The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Ratings361
Average rating3.9
Really good mystery and a great introduction to Poirot! How have I not read this before? :)
The book is likable and the writing is well done. However, I just don't care. I don't care about the murdered woman and who and why she is murdered. There is so little character work done and the characters are so flat that I just don't care. Mysteries may not be for me, honestly.
Un roman policier très classique d'Agatha Christie. Je l'ai lu quand j'étais adolescent, à l'époque où je dévorais tous les romans de la Reine du Crime.
Contains spoilers
I kept having this issue that a lot of us have where I wish I could focus on two things at the same time. I recently discovered I can do that by listening to audiobooks while drawing. My first pick was this book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, also my first Agatha Christie book.
I hit the jackpot with Hugh Fraser narrating the audiobook because otherwise I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much. Hugs Fraser is amazing, his voice acting was on point, he made every character sound unique and he effortlessly drew me into the story. Most of my enjoyment came from his brilliant narration.
If I would have read the book myself I think I would have struggled a little. That's because of Hastings, I did not like him. I don't know how to say this in a kinder way, but he is so dumb, he is an idiot and he overestimates himself greatly from all points of view. At the start of the book he sees himself as a skilled detective, and later he sees himself like a catch for any woman, and, man, no, you are not any of those things. It bothered me how he couldn't make up his mind about Poirot. He went from saying Poirot is the greatest detective to saying he'd gone mad, to saying he's the greatest detective again. The manner in which he oscillated between the two mildly pissed me off.
The plot was very interesting and I liked it a lot. I loved trying to reach a conclusion, to find out who the murderer was, by piecing together every bit of information. I was, of course, not successful, but it was fun nonetheless. I liked how Agatha Christie shifted the view from one suspect to another and by the time I reached the reveal I thought I knew who did it.
I also liked that none of the characters were plain. They all had something about them to make them stand out in a way or another. Every character had a motive to their actions and none of them were there solely for advancing the plot.
With or without Hastings (although that's kind of a package deal in more ways than one), I am going to say yes to another of Poirot's adventures, especially (or maybe I should say 'only'?) narrated by Hugh Fraser.
Story : One lady dies in a mysterious way and the family members are all suspects, but Hercule Poirot is here to save the day. I really dig this story because there are a lot of twists and you are always focused on everyone and on every element that might give you a clue on who's the killer. The last chapters are tense, because maybe is that guy considering what he's done, but it can be that lady too. Also, the reveal was so well done!
Characters : Hercule Poirot is shining here! He's like Sherlock Holmes, but much friendly. Our narrator is interesting too because he has different takes on people, in comparison with Poirot. Every member in this Styles family has something intriguing and every clue is given to us slowly and steady.
Overall : This is my first story with Poirot and I must say, it's a great one! The setting and the characters are likable and you always wonder... why did he/she do that? Poirot explains in a few words... oh, it makes sense and it's so easy to figure that, dumb dumb!
“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.
Short and entertaining enough. Also occasionally racist and antisemitic, which keeps the reader awake. “Did that just say– Oh, God, no!” But, yeah, if you put that aside, which you pretty much have to do if you want to read any older books and not be sick to your stomach, it was interesting to read the first story with Hercule Poirot, and to have it be so text book on the whole gathering everyone in the salon or drawing room, etc.
3.4
My first Agatha Christie was Agatha Christie's first. I enjoyed it, but overall it wasn't memorable for me. I liked Poirot a lot, so I'll give the series another shot, but probably something further into her career.
(3.5)I'm pretty sure this was my first Agatha Christie book (how bad is it that I don't remember...) and my expectations were high after a lifetime of hearing about her and her mysteries. It's easy to see how she became an original master of the genre, but as someone who's read so many other mysteries and prefers more thrill to the plot, I ended up feeling underwhelmed.[b:The Mysterious Affair at Styles 52843028 The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1) Agatha Christie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585632445l/52843028.SY75.jpg 3366260] is the book that started it all — Agatha Christie's debut as well as the first introduction to Hercule Poirot. When a wealthy and elderly woman is poisoned, there are a number of suspects in the household. It's up to Hercule Poirot to deduce who the killer is.The book was good. I love the fine details of everything and it was a great setting. I just struggled to get excited or really into the plot. The problem when you read a lot of mysteries is that the formulas become ingrained. I was more in the mood for a short audiobook at the time rather than a mystery itself, so I'm sure that was part of the problem. I will definitely be returning to Agatha Christie though, particularly [b:Murder on the Orient Express 853510 Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10) Agatha Christie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486131451l/853510.SY75.jpg 2285570].
The first Hecule Poirot mystery....story written in 1916!
Over 100 years old, and it is perhaps the best debut novel ever written. Poirot is in peak form from the get go.
