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 Which crime novel would you vote as favourite?

9/2/2015

9 Comments

 
 What's your favourite crime novel? Well—you can't beat the oldies. I know there are some excellent new stories, but the most loved come from the past and are set in England.

Dame Agatha Mary Christie lived from 1890 to 1976 In her life she wrote English crime, short stories, and plays. She is best known for the 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, most of which revolve around the fact-finding work of such characters as Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap.

Born in Torquay, Devon, she was initially unsuccessful at getting her work published, but in 1920 The Bodley Head press published her novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring the character of Hercule Poirot. This launched her literary career.

That's my favourite series—each novel produced for television starring David Suchet.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies—her works third ranking of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible.

But now: the news. For the first time, the BBC is adapting her most popular work for television.

Agatha Christie’s most complex and controversial novel, And Then There Were None, has been voted the nation’s favourite, taking 3,211 of the 15,000 votes cast to mark the writer’s 125th birthday. It is already the best-selling crime novel of all time, with more than 100 million copies bought worldwide.

Known to its original readers under the name of Ten Little N-----, it tells the story of ten strangers invited to an island, who get bumped off one by one before realising the serial killer is among them.

Agatha Christie’s grandson and chairman of her foundation announced the result of the poll at a special anniversary exhibition of her private portraits in London last night.

Second place went to Murder on the Orient Express, and third to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

The programme is due to be broadcast over Christmas. Source: The Telegraph.

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The poem. Commons.Wikimedia.org
 As already stated, my favourite of her series features Hercule Poirot. And yet, when I read her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, I didn't like it. Of course, the Dame wrote it in the language of the day, which seems over-stiff and dull. However, the basic plot lies underneath the formal language. Tension and action are low-key. No fast car chases, no explosions, no long boring scenes where men shoot at each other from behind cover and die by throwing their legs in the air before falling backward, and no terrorists with hidden bombs give an extra thrill in these classics.

What is your favourite investigative novel? Do you prefer recent works or old? Which Agatha Christie novel would you have voted for?

9 Comments
Ajay Pai link
9/1/2015 08:19:46 pm

Agatha Christie - Have read one of hers long time back, when i was in school.

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Suzy link
9/1/2015 10:00:40 pm

Agatha Christie is my favourite too - Hard to pick an absolute favourite but I might pick Death on the Nile.

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Corinne Rodrigues link
9/1/2015 10:33:37 pm

Hercule Poirot and Ms Marple were staple stuff in my teens. My favourite would have to be Murder on the Orient Express.

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Barbara link
9/2/2015 01:59:59 am

Oh I think crime stories are the best. I know that I have even seen a TV adaptation of "Of Then There Were None" or ("Ten Little Indians") from the 50's or 60's. I'll be watching for this new program. Yay!
I agree with Corinne, I like "Murder On The Orient Express" the most.

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Nick #thisyearinmusic link
9/2/2015 03:14:54 am

I would have to say, either The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (it was the first colleciton of short stories after the Sign of Four) or the Wayward Pines series.

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Elisabeth link
9/2/2015 04:24:15 am

Oh, I love love love Agatha Christie (and yes, for me Suchet IS Poirot. Which makes it almost strange for me that he is also the reader for one of my favorite audiobooks of the Bible. LOL)

My all time fave will always be Sleeping Murder, though, because it is the first Christie I ever read

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Corey Franklin link
9/2/2015 06:02:59 am

Hey great post here! One of our favorite crime books is Pretty boy Floyd, that is a great book, not that old but still good!

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Alana link
9/2/2015 06:42:55 am

I enjoyed the works of Tony Hillerman, who wrote a series based on a Navaho detective. Alas, he is now deceased.

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sacha link
9/2/2015 10:20:24 pm

I dont really read crime stories. But they sound interesting. Thanks for sharing

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    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

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