Is this by any chance prompted by Dr. Who fandom? (Because if so, most any of the titles mentioned in the episode would do.)
Otherwise or if that's too obscure, well, hard to go wrong with anything with the word "Murder" in the title.
Really, if you go to your neighborhood bookstore or library and pick up _anything_ by Christie, you should do ok - the only one to avoid is Curtain, that being definitely a last, not a first. I personally prefer Miss Marple books to Poirot ones, but that's entirely a matter of taste.
I liked them both, for different reasons. The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Poirot, I don't remember which is the first Miss Marple, but a couple of my favorites are What Mrs. McGillicuddy saw (which I think has been renamed) or The Mirror Crack'd.
Cat Among the Pigeons stands alone very well, I think. I should reread it, actually. I haven't in ages. Likewise The Orient Express.
I also like her short stories, though I can't now remember the collection that I particularly enjoyed. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories seems to have a bit of everything, according to the Amazon description, and might be a good way to start if you're a short story fan.
Just one? Oh dear. (I love Christie.) If you're looking for a standalone I'd start with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I will resist the urge to recommend 10 or 20 more...
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is probably the most classic. But, frankly, there's not much of Christie I'd recommend. Her plotting can be interesting, but most of her plot devices have become cliches since she used them. And the characterization is, in general, week.
I consider her most readable work to be short stories. I rather like Partners in Crime (which is the first appearance of Tommy and Tuppence, her lesser known series characters), but you have to be pretty familiar with golden age detective novels to appreciate it.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Then_There_Were_None
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Otherwise or if that's too obscure, well, hard to go wrong with anything with the word "Murder" in the title.
Really, if you go to your neighborhood bookstore or library and pick up _anything_ by Christie, you should do ok - the only one to avoid is Curtain, that being definitely a last, not a first. I personally prefer Miss Marple books to Poirot ones, but that's entirely a matter of taste.
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Tommy and Tuppence are a fun pair, too.
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I also like her short stories, though I can't now remember the collection that I particularly enjoyed. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories seems to have a bit of everything, according to the Amazon description, and might be a good way to start if you're a short story fan.
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Murder on the Orient Express.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
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Top five?
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Murder on the Orient Express
Cards on the Table
The Mirror Crack'd
What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!
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I consider her most readable work to be short stories. I rather like Partners in Crime (which is the first appearance of Tommy and Tuppence, her lesser known series characters), but you have to be pretty familiar with golden age detective novels to appreciate it.
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That could also be a reason not to read, say, Tolkien...