CurtainCurtain
Score Classic
What it's about
Arthritic and confined to a wheelchair, Hercule Poirot asks his old friend Captain Hastings to join him at Styles, the house where they solved their first case, to be his eyes and ears. A murderer he calls X is staying there, already responsible for several deaths, and ready to kill again. Poirot knows who X is, but won't tell Hastings.
Why it's worth reading
It spent 19 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was one of the ten best-selling books of 1975. It's Poirot's last case, and one of Agatha Christie's boldest.
You'll love it if you liked
Murder on the Orient Express
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
And Then There Were NoneGood to know
Christie wrote it in the 1940s and held it back for decades. Read some other Poirot first; its ending hits harder.
By the numbers
- Readers64 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller62 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #105 of the 555 mysteries and thrillers we rank
- #296 of the 762 classics we rank
- #962 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Gripping
More by Agatha Christie
And Then There Were NoneThe Murder of Roger AckroydMurder on the Orient Express
Sleeping MurderIf you like this, read next
The Bourne Supremacy
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
The Moonstone
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
The Key to RebeccaExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Curtain worth reading?
Yes. It spent 19 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was one of the ten best-selling books of 1975. It ranks #962 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 73.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Curtain about?
Arthritic and confined to a wheelchair, Hercule Poirot asks his old friend Captain Hastings to join him at Styles, the house where they solved their first case, to be his eyes and ears. A murderer he calls X is staying there, already responsible for several deaths, and ready to kill again. Poirot knows who X is, but won't tell Hastings.
How long does it take to read Curtain?
About 5 hours (215 pages), or about 10 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Curtain?
If you liked it, try Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie or And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.