Product Details

• Published on: 2006-09-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

Somewhat Clunky Beginning for the Belgian Sleuth
The first "grownup" novels I recall reading were those of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, and while I periodically return to Wodehouse with great enjoyment, I haven't revisited the Christie books until now. I figured this, her first published work (written in 1916, published in 1920), would be a good starting place. As well as being her first work, it introduces my favorite of her recurring characters, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

To my surprise, the story takes place during WWI (not after, as many suppose), a detail that plays a minor role in the story. The story is told by Poirot's occasional sidekick (he only appear in eight of the Poirot novels) Captain Hastings, who has been invalided home for the duration of the war. The specifics of his injury aren't explained, but he has gone to the Essex countryside to spend some time at a friend's family mansion (the Styles of the title). Things there prove to be rather tense, as the elderly matriarch has married a much younger man, whom everyone suspects of being a golddigger. Meanwhile, Hastings' friend and his brother are in tenuous financial circumstances due to the provisions of their dead father's will. Of course, the old lady ends up dead, and there are plenty of suspects to go around.

Fortuitously, Hastings runs into Poirot in the local village, where Poirot and some fellow Belgians are living as refugees from the war. The two had apparently met years before, and soon Hastings has enlisted him to investigate the old woman's death. Found dead in her locked room, she appears to have been poisoned, but by whom and how is a mystery. Clues abound (as do plenty of red herrings) in the somewhat complicated story, which finds Poirot already in full form. Alas, he is the only fully developed and lively character to be found, with Hastings already his usual naive sappy self, and none of the rest of cast particularly memorable. As a story, it's somewhat clunky, although all the elements that made Poirot such a popular character are there in abundance (except his mustache mania). Not a great read, but not a bad one either.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Never having read an Agatha Christie novel before I thought I had best start with her debut, and 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' turned out to be a good choice.

There are certainly a number of genre cliches present, with an upper class family (complete with servants) providing the cast of potential murders, twists and double twists regarding the identity of the real murderer, and a drawing room denoument in which the amateur detective unmasks the killer - however, the whodunnit is sufficiently complex to make this a constant page-turner, while Poirot himself is so eccentric as to be a compulsive figure.

The novel's tortuously comlex plot is both it's strongest and weakest feature, as the ins and outs can become wearying at length, but this is still an enjoyable whodunnit,and stands up well over 80 years after first publication.

A compelling start to the series
Absolutely wonderful. "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" does not fail to live up to the hype.

I have to admit that part of the way through I became convinced of a particular character's guilt. I thought it was obvious; I thought Christie had done a cringe-worthy job. How wrong I was! I was carried away with my own cleverness and Christie did not hesitate to pull the rug out from under my feet - and I was left feeling shame-face because I should have *known* it was too obvious. The twists and turns of the story (while perhaps a little unbelievable) make a compelling read. While Christie goes on to write better and more complex novels later on in the Poirot series, this shows off her talent admirably.

Brilliant stuff. If you're thinking of getting into Poirot (or even detective novels generally!) this is a great place to start, and established fans of the series will love it as well. What Christie writes is not "great literature" but it *is* entertaining and she certainly knows how to tell a story. An easy four stars - I'm only restraining from giving it five because it's not *quite* as good as some of her later work.