And the winners are ...

So, this is it. I've read all crime novels written by Agatha Christie.

I've looked and relived so many (fictional) lives, met so many (fictional) characters, loved some, hated others, some bored me and some intrigued me ... I've met some that I would really like to meet in person, some that I would most probably fall in love with them, some that I would find terribly annoying and some that I would avoid at any cost.

I've also relived the majority of the twentieth century. Starting in a Downton-Abbeyesque England, witnessed pre-, through-, and after-WWII Europe and finished in the seventies. I've travelled through Middle East and - I've learned a lot of old English nursery rhymes!

As you know, I've rated all the books. The points were given for mystery, solution, and entertainment factor. Especially the last one is not often considered when looking for the best crime novel, but I read books for fun, so fun-factor is important to me. Sorry, hard-core-serious-literature fans.

Oh, one more thing should also be said in advance (before you disagree with my ratings): my itchy feet make me love more the adventurous books and less the static psychological contemplations.

Anyway, the winners are ...

THE BEST BOOK: And Then There Were None. 
Runners-up: Murder of Roger Ackroyd, N or M?, The Seven Dials Mystery

THE BEST MYSTERY:

And Then There Were None,
The ABC Murders,
Murder of Roger Ackroyd,
Why didn't They Ask Evans?,
The Seven Dials Mystery,
N or M?

THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE SOLUTION:
And Then There Were None,
Murder on the Orient Express,
Hercule Poirot's Christmas,
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side,
The Pale Horse,
The Seven Dials Mystery,
The Mystery of the Blue Train,
Murder of Roger Ackroyd,
The Mysterious Affair at Styles,
Parker Pyne Investigates,
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case.

MOST FUN TO READ:
And Then There Were None,
The Secret Adversary,
N or M?,
The Secret of Chimneys,
A Caribbean Mystery,
Nemesis,
4:50 from Paddington,
The Man in the Brown Suit,
Parker Pyne Investigates,
They Came to Baghdad.

I know that some of you will not agree with me. That Orient Express should be on top of the list. But it's not. Just like Another Brick in the Wall is by far not the best song, just best known.

So, if you only read one Agatha Christie novel, read And Then There Were None, not the Orient Express.

Although I strongly suggest you read them both.

Hell, read them all!