The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 56 books · 1920 to 1976 · Mostly set in London

Agatha Christie

Crime and mysteryThriller and suspensePolice proceduralPrivate eyeAmateur sleuthGolden AgeSpy and espionage

Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple lead Christie’s two great series, but her world is shared: crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, Superintendent Battle and Colonel Race move between books, and Tommy and Tuppence age in real time across fifty years.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Short story collections and novels without a recurring character are left out.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

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Agatha Christie books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Hercule Poirot

33 books · Set in LondonGolden AgePrivate eye
  1. 1The Mysterious Affair at Styles1920CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Murder on the Links1923CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Murder of Roger Ackroyd1926CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Big Four1927CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Mystery of the Blue Train1928CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Peril at End House1932CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Lord Edgware Dies1933CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Murder on the Orient Express1934CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Three Act Tragedy1935CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Death in the Clouds1935CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The A.B.C. Murders1936CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Murder in Mesopotamia1936CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Cards on the Table1936CrossoverWith Hercule Poirot · Also a Superintendent Battle bookAlso part of Superintendent Battle. Hercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  14. 14Dumb Witness1937CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Death on the Nile1937CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  16. 16Appointment with Death1938CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  17. 17Hercule Poirot’s Christmas1938CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Sad Cypress1940CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  19. 19One, Two, Buckle My Shoe1940CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  20. 20Evil Under the Sun1941CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  21. 21Five Little Pigs1942CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  22. 22The Hollow1946CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  23. 23Taken at the Flood1948CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  24. 24Mrs McGinty’s Dead1952CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  25. 25After the Funeral1953CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  26. 26Hickory Dickory Dock1955CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  27. 27Dead Man’s Folly1956CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  28. 28Cat Among the Pigeons1959CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  29. 29The Clocks1963CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  30. 30Third Girl1966CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  31. 31Hallowe’en Party1969CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  32. 32Elephants Can Remember1972CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon
  33. 33Curtain1975CrossoverWith Hercule PoirotHercule Poirot also appears in books by Sophie HannahBuy on Amazon

Miss Marple

12 books · Set in the fictional St Mary Mead, EnglandGolden AgeAmateur sleuth
  1. 1The Murder at the Vicarage1930With Leonard ClementBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Body in the Library1942With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Moving Finger1942Buy on Amazon
  4. 4A Murder Is Announced1950With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  5. 5They Do It with Mirrors1952With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  6. 6A Pocket Full of Rye1953With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  7. 74.50 from Paddington1957With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side1962With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  9. 9A Caribbean Mystery1964With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  10. 10At Bertram’s Hotel1965With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Nemesis1971With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Sleeping Murder1976With Miss MarpleBuy on Amazon

Tommy and Tuppence

4 books · Set in LondonGolden AgeSpy and espionage
  1. 1The Secret Adversary1922With Tommy Beresford and Tuppence BeresfordBuy on Amazon
  2. 2N or M?1941With Tommy Beresford and Tuppence BeresfordBuy on Amazon
  3. 3By the Pricking of My Thumbs1968With Tommy Beresford and Tuppence BeresfordBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Postern of Fate1973With Tommy Beresford and Tuppence BeresfordBuy on Amazon

Superintendent Battle

4 books · Set in LondonGolden AgePolice procedural
  1. 1The Secret of Chimneys1925Buy on Amazon
  2. 2The Seven Dials Mystery1929With Bundle BrentBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Murder Is Easy1939Buy on Amazon
  4. 4Towards Zero1944With Superintendent BattleBuy on Amazon

Other recurring characters

3 books · Set in LondonGolden Age
  1. 1The Man in the Brown Suit1924With Anne BeddingfeldBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Sparkling Cyanide1945Buy on Amazon
  3. 3The Pale Horse1961Buy on Amazon

Characters

21 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Hercule Poirot’s circle

Miss Marple’s St Mary Mead

Tommy and Tuppence

Battle, Race and the others