The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #1)
Emily Inglethorp has been poisoned. And it seems everyone at Styles Court, from the hired help to family members, had a motive—and the means. But with Detective Hercule Poirot out of retirement and on the case, no one’s getting away with murder.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles was not only Agatha Christie’s debut; it also introduced her illustrious detective character to the world. Poirot’s “little grey cells” would be put to the test in thirty-three more novels, but it was here that Christie and her unflappable Belgian sleuth would set the unimpeachable standard for the modern murder mystery.
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Author
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world’s longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the “Golden Age of Detective Fiction”, Christie has been called the “Queen of Crime”. She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Characters
- Hercule Poirot – A retired Belgian detective whose “little grey cells” are the only thing standing between the reader and complete confusion.
- Arthur Hastings – The narrator and Poirot’s loyal companion. Usually thinking exactly what the reader is thinking, which is not always a good thing.
- Emily Inglethorp – The wealthy matriarch of Styles Court whose death sets the entire mystery in motion.
- Alfred Inglethorp – Emily’s much younger husband and the most obvious suspect in the case.
- John Cavendish – Emily’s stepson and one of the principal residents of Styles Court.
- Mary Cavendish – John’s intelligent and enigmatic wife who often seems to know more than she lets on.
- Lawrence Cavendish – John’s younger brother. Quiet, reserved, and perpetually suspicious-looking.
- Cynthia Murdoch – Emily’s ward who works at a hospital dispensary and becomes entangled in the investigation.
- Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers,
- Evelyn Howard – Emily’s outspoken companion and Alfred’s fiercest critic.
- Dr Bauerstein – A specialist in poisons whose involvement in the case attracts considerable suspicion.
- “And who is Dr. Bauerstein?” “He’s staying in the village doing a rest cure, after a bad nervous breakdown. He’s a London specialist; a very clever man — one of the greatest living experts on poisons, I believe.”
- Dorcas – The loyal maid whose observations prove more valuable than many of the amateur theories floating around Styles.
- parlourmaid—Dorcas
Recap
Styles Court is thrown into chaos when Emily Inglethorp, the wealthy head of the household, dies under suspicious circumstances. Suspicion immediately falls on her much younger husband, Alfred Inglethorp, whose behavior before and after the murder seems deeply suspicious.
As the investigation unfolds, nearly everyone in the house acquires a motive, a secret, or both. Family tensions, romantic complications, financial concerns, forged documents, missing evidence, and conflicting testimonies create a mystery that becomes increasingly difficult to untangle.
Enter Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian detective living nearby. While everyone else focuses on the obvious suspect, Poirot quietly pieces together the details others overlook. The result is a solution that feels both surprising and inevitable, once all the pieces are finally in place.
Review
Let’s do three sections here.
What I Liked
The biggest surprise was how confident the book feels for a debut novel. Christie already understood how to plant clues, misdirect readers, and maintain suspense.
Poirot is immediately compelling. Even when the plot becomes tangled, his presence keeps the story moving.
The ending is also genuinely satisfying, even if predictable. That’s the most important part. I was able to follow some clues precisely and failed to be instinctive like Hastings in some other cases, which is what makes it a good mystery, right?
What Didn’t Work for Me
At times, the novel feels overloaded.
There are so many suspects, secrets, motives, misunderstandings, and red herrings that keeping track of everything becomes a challenge in itself.
Rather than feeling clever, some sections felt confusing. There were moments when I stopped trying to solve the mystery and started trying to remember who was hiding what.
The pacing is also slower than I expected. I started in the last week of May (somewhere around May 27?) and finished today. Modern mystery readers may find parts of the middle section a little heavy.
And Closing Remarks
I loved The Mysterious Affair at Styles, but not in a straightforward way.
It’s messy. It’s occasionally confusing. It sometimes feels as though Christie is throwing every possible red herring at the reader.
Yet it remains remarkably impressive when you remember this was her first novel.
More than anything, it feels like watching the birth of a writer who would later perfect the detective story. The machinery is visible, the gears occasionally grind, but the brilliance is already there.