Classic mystery, and the prose and plot hold up today, a century later!
5 stars
It's been a long while since I have read an Agatha Christie novel, last one was And There Were None back in grade school, and ultimately I have mixed opinions about. I think because of the novel having been written so long ago and set in a different world from the one we live in today, it was a bit harder to get through this novel than I was anticipating. Still, I am glad that I ventured outside of my comfort zone and gave a good classic mystery a shot because I do not regret reading this one. It had it's pluses and minuses but ultimately it's a story that transcended time and made history so I am working on expanding my horizons a bit.
A Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first novel in the Hercule Poirot series and it's an old fashioned “who-dunn-it”, where a wealthy woman gets poisoned at her estate and the rest of the book is spent trying to figure out what exactly occured and who did the deed. The plot was interesting enough and I enjoyed experiencing something that happened during a different time. A lot of things were a bit confusing to me because the language used was fitting for the times but ultimately I was able to get the gist. It wasn't the most exciting and exhilarating plot but it was nice to take a step back and try to think like detective Hercule Poirot.
Further on, the characterization specifically of Hercule Poirot is astounding. He is a very complex character and that is very evident from the novel. All his intricacies are laid out for us and I grew in awe of him and his brilliance. The other characters weren't as closely observed or delved into but they did show somewhat of themselves and we got a brief look into who they were. All in all, not bad in that area.
Thirdly, the writing is where I struggled the most with this novel. It was rather long winded and drawn out and I was sad to discover that I couldn't get through this novel as quickly as I wanted to because I had to take my time when reading it for fear of misunderstanding something. I understand that this book was written long ago but I don't think I will be venturing into another novel by Christie for a while since this one was just too much for me in regards to the writing style. I want to get to all of her novels eventually but I am in no hurry to do so and will be taking my time.
In conclusion, I think that this classic mystery novel is definitely worth a read but even though the plot and mystery is rather light, the writing makes it feel very heavy and a lot of the information gets repeated many times throughout the book. Also, be prepared not to have any clue as to who the culprit is until the last few pages because even though the information is given to us all throughout the novel, the answers are not revealed until the very end. That frustrated me a little bit but not enough to deter me from her books forever. It was not bad.
The Michael Jordan and Tom Brady of murder mystery writers has done it again folks! The GOAT Ms. Agatha Christie has yet written another novel that will stand the test of time.
This is the first book in the long ongoing saga of Detective Hercule Poirot and it was a fun one. We are introduced to him through his acquaintance Arthur Hastings, whom is telling us the story in first person.
It took me a little to get into the flow on the first person POV because all of the other Christie books I have read were told by a third person narrator and we saw much more of Poirot and gained more insight on his thought process. But as this was an introduced I understand why we were only shown a glimpse of him.
At one point in the book I was a bit let down because I felt like the “who done it” was too predictable and that the killer was revealed too soon. But boy was I wrong because Christie dropped a twist in there that I never saw coming! But wait! There's more! Because she saved the absolute best bombshell for last! My mind was blown more than once while reading this!
I will never doubt Ms. Christie again and she will continue to forever be one of my favorites. As will the quirky but loveable Hercule Poirot.
TWO THUMBS UP!
Was a bit hard for me to keep track of all the clues and so I struggled with my suspicions, which I realize is probably why I enjoy the series and movies more. With my memory issues. Though when it was all summarized in the end I was shocked as anyone else would be, I don't want to spoil anything In this review as I wish that everyone reads this and gets as surprised as I was. Incredible ending I ran around telling everyone the story.
After reading Murder on the Orient Express last fall I decided to start at the beginning and read the whole series. I found this story pretty scattered and frustrating at times. Hastings seems to be really dumb. His sole purpose seems to be to have someone dumb for Poirot to explain things to. He would miss a jetliner that flew right over his head. He also falls for every pretty girl he sees and wants to marry them within the first five minutes.
The mystery itself was interesting and I suspected who was involved but wasn't quit sure how it would work out. There are a lot of things going on. I really hope this series gets better though.
For many years I have heard of the author Agatha Christie and her creation Hercule Poirot but never had the opportunity to actually read any of her books. When I found a copy of the first in the series at my local library, I eagerly set about to rectify that failure. What I found, despite the fact that the book was published in 1920, was a wonderfully modern tale of a murder mystery and the complexity of thinking required to solve it satisfactorily. I look forward to continuing with the remaining books in the series; Hercule Poirot has become one of my favorite fictional detectives, right up there with Sherlock Holmes.
An excellent tale. I'm quite surprised that it is Agatha Christie's first book. The story was gripping and masterfully unravelled. I have always been partial to Miss Marple, but Poirot is fun too.