Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

What a great read. My first Agatha Christie book having watched Poirot on Tv. 

Joanna Tweedale

The First Hercule Poirot Mystery

agatha christie will keep you on your toes and make you puzzle over the possible culprits only for the ending to leave you surprised anyway

julia

Poirot a Styles Court

A good old fashioned mistery book, amazing summer read 

Aris 

Poirot's first case

The mysterious affair at Styles

Sarah Sammis

The classic police procedural in its early days. 





I prefer Poirot on TV or film.

Christine

A Hercule Poirot Mystery

Mysterious Affair at Styles

Bethany s. 

It's Agatha Christie. Our introduction to Poirot, and is it ever a splendid one! 

Twists and turns abound, and it's quite a ride. 

I wish I liked it more. She is a masterful storyteller; but I struggled with this because it seemed inconsistent. It was like the point of view kept shifting, but unintentionally. The characters' behaviors shifted, seemingly based upon what Christie wanted us to think was the solution to the mystery. 

It's worth reading if for no other reason than to get Poirot's foundation. Always love me a Christie book.

“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.”
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The locked room mystery that first started the world-wide legend of Hercule Poirot, from the master herself.
There is a reason why Agathe Christie is one of the best selling novelists of all time. Suspicious characters, scattered clues, red herrings, dead ends, and above it all, the silly genius of Poirot come together to make a wonderfully entertaining murder mystery that is hard to put down.
I feel like with each book, Christie adds on another layer of mastery to her puzzles, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles being her very first one, there are a few moments where the connections feel a bit clumsy as the clues fit together. However, the overall effect is just so entertaining. I enjoyed every twist and turn of the story.
This is especially a fun read for the fans of Knives Out.

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4.5/5

Robi Carballo

Huh! That was quick and enjoyable. For a classic this such a light read! French phrases can be easily translated when you use Kindle. I surely do enjoyed it.

My Hercule Poirot adventure begins now!

Marian L

This is the first Agatha Christie book I've ever read. It was really entertaining and I loved the twists in almost every chapter. Hastings was kind of annoying though. I just wanted him to stay out of the way and let the professionals handle things.

Lara Engle

Exactly what you expect from Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is most remarkable in how clearly it establishes the character of Hercule Poirot from the very beginning. This is Christie's first published novel and she's already a master of character and plot.

altlovesbooks

"At present, we are all thinking so much, and saying so little."

My mom and I talk on the phone every week or so about what we're reading, and when she asked me this week what I was reading and I told her I was reading this book, there was a pause on the line and then an "oh.......... that doesn't seem like you." I had to laugh a little, because it really doesn't when you look at my read list. Before this book, I think the only other mystery series I've kept up with was Louise Penny's Armand Gamache books. I've always counted Agatha Christie books as "the books my grandma read" when I was growing up, and I'm ashamed to say I never gave them the time of day. Now that I work at a library though, I've cast my literary net far and wide to scoop up the genres I don't normally read and the "pillars" of each genre to compare them against. It's been a wild ride.

I won't summarize the entire plot (since there's approximately 5 million other reviews here that will do a better job), but basically we're introduced to Hercule Poirot through the perspective of our ride-along character Arthur Hastings at Styles Arms. There's a lot of familial in-fighting within Styles about rich old Emily Inglethorpe's choice in men, and wouldn't you know it, she turns up dead. Hastings, staying at Styles Arms, hears by chance about a group of Belgians staying at a nearby house, and wouldn't you know it, his old detective buddy Poirot is there. Together, the duo wade through the complex family drama and we're introduced to Poirot's method of detective work, equally frustrating and amusing from Hastings' (and our) perspective. 

I will say I enjoyed this book a whole lot more once I stopped trying to second-guess the murderer's identity and started just enjoying the process. I noted several comments where people were annoyed they couldn't follow along and guess the murderer, which I get is a feature in some cozy mysteries, but I enjoyed the surprise and the method much more once I stopped worrying about it. It very much felt like a Columbo episode, which I loved.

rumbledethumps

It is remarkable that this was her debut novel, because it is all already there. Poirot, Hastings, a poisoning, a country manor, and the final reveal with all the suspects gathered together in a drawing room. But, as this edition shows, it might have all turned out differently. In the supplemental material, an alternate version of chapter 12 is included, and the original reveal was in a courtroom, with Poirot giving evidence. How different would all detective fiction be today if they had published that version instead?

This first mystery featuring the best-sellingest fictional detective of all time may not be Christie’s finest work, but it sets the stage for a decades-long career in crime writing that has no parallel.  Hercule Poirot could be insufferable, but is instead quirkily charming.  A worthwhile read.

Sam Hawken

Colleen

The Mysterious Affair at Styles was the debut of both "Mother of Mystery" Agatha Christie and her famous character, Hercule Poirot. I have read other Poirot books and have seen many of the screen adaptations, but this was the first time I read the beginning of the series. 

There were a few rough edges, but it is easy to see how this book launched both author and character into fame. Although it was first published almost a century ago, it still remains very influential. If, while reading this book, you see a familiar pattern in the mystery then it is only because so many subsequent authors have imitated Christie. And despite its age, The Mysterious Affair at Styles still reads very easily. The genius but lofty Poirot and the earnest yet sometimes hot-headed Captain Arthur Hasting take you swiftly through the story and leave you eager to pick up the next book in the series. 

