge of Agatha Christie's work.

Betty Rowlands was branded a new Agatha Christie and I have loved her Mel Craig Books, Mel Craig is a Crime Writer living in Gloucestershire, I agree with Maximillion you won't get another quite like Agatha Christie, Simon Brett has Melita Pargetter who is enjoyable but she is a widow whose Husband had Dodgy Friends always happy to Help Melita  If you want to add Betty Rowlands there is also Rebecca Tope who has 4 sleuths who sleuth in Different parts of the Country, the one I have read is the House-sitting Sleuth but she also has an Undertaker and a Florist as her sleuths.

glalonzo0408

Personally I enjoy the Agatha Raisin books.  They aren't anywhere near AC but they are enjoyable to read.

cwa11ace

I made the jump from Christie to other older Hard-Boiled novels - Dasheill Hammett's Red Harvest is amazing

roamingrover86

Try reading some of SATYAJIT RAY's Detective Novel's/Stories. They are excellent and very much Christie like .

His prime detective is "FELUDA" (like Poirot). He has some 38-40 books. Initially written  in Bengali (local language) later re-printed in English. I'm sure you can get em on AMAZON. 

I've really enjoyed reading his work , & always there is a shock ending but with full facts to support his theory.

I've just finished "Murder in the Mountains" it was excellent.

jennifer

Hi - great section - I'm always looking for AC alikes! 

 I LOVE P.D. James' books - great detective, fairly hard-to-solve murders - also set in England.  Wonderful writer with beautiful vocabulary.  You know all the suspects from the get-go, much like Christie.

My other favorite...Louise Penny!!  But, you must read them in order of the series - Book one is "Still Life."  Some people find the first book a bit difficult to get through...I liked it, but it was my least favorite of her books.  They get better and better.  Set in a small, quaint Canadian village called Three Pines, you feel like you know everyone there, where to stay, what to eat, but for some reason...people keep getting murdered!  Awesome detective in this series.

Carrie

For those looking for Agatha Christie-like books, I would recommend Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver.  I know Wentworth, like others of the era, has her critics, but I personally prefer Miss Silver to Miss Marple, she is gentler and more human somehow, if rather mannered.  The novels are of a more domestic type, and without the 'twist in the tail' Christie is known for.  Some of the novels are less good than others, I would recommend The Chinese Shawl, The Fingerprint or The Girl In The Cellar as a starting point.  The other thing to point out is that Wentworth was slightly older than Christie and really is of the previous generation with different taste and ideas.

Other authors I would recommend are Carola Dunn (Daisy Dalrymple mysteries), Catriona McPherson (Dandy Gilver) and Ellis Peters' Cadfael novels.  I have tried the Agatha Raisin ones, and also James Anderson but didn't like them.

debaleena.mukherjee

Yes! Patricia Wentworth novels are really good. They have a quaint old world charm combined with a quiet strength . Miss Silver is the genteel, independent lady who is actually well ahead of her times. It would be an interesting exercise to study these two lady detectives and then do an analysis.I totally agree with Carrie. 

lillitt

Hi! Ever since I first fell in love with Dame Agatha's work, I've been on a quest for similar authors... and I have to say there's nobody like her, according to me, at least... The only other author whose clever plotting and ability to keep me guessing until the end has kept me just as hooked is Sue Grafton, with her Alphabet Crime series. The style, the setting, etc. are completely different, but the pleasure of the mystery is there in full force and that's something I find missing in most other authors I've explored.

Tommy_A_Jones

Simon Brett writes 3 different Series of Books, The Charles Paris Books, and The Melita Pargetter Books which I enjoy and the Farthering Books (I might have the name wrong) which I have not read, The last set is 2 women which probably due to the time when she was writing didn't do which is a great shame. James Anderson wrote a trilogy of books which are excellent which are a lot like the Bundle Books

StathisZavitsanos

There's a Greek author, Athena Kakouri whose style resembles AC's style a lot. She was given the title Greek Agatha Christie. I read her first book. It was marvelous.

Tommy_A_Jones

What is her Sleuth like? Age, Sex, with a side-kick?

shifra.shomron

What a fascinating question!

The Georgette Heyer novels I have are Regency romances, so I wouldn't compare them to AC! They're remarkable for their depiction of the dress, language, and general settings of that time in English history. I find that they make for a fast-paced read, but not for any mystery contained in their pages. Rather, for the successful outcome of the love story, and the spirited characters one grows fond of and wishes everything to turn out well for, somehow. And it always does.
Lilian Jackson Bruan has a very popular "The Cat Who..." series. It takes place in far north America, Moose country, and the male detective (he has a weekly column in the paper, and investigates everything that goes on in his community) is recognized by his distinctive mustache...Sprinkled with Shakespearean quotes, and the sense of village life - yet with a certain sophistication, it's a very pleasant read.
For even more atmosphere, I adore the series "The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries" by Emily Brightwell. Set in Victorean England, the widowed Mrs. Jeffries becomes housekeeper to a frequently baffled police inspector, and sets her household staff to work at investigating the crime - and helping the inspector (unknown to him) solve the case. They find it much more enjoyable than their housework...
I find P.D. James well-conceived; his detective's talent for poetry as well as detection. (Like Holmes and the violin).

Tommy_A_Jones

Thankyou Shifra, I have been racking my brains trying to remember which Author I was thinking of, It is Emily Brightwell, I saw her books mentioned somewhere and forgot her name so thank you.

I have some of Georgette Heyer's Murder Mysteries but haven't got round to reading them yet,

shifra.shomron

You're very welcome, @Tommy_A_Jones. I had no idea Georgette Heyer wrote murder mysteries, like I said - all I know from her are the regency romances (and that's all I've seen sold, too, when I searched). But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised - such a prolific writer...

Tommy_A_Jones

I don't know what her sleuth is like, I might get round to reading them one day.

SarahFrance

It's so difficult, nothing is the same. I just read a book, Death on Safari, by Jessica Hill which is definitely inspired by her. It's not half as good but was a great twisty read with a nice sense of location. But thanks for some of the other recommendations, will definitely try them!

mike1410

Although I would not say they are particularly Christie-esque (unless you think of her darker non-detective stories such as those told in 'The Hound of Death'), I have always found the books written by Ruth Rendell when she is writing under her pseudonym of Barbara Vine as excellent and would recommend them to anyone. Several of these have also been adapted for television. I do find it odd that I like these, given that I cannot stand her Inspector Wexford books! 

Tommy_A_Jones

I think Endless Night comes closest to making me think of the Non-Wexford Ruth Rendell's

Saturnia

My book club have just read 'Deadly Connections,' a murder mystery novel by a new British author writing under the cryptic name of Plain Jane. It reminded us very much of a modern day Agatha Christie in it's style and got a big thumbs up from everyone. There are a lot of twists and turns and a climatic ending that kept us all guessing, and it's set in a 'cosy' quintessential English town. I think this is her only book so far, but I hope she writes more.