Hercule Poirot — Books timeline

when each title takes place

The 1920s

The Mysterious Affair at StylesPoirot's debut: a Belgian refugee looks into a poisoning at a country house

northern French coast, 1920s

The Murder on the LinksA millionaire begs Poirot for help and turns up dead beside a golf course

King's Abbot, English village

The Murder of Roger AckroydPoirot tries to retire and grow marrows, but a neighbor is murdered

London and Europe, 1920s

The Big FourPoirot and Hastings take on a gang out to rule the world

London and the French Riviera

The Mystery of the Blue TrainAn American heiress is killed on the luxury train to the Riviera

The 1930s

Cornwall, 1930s

Peril at End HouseA young woman has dodged three accidents in one week, and Poirot doesn't buy it

Lord Edgware DiesAn actress says she wants her husband gone. That night, he's murdered

Yugoslavia, winter in the 1930s

Murder on the Orient ExpressThe train is stuck in snow and a passenger is found stabbed in his locked compartment

Cornwall and London, 1930s

Three Act TragedyA clergyman sips a cocktail at a stage star's party and drops dead

Paris–London flight, 1930s

Death in the CloudsA passenger dies on a Paris-to-London flight, and Poirot was on board

The A.B.C. MurdersA killer writes to Poirot and strikes in alphabetical order

Murder in MesopotamiaAt a dig in Iraq, the expedition leader's wife lives in fear

Cards on the TableFour sleuths and four suspects play bridge at a strange host's house

Berkshire, 1930s

Dumb WitnessPoirot gets a letter from a wealthy old lady two months after her death

the Nile, Egypt, 1930s

Death on the NileA honeymooning heiress is shadowed by her husband's ex on an Egyptian cruise

Jerusalem and Petra, 1930s

Appointment with DeathA tyrannical matriarch dies on a family trip to Petra

Christmas, English countryside

Hercule Poirot's ChristmasAn old millionaire gathers his family for Christmas and is found dead in a locked room

The 1940s

England, late 1930s

Sad CypressA young woman stands trial for poisoning her rival, and Poirot is short on time

One, Two, Buckle My ShoePoirot's dentist is found dead hours after his appointment

island off the Devon coast

Evil Under the SunOn holiday on an island, Poirot watches a glamorous actress stir up hatred

England, a 16-year-old case

Five Little PigsA daughter asks Poirot to clear her mother, convicted 16 years ago

country house, 1940s

The HollowPoirot arrives for lunch to find what looks like a staged scene by the pool

England, just after WWII

Taken at the FloodA family loses its inheritance to a young widow, and a stranger turns up in town

The 1950s

Broadhinny, 1950s

Mrs McGinty's DeadA man is set to hang for killing a charwoman, and Poirot thinks it's the wrong man

After the FuneralAt her rich brother's funeral, an aunt says he was murdered. The next day she's dead

Hickory Dickory DockOdd thefts at a student hostel turn into a police case

Dead Man's FollyAriadne Oliver stages a murder hunt at a fête, and someone really dies

Meadowbank school, 1950s

Cat Among the PigeonsA revolution in a faraway kingdom leaves jewels hidden at an English girls' school

The 1960s and 1970s

Crowdean, 1960s

The ClocksA typist finds a dead man in a room full of clocks stopped at the same time

Third GirlA young woman tells Poirot she may have committed a murder, then runs off

Woodleigh Common, 1960s

Hallowe'en PartyA girl boasts at a party that she once saw a murder and is killed that night

Elephants Can RememberAriadne Oliver and Poirot dig into a couple's deaths from years ago

Styles, years later

CurtainThe last case: old and ill, Poirot calls Hastings back to Styles

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