The Mysterious Affair at Styles

First off: I liked this book alright. It was definitely a good read, with plenty of twists and turns that you'd expect from a widely hailed whodunnit. The characters are interesting, the primary directive of sussing out the killer was never lost, and the story is told very engagingly.

That said. God, I do not like Hastings. Had to take some time after completing my read to really percolate on my feelings here, and I've arrived at intense dislike for the narrator. Arthur Hastings is a self-satisfied all-important blowhard that spends more time eyefucking his old friend's pretty wife than he does actually considering the "facts" of the mystery. His personal speculations are all over the place, rooted in prejudice or complete show more misunderstandings, and always turn back towards his blatant disregard for certain people.

In between random accusations— none of which really involve the pretty woman he's orbiting around for most of the tale —and fundamental misunderstandings of interview procedure? Arthur has cemented himself as a character I would hate to be associated with. Truth be told, I can't think of a single point in the book where he was actually helpful to Poirot. In any capacity. He stood around, said "Well, what!" when ignored, and thought highly inappropriately about his friend's wife. Didn't like him from the second he started chatting with Mary Cavendish, because he had to assure the reader he was a much better conversationalist than the man she married.

Whatever. I'm not a prude; it's just annoying when a character's worth is defined by whether or not the narrator wants to bang her. This comes up a lot, actually, since Hastings has a constant need to rate the women he interacts with on a scale of "would have an affair with" to "weirdly handsome [ew] unfuckable maid beast" and I find that annoying to read. Over and over again. I thought we were solving a mystery? My God.

The racist and misogynistic points are simply a matter of fact in this book, harped on unnecessarily to pad out time between crime procedure and information withheld from the reader. Usually, I can slog through quite a bit of this stuff to reach the meat of a story, but I think Christie's approach here being so dialogue heavy made it more unpleasant. The approach is perfectly fine, but she relies heavily on characters talking back and forth, speaking their whole minds and then meandering off when she's done having them yammer together. Mary Cavendish especially often just existed in a scene to say a plot relevant thing, then drift into Hastings' personal fantasies before fading away altogether so Poirot could actually work.

That said, loved Poirot. After multiple chapters of slogging through Hastings' bullshit, Hercule Poirot was a breath of freshest air. His mannerisms and eccentricities are genuinely fun to read, almost jumping off the page in an attempt to sit in your heart. I totally understand Christie's letter about him— included in my library's copy of the book —working his way into her mind like a chubby little unwelcome bug. A stellar detective too, actually poking around at the right things and immediately endearing himself to the layperson as well as the highbrow elite of the story. It was nice to see him speak candidly on the troubles of womanhood after sitting through Hastings' personal theories of feminine sensibility. Honestly, I'm surprised to not see as much discussion on Hercule Poirot being queer-coded, given... Well, everything about him.

Didn't bother reading the "true ending" included in this copy of the book. The court scenes that were included were fundamentally boring, probably the worst written part of the whole story, and I'm glad an editor stepped in to have things move away from the proceedings there. The parlor reveal is a classic, coined here by necessity, leaned on heavily in many a novel since. Which is baller. Did I guess the villain of this tale? Yeah, unfortunately, it was pretty obvious. There was a little too much racist foreshadowing, and in a first mystery, it's usually the first suspect with foreign machinations. Eyeroll. I'm looking forward to my next Christie novel. There's a good foundation here, and one can only go up from here.

If anyone cares, I thought Poirot's need to sit weirdly in chairs was very cute. Reminds me of a big chubby cat that wants to be held like a baby in your lap. Excellent visualization. show less

Agatha Christie's first novel, my first Agatha experience, and the inception of Poirot, is just perfection. Agatha's novels have been raved about for years and years, and now I see why. Her storytelling captures the very essence of a great detective novel, and has been the inspiration for hundreds of mysteries for decades. She was able to break away from the dominating Sherlock Holmes detective persona, and create a new detective genre (and character) of her own. For a book that was originally published in 1921, this story still holds up. The characters are perfectly developed and examined, the setting is painted with just enough description to be imagined without too much narrative, and the actual mystery is clever enough that I didn't show more guess the murderer until pretty much the end. Christie manages to do everything with a light hand, so that nothing is overbearing, obnoxious, or unrealistic. She keeps it simple yet complex, intriguing enough to make you want to think, without being so suspenseful that you don't want to take your time with the story. A ! I can't wait to read more of her novels. show less

This was the first Christie I've ever read, and overall, I liked it. My brain loved the story and the plot twists throughout that made me keep questioning my assumptions. Nicely done mystery. However, I was annoyed by John Hasting, who I thought was arrogant, impulsive, and useless... Too bad he was the narrator. I'll keep reading through the Poirot series and hope that Hastings becomes less tiresome.