Some Highlights and Notes
Page 7
pursuing literary ambitions; though his verses never had any marked success.
Page 12
From the very first I took a firm and rooted dislike to him, and I flatter myself that my first judgments are usually fairly shrewd.
Page 14
owing to the general ignorance of the more uncommon poisons among the medical profession, there were probably countless cases of poisoning quite unsuspected.”
Page 16
into the house and up the broad staircase, which forked right and left half-way to different wings of the building.
Page 18
“And who is Dr. Bauerstein?” “He’s staying in the village doing a rest cure, after a bad nervous breakdown. He’s a London specialist; a very clever man — one of the greatest living experts on poisons, I believe.”
Page 35
trying to conceal an inward exultation under a manner of decorous calm.
Page 41
Blood tells—always remember that—blood tells.
Page 42
strychnine is a fairly rapid poison.
Shabana Mukhtar: Did she kill herself to put everyone else under the scrutiny? Or am I being too forward?
Page 44
despatch-case
Shabana Mukhtar: Oh, she was supposed to send the paper. Poison on the stamps? Like Sagheer Shahid 1/2?
Page 48
The fire burns—and it destroys.
Page 59Privately I thought it lucky that he had associated with him someone of a more receptive type of mind.
Page 61“It Isn’t Strychnine, Is It?”
And, if that were so, was it not also possible that she might have taken her own life?Shabana Mukhtar:
Ha, I guessed it too so I am thinking like the narrator
Page 61
“Oh, la la!
Page 61
“Ne vous fâchez pas!
Page 63
generally occupying himself with the melancholy duties that a death entails.
Page 69
imperturbably.
Page 76
Poor Emily was never murdered until he came along. I don’t say she wasn’t surrounded by sharks—she was. But it was only her purse they were after. Her life was safe enough. But along comes Mr. Alfred Inglethorp—and within two months—hey presto!”
Page 80
“It Isn’t Strychnine, Is It?” > Page 80—954
“Yet you seem to be invariably charming to Dr. Bauerstein!” Instantly I regretted my words. Her face stiffened. I had the impression of a steel curtain coming down and blotting out the real woman.
Page 83
“You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.”
Page 90
“You’m from the Hall, bain’t you?” he asked.
Page 98
“No, because Emily never could bear to put herself in the wrong. But I know her. She wanted me back. But she wasn’t going to own that I’d been right. She went round about. Most people do. Don’t believe in it myself.”
Page 105
A kind of wooden shutter of officialdom came down from Japp’s expressive countenance.
Page 107
“Real evidence is usually vague and unsatisfactory. It has to be examined—sifted. But here the whole thing is cut and dried.
Page 129We must be so intelligent that he does not suspect us of being intelligent at all.”
Page 133
“Instinct is a marvellous thing,” mused Poirot. “It can neither be explained nor ignored.”
Page 134There are times when it is one’s duty to assert oneself.
Page 140Fire in her eyes, ice in her voice.
Page 152Poirot gave me one look, which conveyed a wondering pity, and his full sense of the utter absurdity of such an idea.
Highlight(yellow)
Page 161
I decided that I would descend from my high horse,
Highlight(yellow)
Page 161‘To speak or not to speak,’ as your so great Shakespeare says, ‘that is the question.’ ” I did not trouble to correct the quotation.
Page 178
pugnaciously
Page 212Lawrence blushed, and then smiled awkwardly. A man in love is a sorry spectacle.
Final Thoughts
Rating: 4/5
Confusing? Absolutely.
Worth reading? Definitely.
Enough to make me pick up another Agatha Christie novel? Without question.
And I’d be reading a lot of public domain stuff now. A LOT.
My next, however, is going to be another outing with Wimpy Kid. Last time around, I was so done with him, but reading Hercule Poirot has strangely reminded me of Greg Heffley. Off I go for Wimpy Kid #5, hopefully to return soon with a review.
Stay tuned for more book reviews.
Until next time, happy reading!
~~~
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Shabana Mukhtar