The Mysterious Affair at Styles ~ Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is the first Hercule Poirot Mystery. Hastings was sent back to England from the front lines of World War One due to injury. Hastings meets up with a friend, John Cavendish and is invited to spend his sick leave at Styles Court, where he spent his childhood summers. Hastings meets John’s stepmother, Mrs Inglethorp and her new husband. Despite the tranquillity, something is not quite right. When Mrs Inglethorp is found poisoned, Hastings relies on his old friend, Hercule Poirot, to help solve the murder.

It’s been a decision I have been pondering over for a while, whether to read Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. I asked a librarian and a variety of friends and family and didn’t get a satisfactory answer, so I put a poll out on TikTok (follow us @aworldinpages) and Poirot won. This is not my first foray into Agatha Christie’s writing, but it is the first Poirot book I’ve read. 

Hastings is an unreliable narrator but Poirot’s explanations and observations do a lot to make up for this and created an interesting dynamic between the characters. Having Poirot be the voice of authority and reliability made it very easy to sit back and just enjoy the mystery without obsessively trying to piece together the evidence and guess before the answer is revealed. 

I enjoyed the pacing of this book. I expected it to be slow-paced and full of language that isn’t everyday vernacular (like a lot of older classics). However, I found it to be really accessible and read the entire mystery in a respectable three days.

I quite enjoyed The Mysterious Affair at Styles and gave it three and three-quarter stars. I will be reading the next couple of Poirot Mysteries at the bare minimum. 

C🌙