Customer Reviews

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In 1920 Agatha Christie introduced a quirky little Belgian detective to the world in this book she wrote on a dare from her sister. The time is World War I and Poirot is one of a small group of Belgian refugees who has come to live in a rural English village. With his egg-shaped head and his well-groomed moustache, Poirot enters and soon becomes one of fiction's best-loved detectives. Also in this novel, the reader is introduced to his cohort, Captain Arthur Hastings, recovering from a war injury at the upper-class household known as Styles Court. The mistress of the manor is Emily Inglethorpe, an elderly woman who has just married a much younger man. The family members occupying the house all become suspects when Mrs. Inglethorpe is murdered and it is up to Poirot's little grey cells to sift through all the red herrings and, in the final chapter, reveal all in true detective fashion. High on Poirot's list of suspects are: John Cavendish, the elder stepson; Mary Cavendish, his wife; Lawrence Cavendish, the younger stepson; Evelyn Howard, Mrs. Inglethorpe's companion; Cynthia Murdoch, her protegee; and Dr. Bauerstein, a mysterious stranger who lives in Essex. All have motive and opportunity but only Poirot can discover the truth.

This first novel sets the tone for many Christies to follow. The wealthy family inhabiting a country house, the non-violent method of murder (poisoning) so favored by Mrs. Christie, and the light-hearted but often serious romance all became hallmarks of many of her later works.

Have a cup of hot chocolate with Poirot and enjoy the adventure.

"Poirot was an extraordinary looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet, four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military." I love the description of Poirot. This is the start of one of the best sets of mysteries ever made - the first appearance of the celebrated Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.

Poirot is interesting for many reasons, one of the first that he was a famous detective as a member of the Belgian police force. Due to WW I, Poirot has to move to England as a refugee, and remains. It's also the first appearance of Capt. Hastings, the sometimes narrator of the stories.

Wonderful characters, great story. Easy 5 stars.

This is the free Kindle version. A must get if you like mysteries.

This is Poirot's first case and Christie's debut as a mystery writer. It is an auspicious start to a brilliant career for both the author and her creation. It's a bit over-ambitious; the young Christie was heavy-handed with the clues in this one, and while the ending is a surprise, the last section of the book is just a bit too long for the ending to have quite the impact that Christie would achieve in later works. This is perhaps the only Christie book about which one can say there are "too many clues;" it is nonetheless an astounding achievement for a first-time author. And, of course, any fan of Poirot will want to read the case that "started it all."

Readers everywhere are grateful to the sister of Agatha Christie for placing a bet with her, claiming that the woman that nowadays is known as the Queen of Mystery would not be able to write a good detective story. That is actually how this novel and the character of Hercule Poirot came into existence. In this first effort we can see the basic traits that later established Christie as one of the best mystery writers ever, though some of her technique is not yet completely polished. For example we get only a brief description of each of the characters, except for Poirot, so it is hard to picture some of them clearly. Nevertheless, the story deserves high praise, and I am pretty sure Agatha won the bet!

The story is narrated by Hasting, who gets an invitation to spend some time in the country place of John Cavendish at Styles Court. Upon his arrival, Hasting notices that there is a certain level of tension in the family, since John's mother, Emily, has recently married a younger man, who the family considers to be a fortune hunter. Meanwhile, John and his brother Lawrance are having financial trouble, and a set of interesting characters surround Emily and have all kinds of suggesting exchanges with her. When the lady of the house is murdered it comes as no surprise. There is a main suspect, but also a myriad of possible candidates for the role of the killer.

Luckily, Hasting runs into Poirot at the time of these events, and the small man with the peculiar moustache, who has retired from the Belgian police, is more than happy to help solve the baffling case. Those that have read other novels by Christie know that the author has an outstanding ability to mislead us into believing we have discovered the culprit, only to turn the tables on us and leave us dumbstruck. This case is no different...Ahhh, those little grey cells!

The novel itself is a classic and a masterpiece. That said, you should pony up for a better edition. Simply put, the novel includes several diagrams and reproductions of handwritten notes -which are not included in this Kindle edition. So, you pretty much have to get a copy of the physical book, or do without important clues to the solution of the mystery. I have read other Kindle books which include diagrams, drawings, etc., so it can easily be done. This particular publisher/editor didn't bother, and the result is a less-than-satisfactory reading experience. Five stars for the novel; 1 star for the Kindle edition.

Agatha Christie began her series of Hercule Poirot mysteries in 1920 with THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. As the novel opens, it is 1917; the Great War is on, and Lieutenant Arthur Hastings, the novel's genial narrator, has been wounded. To recuperate he goes to the country estate of a friend, John Cavendish, who lives with his wife, Mary, his younger brother, Lawrence, and a girl, Cynthia, who is the ward of his stepmother, Emily Agnes Inglethorp, who owns the estate. Mrs. Inglethorp has recently married a man twenty years her junior, whom no one else in the household likes - least of all her paid companion, Evelyn Howard. Hastings' restful sojourn at Styles is interrupted when Mrs. Inglethorp is poisoned, in a classic locked-room scenario. Hastings then joins forces with Hercule Poirot, a Belgian refugee and former police inspector living in the village, to hunt down the murderer...and a partnership is born.