Audible drama edition. Audio notes: immersive radio drama rendition with lots of ambient sounds (almost too much) and good acting.
Christie's first introduction of the Belgian detective reads a lot like the imitation of Holmes it really is. From the dunce cap on Hastings to the superhuman deductive skills of Poirot, he doesn't really come into his own until later. Christie offers a lot more red herrings and dead ends than Doyle however.

I've read other Poirot mysteries in a random order, so there was some fun to be had in seeing where it all began. Christie is very sharp at introducing all of her characters in the first chapter, setting up the murder in the second chapter, executing it (pardon the pun) in the third, etc. It's a bit mechanical but not absurdly so, and very efficient. Hastings initially presents himself as the story's potential detective but then immediately goes running to recruit his friend Poirot. The description of the little Belgian is complete from the get-go, lacking nothing from his later appearances; he was born fully-formed, as it were. Poirot's put-downs of Hastings are absolutely priceless, as is Hastings' total obliviousness. I can see how show more this first book took fire and launched one of the world's most famous fictional detectives. show less

How have I managed to get this far in life without reading ANY Agatha Christie? Came across this lovely audiobook quite by chance at the library and set about to rectify the omission. So glad that I did.

The first of the Hercule Poirot novels, we meet the fastidious Belgian detective and his upright friend, Arthur Hastings. Hastings is visiting his good friend John Cavendish and his lovely wife Mary. Of course, nothing is ever as it seems. In typical country house mystery fashion, the doyenne of the manor is apparently poisoned, right before the appalled family's eyes leaving a house full of suspects. The Cavendish family quickly enlists Arthur's little foreign detective friend to investigate.

Charmingly narrated by Penelope Dellaporta, show more the mystery rips right along. Her clipped English tones helped keep David Suchet's voice out of my head. show less

The first book Agatha Christie published was also her first Hercule Poirot mystery, my favorite of all her detectives. Captain Alfred Hastings narrates the story, and he also is a familiar figure in Christie mysteries, as a confidante and sidekick to Poirot. At the start of this novel, he is recently returned to England, invalided from battle and home to recuperate. He happens to run into John Cavendish, an old friend, and is invited to spend some time at the Cavendish country home, Styles Court.

When Hastings arrives, he quickly realizes that Styles Court in not a peaceful place. Emily Cavendish, the matriarch of the family and wealthy widow who owns the whole estate, has recently married a much younger man. The rest of the family show more greatly dislikes Alfred Inglethorp, the new husband. John and his brother, Lawrence, are Emily's stepsons. Nonetheless, she has the power to determine how the money will be distributed at her death, even if it was the will of John's father that John as his eldest son would inherit the estate upon his stepmother's death. Emily changes her will on a regular basis; currently, her will ensures that the money will go to the new husband, Alfred. Clearly, the tension is high in the family. To make matters worse, Emily's friend Evelyn Howard is also staying with the family, and she detests Alfred and regularly has altercations with him.

The mystery kicks in when the household is awakened in the middle of the night, hearing sounds of struggle in Emily Cavendish's room. They rush to her aid, but the door is locked. By the time they break in to the room, they find Emily alone but in dire straights. At first, she seems to be recuperating, but another attack seizes her while they are there. The doctor declares that she is dying. He explains it away as natural causes, but Hastings suspects poison, as does the doctor. Hastings asks John for his permission to contact an old friend of his, Hercule Poirot. While the family is divided as to whether a detective is even needed, John agrees, and Poirot soon arrives on the scene.

Working with his usual brilliant and meticulous care, Poirot begins uncovering the secrets of the household. The number of people staying at the house means that the suspect count is high. Christie clearly describes the clues, and Poirot's attention to them, but doesn't explain their meaning until the great reveal at the end. As this is Poirot's first appearance in print, the story makes a great point of the first impression he makes on people, of a rather foolish and foppish foreigner, in contrast with his incredible mind and deft skill at unraveling mysteries. The solution to this particular puzzler is delightful, twisting the reader's expectations around and around again, and will delight mystery lovers.

Truly, Agatha Christie is the Grand Dame of mysteries, and this book is a wonderful place to start. It introduces her most famous detective, it also introduces the familiar figure Captain Hastings, and it is a fantastic mystery that demonstrates Christie's gift for defying expectations. Her stories are generally self-contained, even if they do frequently use the same characters, so it actually is not necessary for someone new to Christie or Hercule Poirot to start with this book. However, it's not a bad idea, because this book is prime Christie, and immensely fun. I recommend people read all the Hercule Poirot mysteries, including The Mysterious Affair at Styles. show less