Honestly, if you just pick up a random Agatha Christie book because the cover looks cool, you're doing it wrong. I mean, sure, Murder on the Orient Express is a banger regardless of when you read it. But there is a specific, almost hidden evolution in Hercule Poirot that you completely miss if you don't tackle the Poirot stories in order.
He’s not just a static cartoon with a mustache and a penchant for "the little grey cells." He changes. He gets older. He gets crankier. He even starts to hate himself a little bit toward the end.
Agatha Christie wrote the first Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, during the First World War. She published it in 1920. By the time she finished Curtain in the 1970s (though she actually wrote it decades earlier and locked it in a bank vault), the world had moved from horse-drawn carriages to the dawning of the jet age. If you jump around, the tonal whiplash is real. You'll go from a cozy country house mystery to a gritty psychological drama and wonder if it’s even the same guy.
The Early Years: When the Mustache Was Young
The beginning is where the obsession starts. 1920 to roughly 1928. This is the era of Captain Arthur Hastings. If you're looking for the classic "Watson" dynamic, this is your sweet spot.
In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot is a Belgian refugee. He’s short. He’s eccentric. He’s incredibly fastidious. People forget that Christie actually based him on real Belgian refugees she saw in Torquay. In these early Poirot stories in order, the plots are intricate but the stakes feel... lighter? Even when people are dying of strychnine poisoning, there’s a sense of adventure.
Then you hit The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926).
This book changed everything. It broke the "rules" of detective fiction so badly that some members of the Detection Club wanted Christie kicked out. It is the definitive turning point. If you haven't read it, I won't spoil it, but let’s just say it demands you pay attention to the narrator in a way no book had before. This is where Poirot moves from being a clever detective to a literary icon.
The Short Story Problem
Here is where it gets tricky for the completionists. Christie wrote dozens of short stories. Most of them were published in The Sketch magazine before being bundled into collections like Poirot Investigates (1924).
If you're reading for the "lore," you should probably slot Poirot Investigates right after The Murder on the Links. Why? Because it establishes Poirot’s reputation in London. He’s no longer the "strange little man" in a village; he’s a celebrity consultant. He’s basically the 1920s version of a superstar influencer, minus the TikTok account.
The Golden Era: 1934 to 1941
This is the "Greatest Hits" album. If you look at the Poirot stories in order during this decade, it’s actually insane how many masterpieces Christie cranked out.
👉 See also: Streets of Philadelphia: The Springsteen Experiment That Changed Everything
- Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
- The ABC Murders (1936)
- Death on the Nile (1937)
- Appointment with Death (1938)
- Evil Under the Sun (1941)
In this stretch, Christie moves away from the "closed circle" of a single house and takes Poirot global. We see him in Iraq, Egypt, and on international trains. The complexity of the puzzles reaches a fever pitch.
Take The ABC Murders. It’s a serial killer story before "serial killer" was even a common term. It’s meta. It plays with the idea of a detective’s vanity. Poirot is being taunted. For the first time, we see that his ego is his biggest vulnerability. It's brilliant.
And then there's Death on the Nile. People love the movie adaptations, but the book is a masterclass in pacing. It’s a tragedy dressed up as a mystery. You see Poirot’s genuine sadness for the human condition. He’s not just solving a puzzle; he’s watching lives ruin themselves.
The "Middle Age" Melancholy
By the late 1940s and 1950s, the vibe shifts. Hard.
The world had just survived World War II. The "cozy" mystery was dying. Readers wanted something darker, and Christie delivered. Novels like The Hollow (1946) and Taken at the Flood (1948) feel different. Poirot is often a background character in his own books during this era.
He’s an observer. An interloper.
The Hollow is barely a mystery; it’s a brilliant character study about a dysfunctional family. Christie herself famously said she "ruined" the book by putting Poirot in it. She felt the drama was strong enough without him. But for us reading the Poirot stories in order, his presence is vital. We see him as an aging man who realizes he belongs to a world that no longer exists.