The story's quaint country-house setting and its depiction of the beginnings of Poirot's English career are its most memorable features. The intricate murder-plot is great fun, and in developing it the author uses a technique for misleading the reader which she would repeat in later stories. I can't explain what the technique is without revealing the novel's ending, so I'll just say that THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES is a detective story that should prove just as enjoyable for longtime fans of the charming Poirot as for those new to the character and his creator, Agatha Christie. Also highly recommended, for those who have finished the novel: the superb made-for-TV version of THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES, starring David Suchet as Poirot and Hugh Fraser as Hastings, and available on DVD from Amazon.com.

Thirty-year old Mrs Agatha Christie turned a nice little profit with this, her first book, in 1920. It introduced Hercule Poirot. Wisely, she gave him many flamboyant, eccentric characteristics to leaven the depiction of detection work, but unwisely she created a character of advanced age that she subsequently needed to preserve for a further fifty years.

What became the regular Christie recipe for a whodunit is found here. Perhaps there is a tad more reliance on the dispensing of medicines, reflecting the author's occupation during World War One. A formula that she later discarded was the use of a narrator - Hastings - who presents one of the "cases" of his friend Poirot. 1920 and the publication of this book marked the opening of the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction". Expect that there are plenty of servants, plenty of drinks at bedtime, much making and re-making of wills, and characters - including Poirot - who walk everywhere.

This rates highly in the Christie collection for classic charm, readability and ingenuity. Few of her books from the 1920s excel it.

Agatha Christie's first Hercule Poirot mystery is the ever-delightful The Mysterious Affair at Styles. All of her trademarks are right here from the beginning in the character of Poirot and his brilliant gray matter and the delightful Hastings (before he become completely stuffy, as in the later books). There are red herrings aplenty and everyone seems to be up to something suspicious, much like one would want from an English country house. I have taken a summer vow to re-read all of the Poirot books that I read over the past four decades but this time to read them in the order they were written. The sole advantage of memory loss may be the ability to read these books again without a clue as to who did it. Maybe growing older will not be so bad. This book makes a perfect start to the series and to my summer. A bon-bon of Belgian chocolate.

Agatha Christie's sister once boasted to her that she had never read a mystery in which she didn't know right away who the killer was. Agatha answered her by writing her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. It was quite a start to a brilliant literary career. The Mysterious Affair at Styles is well plotted and the characters are great to read about. Hercule Poirot and Hastings are really hilarious together. Poirot has to be the greatest crime-solver in literature. The entire cast of characters in this novel is interesting. This probably isn't Christie's best work (my favorite is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) because her characteristic clean prose hadn't quite developed yet, but this is an extremely important work and is, like all of her books, entertaining. The literary critic Edmund Crispin summed Christie's work up best when he wrote: "You know, relaxing with a Christie, that for an hour or two you can forget the authentic nastiness of life and submerge yourself in a world where, no matter how many murders take place, you are essentially in nevver-never land."

Captain Hastings is invalided home from World War I, and while on leave comes across an old friend, John Cavendish. When Hastings is offered to stay for the duration of his leave with the Cavendish family, he immediately takes up the offer. Arriving at Styles Court, instead of having a relaxing and pleasant stay, he gets involved in a murder! The victim is Emily Inglethorpe, mother of John Cavendish, murder by poison. It is then that Hastings brings in the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, a refugee from his homeland. Will the detective be able to sort through the clues, use method and order, and exercise his 'little grey cells' to bring the killer to justice?

This is truly one of Agatha Christie's best Poirot novel! My father, my sister, and I are the proud owners of almost all of Agatha Christie's mysteries. All of her books are just so enjoyable to read that the best atmosphere I recommend you read them in is when you're either curled up on the couch or relaxing on your bed. Very hard to put down, I can almost guarantee you won't take as long as a week to finish one book!

The story and plot of "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" is ingenious, with lots of clues, happenings, twists and turns which never seem to come together or make sense! Agatha Christie has that writing style where she seems to be giving you everything, all of the hints and clues, but at the same keeping you in the dark, guessing and suspecting but never actually knowing. Then she gives you a finale which just leaves thinking, "Of course! Absolutely brilliant! That's how it happened!"

The character of Hercule Poirot has a personality all of his own. Yes, we have our Sherlock Holmes and other well known and well liked characters, but Hercule Poirot himself is a remarkable character. With his system of method and order, gathering all of the clues even the most significant ones, then putting them all together with the help of a little imagination, he is quite brilliant. Then there's Captain Hastings, so incredibly gullible that though at times you'd like to ask him whether he's keeping up with everything, you can't help but like him.

Then there's the array of other characters for this mystery who all seem to have a motive for murder: John Cavendish, Mary Cavendish, Alfred Inglethorpe, Evelyn Howard, Lawrence Cavendish, Cynthia Murdoch, Dorcas, and more. Everyone is under suspicion, who do you think is the murderer?

I recommend all of Hercule Poirot's mysteries. And besides Poirot, Agatha Christie has written stories on numerous other heroes and heroines, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, Parker Pine, and others. Other mystery writers whose work I enjoy reading are Lillian Jackson Braun and Dick Francis.

Also, don't miss out on any of the TV series and movies of Hercule Poirot. Starring as Poirot is David Suchet, perfect in his role! Plus, the movie, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" is on DVD!