The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1) in Reading with Style

Jan 02, 2011 Rosemary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Set during the First World War, this first-ever Agatha Christie book features Poirot and his sidekick Hastings, who is recuperating from a war injury at a country house called Styles Court. When the matriarch of the family is poisoned, Hastings brings in Hercule Poirot, a former Belgian policeman he has met in the past, who is staying near Styles Court with a group of other Belgian refugees.

In classic Christie style, Poirot then proceeds to solve the case step by logical step, while Hastings ju ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2016 Sam rated it really liked it

Shelves: borrowed-books, books-of-2016

This is my first Agatha Christie novel! I've had a few of her novels sitting on my ereader for a while, but have never gotten around to them. I'm glad I finally made time to fit her in though, because I loved this book!

This is a fun little mystery (well, insofar as murder can be called "fun," I guess) with an interesting cast of characters. I liked the Watson/Holmes dynamic between Hastings and Poirot a lot, even if Hastings is incredibly slow on the uptake at some...well, all, really...times. ...more

Like · see review

Dec 02, 2015 Whitney rated it it was ok

I don't understand mystery stories. I read them more or less constantly these days, but it just makes me ponder the deeper implications of "who done it?" In the large scheme of life, man, it's like . . we ALL done it, you know? Also, gorgeous ladies always cause big distractions.

But maybe I'm the target audience for mysteries. I forget the happenings one week after reading. No spoilers. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Chinook rated it liked it

Shelves: europe, 1-kindle

I read a ton of Poirot novels in my early teens. I can't recall if this was one of them, but since back then I was relying on small mall bookstores rather than the much bigger ones with better selection of today, I read them very much out of order and missed tons I'm sure.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable read and I might have liked it even more if I hadn't read it in tiny chunks while nursing Kait, which occasionally made it hard to follow along with Poirot's reasoning. ...more

Like · see review

Mar 05, 2019 Jen from Quebec :0) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-i-ve-read, copies-i-own, reading-challenge-books, books-i-ve-been-putting-off, public-domain-challenge-2018, female-authors, foreign-authors, 2019-booksread, buddy-reads, tbr-soon

Good, but not GREAT. I love Agatha Christie, and this is not one of my favorites of her works. Still, a solid mystery read, though. Christie is like pizza-- even when it's not the best, it is still pretty good, you know? --Jen from Quebec :0) ...more

12 likes · Like · see review