A must read for any Mystery fans!


This review fulfills the "A Popular Author's First Book" category of the Popsugar reading challenge. http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-...

Arjo Gupto

My first proper introduction to Ms Christie and her most famous creation, was just as thrilling, warm and intellectually sophisticated as I presumed it would be . Can’t hardly wait for the next one and many more after that, chronologically.

Jonas

Agatha Christie is always able to fool me into believing every character that gets accused is indeed the actual person who has done it. I'm not sure if that's more a testament of her excellent way to structure her stories or rather of my naivety. However, I do know for sure that I absolutely adore reading her books and they're always such fun read.

Lynn

A true Sherlock-inspired mystery novel that takes its setting in the British countryside. The narration will leave you dumbfounded alongside the main character at the French detective’s brilliance. Real Downton Abbey vibes.

Trish

Wow what a whirlwind of events. Overall, I enjoyed this book but with one major complaint - I didn't like the narrator. Hastings is about as observant and interesting as a potato. It's rather infuriating. Because he's the one telling the story, there's so much that we don't notice or pay attention to. He's too busy acting like a horny teenager who's never seen a pretty girl before, like honestly man, there's a murderer on the loose, pull yourself together! 

But besides that, the crime was a classic murder-for-inheritance type thing and it was fun to figure out how it all came together. Poirot was such an intriguing character and we got to see glimpses of how his brain works, though it's all very clouded by Hastings' know-it-all behavior. Either way, I look forward to the next Poirot book. As of now, Murder on the Orient Express is still my favorite Christie novel.

The first Hercule Poirot mystery, now published for the first time with a previously deleted scene and commentary from Agatha Christie expert John Curran. This is the Agatha Christie book that started it all—the sublime introduction of her master sleuth, Hercule Poirot, and his now legendary powers of detection. Who poisoned the wealthy Emily Inglethorp and how did the murderer penetrate and escape from her locked bedroom? Suspects abound in the quaint village of Styles St. Mary—from the heiress's fawning new husband to her two stepsons, her volatile housekeeper, and a pretty nurse who works in a hospital dispensary. Making his unforgettable debut, the brilliant Belgian detective is on the case.

aisha

fun! honestly think that actually reading it would have been better than listening to it so i would be able to actually keep track of the clues but to be honest just listening along is fun too. sometimes i refuse to think!!

Roberta Falco

Esperienza audiolibro 10/10, David Suchet tvb

Liz B

Kind of an odd ending, you can tell that she improves as she goes, but absolutely a classic.

Ryan LaFerney

So, I have embarked on the great Agatha Christie read! I plan to try to read all of “The Queen of Mystery’s” oeuvre. There are tons of reviews of all her major works, and so I’ll try to make mine short. To start with my big read, I started with her first book - The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

As mentioned, this was one of her first books, and I believe the first published one, in 1920. This novel is timeless. The character of Hercules Poirot is instantly intriguing in his precise and strange mannerisms. He’s perhaps a bit annoying too. But that’s why we enjoy him! The prose isn’t Shakespeare - it's her plots and characters that stand out. And those transcend time.

With this first book, you meet Hercule Poirot, one of her two popular detectives. Poirot is kind of annoying. He will make you angry while you are laughing. He’s a peculiar fellow but he becomes endearing.

So why this book???????

It's the first in the series. It's a prime example of why her stories work. It's the ultimate tale - a family with secrets. In this first installment in the Hercule Poirot series, a crime is committed when Mrs Inglethorp is poisoned in her bed and Captain Hastings knows that the only way to find the real culprit and explain the crime is to bring in his old friend and famous Belgian detective Monsieur Hercule Poirot. I really liked this first glimpse into Poirot’s character, I wasn’t expecting it to be someone else narrating the story and having seen the crime being committed, but it was actually great. At one point, the murderer seemed to be acquitted and innocent only to be found out in the end. And let’s just say kissing cousins are a thing in this novel...

I’ve tried to read Christie before but could not make it through (which is weird because I’ve liked filmed adaptations of her works). But I was actually strangely really drawn into the story. This was peculiar for me because I usually struggle with classic mysteries, and I think it’s fair to say that this is a classic mystery novel. But this did not happen here and I was hooked right from the start.

This is a good start and introduction to Poirot - one of literature's most popular characters (alongside of Sherlock). 

Is it one of Christie’s better works? Perhaps not. I'm not sure. But it works.

Gayathri Jinesh

Okay. So the summary would be : someone kills someone else and Poirot finds out who, how and why.

The general opinion is that this isn't her best book, and I agree. An excess of red herrings and even more plot twists; more of a tiring and confusing narration than, a gripping one. Still it's good for a one time read.
Poirot notices people's characters, he finds out people's motives based on their characters. I find it annoying that it is not revealed to the readers, a description of their characters - not just plainly stating it, it could have been somehow made a part of a conversation.
Poirot just says "Haven't you noticed that so-and-so is a jealous person" 
And Hastings says "oh really, I haven't noticed". 
Me neither, man.

Toyah Blackburn

Absolutely love this book. Loads of fun, and an easy, but exciting read.

Agatha Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles

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