Book: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

    Agatha Christie's debut novel is a murder mystery and the first in the Hercule Poirot series. Our narrator is Captain Hastings as he visits friends while on military leave during the first world war. While visiting his friend he tells that after the war he would like to become a private detective since he has a "natural talent" for it. The next day the owner of the house (his friend's stepmom) is murdered. Everyone immediately suspects her young husband, Mr. Inglethorp. Hastings immediately calls for the best detective he knows, Hercule Poirot, a Belgian refugee. Poirot feeling indebted to the late Mrs. Inglethorp's kindness to refugees gets to work in solving her murder.

    I read this book when I was 16 for the first time and I kept notes because I was determined to solve the murder with Poirot, and I was still wrong! I'm just not good at solving mysteries. Anyway, for a debut novel, this is highly intelligent, interesting, and just fun to read.

I will warn you though Hastings is annoying, he thinks he's much smarter than he actually is and the first time it's only somewhat noticeable but after multiple books, it gets really long in the tooth and makes me wonder why Mrs. Christie kept Hastings around for so long.

I don't want to give any spoilers away at all. I feel everyone should read at least one Agatha Christie in their life and it might as well be this one.

    I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Kat K out

 

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