Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, might never have existed without a sibling rivalry. Her sister Madge, already a published writer with stories in Vanity Fair, dismissed Agatha’s ambition to write a mystery novel.
“I don’t think you could do it,” said Madge. “They are very difficult to do. I’ve thought about it.”
“I should like to try.”
“Well, I bet you couldn’t,” said Madge.
Challenge accepted.
That book launched Christie’s career—and introduced the world to Hercule Poirot, a Belgian refugee turned detective. Though Styles was published in 1920, it was written during World War I while Agatha worked in a hospital dispensary and her husband Archie served in the RAF.
So much happened after that first book.
I just finished reading Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley (2022)—a deeply researched and engaging biography that details every part of Agatha’s life, including her infamous disappearance. But as a writer, what fascinated me most were the insights into her creative process and how her real life influenced her fictional world.
From personal experiences and historical headlines to clever psychological misdirection, Christie’s mysteries are full of writerly sleight-of-hand. Worsley refers to these as “Christie Tricks”—and while I’ll avoid major spoilers, some light ones are necessary to explain the brilliance behind her methods.
11 Tricks Agatha Christie Used in Her Books
1. Hiding clues in plain sight
In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot stumbles upon a clue that’s right under everyone’s nose—literally. The critical item is cleverly concealed in an everyday object, revealed only by Poirot’s meticulous attention to detail.
2. The hidden couple
Also in Styles, Christie uses a misdirection technique where two characters appear to loathe each other—only to be exposed as co-conspirators. Their act deceives not only the other characters but also the reader.
3. The unreliable narrator
In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), the story is told by Dr. Sheppard, who carefully omits tiny but crucial facts. Readers were outraged by the twist—but also thrilled. Christie bent the rules of traditional detective fiction and still managed to win her audience.
4. Using real-life crimes as inspiration
Murder on the Orient Express (1934) draws heavily from the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case. Christie also ensured her details were precise—consulting train schedules and taking another Orient Express trip to verify timing and logistics.
5. The planted clue with a twist
In Murder in Mesopotamia (1936), a subtle archeological term, tossed out by narrator Nurse Leatheran, becomes a vital clue. The brilliance? Most readers gloss over it—until it’s too late.
6. The bait-and-switch
In The ABC Murders (1936), readers are led to believe in a pattern: murders corresponding to the alphabet. But Poirot discovers the killer’s actual motive lies elsewhere, and even he was nearly fooled. (This book is also where Agatha explores a new field of murder, the serial killer.)
7. Misdirection through description
In Murder is Easy (1939), age-based assumptions lead readers astray. A key suspect is dismissed as “an old lady,” but turns out to be closer in age to the protagonist than expected. Christie expertly uses perception to manipulate reader expectations.
8. Psychological intrigue
Poirot’s methods weren’t based on physical evidence but on “the psychology”—what he called using “the little grey cells.” Christie once said in 1946:
“With the passage of time, I became more interested in the preliminaries of crime… the deep smoldering resentments and dissatisfactions.”
This trick shines in Five Little Pigs (1942) and The Hollow (1946), where the characters’ emotions and interactions drive the mystery forward.
9. Drawing from the headlines
Christie often mined real news stories for plots. Destination Unknown (1954) features spies inspired by Cold War figures. The Mousetrap (1950) echoes the tragic case of Dennis O’Neill, a foster child whose death made national news. In The Mirror Crack’d (1962), she may have unconsciously borrowed from actress Gene Tierney’s rubella-related tragedy.
10. Testing sight and perception
When writing A Murder is Announced (1950), Agatha had her neighbors come into her drawing room and describe what they could (and couldn’t) see when the lights suddenly went out. She wanted to ensure her scene reflected how real people would experience the moment.
11. Recycling a winning formula
Christie reused successful twists sparingly but effectively. The concept of an unreliable narrator or witness shows up not just in Roger Ackroyd but again in The Sittaford Mystery (1931) and Endless Night (1967). Each time, it lands differently—because she knows just how to hide it.
More Writing Tips from Agatha’s Life
Reading Worsley’s biography, I discovered other good writing tips, not expressly called “Christie tricks.”
Beyond her story tricks, Worsley’s biography offers a few helpful tips from Christie’s actual writing habits:
Use simple tools.
Christie jotted down ideas in school-style “exercise books”—small, lined, no-frills notebooks. She filled more than 70 of them with plot outlines, names, and inspirations.
Have a designated writing space.
While accompanying Max Mallowan on archaeological digs, she built a square, mud-brick writing room where she worked daily. Having a set place helped her productivity soar.
Read your work aloud.
At Greenway, her family would gather after dinner to listen to Agatha read aloud her latest novel. Though it was often too late to make changes, the tradition helped her refine pacing and tone—something any writer can benefit from.
Conclusion
If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley is a must-read. The biography gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at Christie’s life, writing process, and evolution as an author.
What I admire most is how Christie wove real experiences, vivid locations, and even her pets into her plots. She gave leading roles to women—not always heroines, sometimes villains—and wasn’t afraid to borrow from news headlines or childhood memories. Though not without her flaws (including outdated cultural stereotypes), her legacy as a mystery master remains unmatched.
And for writers? Her “Christie Tricks” still inspire—and still work.
Disclosure: Information for this article is from the book Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley (2022). Lucy is the Chief Curator at the charity Historic Royal Palaces. She also presents history documentaries for the BBC and PBS.
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