Elephants Can Remember vs The Secret of Chimneys: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Poirot, English Detective and mystery stories, Investigation, English literature, Murder, Mystery

Elephants Can Remember Agatha Christie · 1969 ★★★★☆ 3.7 224 pages · ≈ 4 h 09 m · Moderate

E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on Elephants Can Remember;2) "The Poirots": the complete guide to all the cases of the great Belgian detective."The Ravenscrofts didn’t seem that…

Détectives Hercule Poirot Mice Private investigators

Find on Amazon More like this →

The Secret of Chimneys Agatha Christie · 1925 ★★★★☆ 3.8 226 pages · ≈ 4 h 11 m · Challenging

A bit of adventure and quick cash is all that good-natured drifter Anthony Cade is looking for when he accepts a messenger job from an old friend. It sounds so simple: deliver the provocative memoirs of a recently…

Manors Conspiracies London

Find on Amazon More like this →

Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
Elephants Can Remember has the widest readership — 51485 ratings behind its score.
Elephants Can Remember runs the darker storyline; The Secret of Chimneys stays the lighter read.

How to choose

New to the genre? Elephants Can Remember Moderate vs Challenging for The Secret of Chimneys In the mood for something dark? Elephants Can Remember a darker storyline than The Secret of Chimneys Want something lighter? The Secret of Chimneys an easier tone than Elephants Can Remember

Scores by source

	Elephants Can Remember	The Secret of Chimneys
Goodreads	3.7 (51485)	3.8 (37369)
Hardcover	3.4 (112)	3.6 (81)
Google Books	3.0 (1)	5.0 (1)
Apple Books	4.0 (80)	4.5 (130)

Reception

	Elephants Can Remember	The Secret of Chimneys
Ratings	51485	37369
Editions	110	121
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	25560	20448
Reading it now	1424	4283
Written reviews	3704	3222
Wikipedia attention	2522	6859
Pages	224	226

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Elephants Can Remember or The Secret of Chimneys?

The Secret of Chimneys has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Secret of Chimneys 3.8/5, Elephants Can Remember 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: Elephants Can Remember or The Secret of Chimneys?

Elephants Can Remember is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Elephants Can Remember (224 pages, ≈ 4 h 09 m); The Secret of Chimneys (226 pages, ≈ 4 h 11 m).

Which is harder to read: Elephants Can Remember or The Secret of Chimneys?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Elephants Can Remember: Moderate; The Secret of Chimneys: Challenging.