Reading Lists

Read Christie 2025

Outset RC25 January FLP

Welcome to #ReadChristie2025! This year we are discovering Christie's stories through her wonderful canon of characters and their careers. Every month we will select a new character type and read a book where they feature heavily - from artists and performers to detectives and spies. We are so excited to get started - are you ready for the first book of the challenge?

If you have any queries, please take a look at our FAQs page.

Our January choice: Five Little Pigs

The first prompt of the year is artists and we have chosen to read a firm favourite amongst fans, Five Little Pigs. The victim in this story is Amyas Crale who, as well as being a husband and father, was a well-known painter. In fact, it was this very activity he had been doing in the garden when his body was discovered.

What's it about?

16 years ago Caroline Crale was tried and convicted for murdering her husband, Amyas. She had a motive and the evidence was damning but in a letter to her daughter, Caroline insisted her innocence. Now Poirot must journey back over a decade to solve the mystery once and for all. Is Caroline guilty of murder or was she the victim of someone else's lethal game?

I do not need to bend and measure the footprints and pick up the cigarette ends and examine the bent blades of grass. It is enough for me to sit back in my chair and think.
Agatha Christie, Five Little Pigs

Did you know?

  • Raymond West, Miss Marple’s nephew, marries an artist called Joan.
  • Unfinished Portrait, which centres around Celia and artist Larraby, was only Christie's second novel published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.
  • Five Little Pigs is a retrospective case, meaning we gain insight into the life of artist Amyas Crale throughout the novel, and from five perspectives.

Do you have favourite artist who appears in Agatha Christie stories? Tell us about in on Instagram.

Alternative stories

If you would prefer to read a different book this month, we have a few recommendations. Henrietta Savernake from The Hollow is a skilled sculptor and is among a group of friends attending Lucy Angkatell's dinner. However, upon Hercule Poirot's arrival at the house, one of the party is found dead by the swimming pool. You could also choose to read Third Girl. This Poirot mystery is set in the swinging sixties and follows a young girl who comes to the detective's office and states she might have killed someone. When he begins his investigations, Poirot learns that the mystery girl lives with two others - a secretary and an artist... Another option for this month is Unfinished Portrait. This is one of the six stories Christie wrote under her pseudonym, Mary Westmacott. During a turbulent time in her life, Celia meets Larraby, a successful portrait painter who tries to help her come to terms with her past.

How to get involved

Once you've printed your challenge postcard, simply fill in the story you've chosen for this category and get reading! If you post about your choice on social media make sure to tag us in the photo so we can see it. Use #ReadChristie2025 on Instagram for your chance to be featured in our monthly reading round-ups. Alternatively, you can let us know via our X, Facebook or Instagram which book you've chosen, in the comment sections of our posts. However you join us, we hope you have fun with this year's challenge.

Our 2025 reading choices

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