The Mysterious Affair at Styles
by Agatha Christie
215/247 pages
William Morrow, 2012 (1920)
mystery / fiction
Finished in 5 days
Rating: ★★★
"The intense interest aroused in the public by what was known at the time as "The Styles Case" has now somewhat subsided."
Review: By no means is this the first Agatha Christie book I've ever read. In fact, the first one I read was "And Then There Were None." Mostly because I had seen the movie (several movie versions actually) and became interested in the book behind all it. I'm fickle when it comes to reading books where I know there is some sort of order or sequence of events (no matter how inconsequential they may be) so I knew I would have to read her Hercule Poirot series in order. But I'm not reading them in order of their publication, I am reading them in the timeline order they're intended to be read.
For starters let me say I first became acquainted with the every popular Hercule Poirot through television. I've seen him portrayed by different men in different ways throughout the years. But like Jeremy Brett is my favorite actor to ever portray Sherlock Holmes, David Suchet is my favorite actor to ever have portrayed Hercule Poirot. I realized right away as I started reading this book that I had never seen this particular case on television. I quickly went to IMDb to find out if my favorite actor ever filmed this particular case? Turns out he had. And while the idea of comparing the television show to the book does intrigue me, for now, I will refrain from that approach and try to simply stick to the guts of the book.
The mystery here is a pretty simple one: old rich lady marry's younger man. Her children and surrounding friends who all seem to be after her vast fortune fear he married her for the money and they will lose out. Of course, she ends up murdered, by poison. Who did it? Why?
Seems simple enough right? Wrong! To start, the book is told from the point of view of Hastings (last name) who is somewhat of a friend of Poirot's. I know from watching the show that Hastings eventually works for/with Poirot in solving many cases but for the purpose of this being the very first introduction of Poirot to her readership, Agatha Christie chose to make their first meeting a matter of being in the same place at the same time. Poirot had to flee his native Belgium due to issues taking place there. He happens to be staying in a cottage supplied, free of charge, by the very woman who is poisoned. Of course he feels a sense of duty to discover who would want to kill her and why.
There is a large cast of characters (suspects), including two sons, one with a wife, the other single. There's her younger husband of course. Also, there's her secretary, a young lady she took in and decided to take care of, a doctor friend, two maids and a gardener. Any one of them could be the killer. The immediate family have the largest motive though, her money. I like mysteries like this where clues are given here and there and the option of figuring it out on your own is there because the case isn't solved, by Hercule Poirot, till the very end.
He's the kind of guy who likes to round up the usual suspects and put them all together in a room while he begins to cleverly tell the story of the crime and how the killer went about committing it until the very end when he reveals where/when he/she made their mistake, thereby giving Hercule Poirot the answer. I won't spoil for you how this ended because there would be way too much back story to then tell of each character involved. Instead I will say I think this is the only one I can recall where Poirot tells the entire crime and who did it from within a courtroom. You may not find that interesting but I do coming as someone who knows that's usually not his scene. Perhaps this is Agatha Christie just getting warmed up?
Summary: 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.
To learn more about Agatha Christie and her Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot visit
here.