He hates the modern world. He hates the lack of order. He hates that people don't take pride in their appearance anymore. It’s relatable, honestly. We all become that person eventually.
Enter Ariadne Oliver
If you’re tracking the chronology, you have to talk about Ariadne Oliver. She’s Christie’s self-parody—a mystery novelist who complains about her fictional Finnish detective. She shows up in Cards on the Table (1936) but becomes a staple in the later years, starting with Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (1952).
Their friendship is the most "human" thing in the series. It’s not professional like his relationship with Japp or Hastings. It’s two old pros hanging out. It adds a layer of warmth to the late-period books that keeps them from getting too bleak.
The End of the Road: Curtain
You cannot talk about the Poirot stories in order without the final act.
Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case was published in 1975, shortly before Christie died. But she wrote it in the 1940s during the Blitz. She wanted to ensure her most famous creation had a proper ending in case she didn't survive the war.
It is a devastating book.
Poirot is old. He’s in a wheelchair. His arthritis is terrible. He returns to Styles—the site of his first case. The symmetry is haunting. It’s a dark, psychological confrontation with the very nature of evil. It’s the only book where Poirot faces a killer he can't defeat with just "the law."
📖 Related: Why the Father and Son Lyric Still Hits So Hard Decades Later
It’s the perfect bookend. If you read it first, or in the middle, it loses its power. You have to earn Curtain by sitting through the decades of cases that came before it.
The Technical Order vs. The Publication Order
A lot of people ask if they should read in "chronological" order based on the internal timeline or "publication" order.
Go with publication order. Every time.
Why? Because Christie’s writing style evolves. If you try to slot a 1950s short story into a 1920s timeline, the voice will feel "off." You want to experience the progression of Christie’s mind. You want to see how she gets better at misdirection. You want to see how she moves from the rigid formulas of the "Golden Age" into the experimental psychological thrillers of her later years.
The Essential Reading List (The Non-Skip Zone)
If you don't have time for all 33 novels and 50+ short stories, here is the "skeleton" path for the Poirot stories in order that gives you the full arc:
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles (The Introduction)
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (The Game-Changer)
- Murder on the Orient Express (The Peak of Logic)
- The ABC Murders (The Meta-Thriller)
- Five Little Pigs (The Best "Cold Case" Mystery)
- The Hollow (The Literary Pivot)
- Curtain (The Final Bow)
Five Little Pigs (1942) is often overlooked by casual fans, but it’s widely considered by critics (including Robert Barnard) to be her best-written novel. It’s told through five different perspectives of a murder that happened sixteen years prior. It’s flawless.
What Most People Get Wrong About Poirot
People think he’s a caricature. They think he’s all about the mustache and the "mon ami."
But when you read the Poirot stories in order, you see a man who is deeply lonely. He has no family. His best friend moves to Argentina. He lives in a series of service flats. His only real "children" are his cases.
There’s a profound sadness in the later books like Hallowe'en Party or Elephants Can Remember. He’s a relic. But he’s a relic who refuses to stop seeking justice. That’s the "hook" that has kept him relevant for over a century. It's not the puzzles; it's the man.
Next Steps for Your Collection
- Check your editions: If you’re buying physical copies, look for the HarperCollins "facsimile" editions. They use the original cover art and font, which helps keep the historical context alive as you read.
- Track the short stories: Use a checklist to ensure you don't miss The Labours of Hercules. It’s a themed collection where Poirot "retires" (spoiler: he doesn't) by taking on twelve cases that parallel the myths. It’s best read right before the 1950s novels.
- Watch the evolution: After finishing a book, watch the David Suchet adaptation. Suchet is the only actor who truly captured the transition from the energetic 1920s Poirot to the frail, morally conflicted Poirot of the finale.
Starting from the beginning isn't just a "completionist" move—it's the only way to understand why Agatha Christie is still the best-selling novelist of all time. Grab a copy of Styles and start the clock.