The Mysterious Affair at Styles

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.