The Mysterious Affair at Styles

From the book cover

Set in Essex in the English countryside, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is one of the great classic murder mysteries. The victim, Mrs. Emily Inglethorp, is the wealthy mistress of Styles Court. After an evening of entertaining family and guests, she is found poisoned in her locked bedroom. The long list of suspects include her gold-digging new husband, her stepsons, her best female friend, and a visiting doctor. As luck would have it, a brilliant, if rather eccentric, detective is among the company at Styles. Here, in her first published mystery, Agatha Christie introduces us to her beloved Belgian protagonist, inspector Hercule Poirot, who methodically pieces together the intricate evidence of this bewildering crime. From his very first appearance, Poirot amuses us with his oddly fastidious habits - then astonishes us with the power of his razor-sharp mind. Christie keeps us guessing as to the murderer's identity until Poirot finally present his ingenious solution to this landmark mystery. And, voila, one of the genre's most famous sleuths is born.
----------
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is my first Agatha Christie novel and the first novel she published. I'm hoping to read all of her novels in order of their publication dates.

This classic whodunit reminds me of a Murder, She Wrote and Columbus mysteries. It's a nice easy read with lots of little twists and turns so the reader thinks they have solved the mystery at several points.

I enjoyed reading this novel, despite my lukewarm feeling towards the narrator, Mr.Hastings. He claims to have an interest in one day becoming a detective yet he has absolutely no instinct. He is just slightly more clued in than Inspector Gadget. He came across as being a bit too naive. And, Hercule Poirot came across as the typical detective.

I feel like I've read this book before... will this feeling continue as I make my way through Agatha Christie's collection?

I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a light read.

3/5