Earl Grey Books

I mean, you’ve seen the title. Poirot—I’ve been reading the series for years now and I’ve almost reached the end.

I have 16 books left to read, which I know sounds like a lot but before the end of the year, I plan to read another 11 and so before I know it I’ll be finished with the series. So what will I do after it? Part of me is just screaming ‘READ THEM ALL AGAIN’, and honestly there are probably a few that I will. But I also feel like this is a good time to branch out a little and talk about some other authors and books I’d like to try that give me Christie vibes, but also share some feelings about the series so far.

Poirot Abroad Are Some Of The Best

My favourite Poirot’s are without a doubt, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. There’s a reason they were the two Kenneth Branagh decided to turn into films. They are incredibly cinematic, but there’s also Poirot at his best, his most powerful and so on. I think that this somewhat has to do with the fact that they take place outside of England and therefore, Christie allows everything to be a little more dramatic, a little more lavish and filled with the tension of these characters all being thrown into a new situation, in a different country and then being involved in a murder. It’s really brilliant how she manages to pull all that off.

Captain Hastings Is Still My Favourite Character

I loved Hastings from the very first moment that I saw him. I think he’s honestly just hilarious and the way that he and Poirot work together is brilliant. He’s a complete idiot sometimes and honestly, I can deeply relate to that. I think at the same time, the books which he narrates work to make Poirot seem more human than when they’re narrated by others who don’t know him. They’re a bit like an old married couple at times and I love it.

Some Other Books and Authors

Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

I’ve been wanting to get to this series for literal years. I think I found out about it in about 2014 and I’ve still not gotten around to it. In my defence, I don’t own a copy in any capacity so it hasn’t really been that high up on my priority list. I don’t see myself getting to it before the end of the year, but maybe 2022 will finally be the year! I honestly don’t even remember much about the premise of this one except for it being set around the 30s/40s, I think? I’m honestly just guessing that from the cover.

Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters

I’ve heard Amelia Peabody is quite the eccentric character, much like Poirot is and I’m honestly excited for that. This is also set in Egypt, or at least the first book is, and since Death on the Nile is such a favourite of mine, I’m hoping this one will be too. I know this one is set in the 1880s, so it’s a little different for me in that way—I tend to go for historical romance before the 1900s, and mysteries like these around the 20s-40s but we’ll see. I did buy myself an eBook copy of this a few months back so maybe this is one I’ll try and get to by the end of the year.

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King

This one is very much inspired by my lovely friend, Mel, who is a big fan of this series. I’ve heard her talk about it quite a few times and I’m really excited to give this a go. As the name of the series suggests, this is about Sherlock Holmes later in life after he’s retired from detective work. I don’t really know a whole lot about it beyond that, but who doesn’t like a good bit of Holmes, right? A couple of months ago I managed to find a secondhand copy of the second book for $1, so I have that ready to go and I think I’ll end up borrowing this first one from my local library.

A Tea Shop Mystery by Laura Childs

This is definitely the one furthest out of my comfort zone, but the fact that it takes place in a tea shop gives me a little hope that I might enjoy it. This is set in contemporary-ish Charleston (the first book was released in 2001, and I refuse to admit that was 20 years ago) and seems to just follow the owner of this tea shop solving murders and things like that. I’ve never read a full-on cozy mystery before so some of these might be an interesting journey for me.

And there we are! Have you read Christie? Have you read any of these others?