Lets Discuss: The Mysterious Affiar at Styles (Spoilers!)

[Nada]

1- Not my first Agatha Christie. I've read some translated abridged works of hers when I was a kid and have since read 3 full length books by her, two of which were Poirot novels

2- I think all are of equal importance but I'm inclined to feel that 2&4 are a teeny bit extra special

3- I agree with Poirot in that he's innocent of the murder but there's something else up with him

4- Nothing definite, all of them are quite shady. Something's definitely up with Cynthia "The sound sleeper" and I have a hunch that the husband and wife Mrs Inglethorp was talking about are John and Mary, not Alfred and herself. Bauerstein is somehow involved and Miss Howard is a bit too loud and honest for my taste. But like Shannon said, Agatha Christie will sure find a way to smash all our theories to little pieces sooner or later. I have learned my lesson and now try not to think too seriously about it and just watch as things unfold :P

[Nada]

Shannon wrote: " I also wonder if 1 is of importance. I mean how does one grind a coffee cup to powder. I mean I know tea cups are fragile but I've never made mine powder by dropping and stepping on it"

Yeah there might be more to the coffee cup than just the murder trying to destroy the poison evidence

[Nada]

V i c k s wrote: "1-This is my first book by her,im also kinda new into this whole mystery genre but Im really enjoying it so far
2-I think they are all going to be important at the end,but point 4 called my atentio..."

Point 4 stood out to me too! Imagine if after all the fuss it ends up being something relatively trivial xD

[Erika]

1. This isn't my first Christie novel, I've actually read many (including Poirot, Marple, Tommy and Tuppence, etc). Surprisingly I never got to Affair at Styles, which I find funny as it's Poirot's debut!
2. #4 also stuck out to me, but I have a feeling each point will turn out to be equally important. I think Christie has a way of making even the smallest details tie in nicely to the mystery.
3. I agree with Nada: I think Poirot is correct in assuming he's innocent, but there's something off here. This feeling intensified for me during the inquest (he can't remember? He thinks he was out walking? etc)
4. Not at this point. There's a lot of suspicious behavior and reactions, but from quite a few people, so I haven't narrowed it down yet.

[Vera]

this isn;t my first Agatha Christie novel. I' ve read Ten little Indians (Yes I know , but that was the title in the greek edition a few years back) , Five little pigs, Cat amongst Pigeons, The sleeping murder, the Man with the brown suit, and two Tommy and Tuppence novels, but many years ago.
I actually think it's the husband, he sounds very shady and furthermore most of the times it is indeed the husband. I like to see where the six important things are connected with the murder or not.

[Nada]

Am I the only one who finds Hastings' obsession with Mary Cavendish super annoying? It's really getting on my nerves!

[Erika]

@Shannon that's a really interesting point. And if that were the case I'd definitely suspect John Cavendish (or maybe Mary or his brother...?) as I'd assume the money would then go to him, per the last will before the stepmother's marriage. @Nada yeah I don't understand why that fascination with Mary is commented on or part of the story, honestly. My thought process is, "that's your friend's wife....?????" haha. Plus she seems to be hiding something.

[Nada]

I couldn't control myself and finished the book just now and OH MY GOD I cannot wait to discuss the ending with you guys!!

[Erika]

@Nada I have had the urge to binge read it and simply finish it as well, so now I don't feel as bad for that thought haha. Super excited to get to the end and discuss too!!

[Gia]

Ah, now that's the sign of a good book! That is, when some of us can't put it down and end up finishing it, lol! I wanted to do that, but I held off, and now I'm still in the dark.

1 - This is my 3rd Christie book (I've also read Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express)
2 - I think all 6 points are equally important somehow.
3 - I think Alfred is hiding something but I don't think he's the murderer; I think he's being set up. And, if he's being targeted this early in the book, he's not the one.
4 - I don't know who the murderer is but I'll probably be shocked, given your responses.

[Gia]

1 - My book does not have the deleted 12th Chapter; I feel cheated now and very curious about what's in it!
2 - No, I never guessed Cynthia was drugged. I have a ways to go in my sleuthing abilities, lol!
3 - What is a red herring? I can figure it out, though... I did originally think Mr. Inglethorp was hiding something!
4 - I did suspect Miss Howard in the beginning but was too shy to admit this because it seemed so unlikely. I thought Alfred, however, was only being set up so I was shocked to learn he was guilty.

Great book! Fun reading this with everyone!

[Gia]

Shannon wrote: "Gia wrote: "1 - My book does not have the deleted 12th Chapter; I feel cheated now and very curious about what's in it!
2 - No, I never guessed Cynthia was drugged. I have a ways to go in my sleuth..."

Thank you, Shannon! I guess I did figure out one of the killers... very cool! :) Thanks for the definition about red herring. I had no idea. That helps a lot to know that!

[Nada]

1- My edition did have the original chapter 12 and I read it after having finished the story. I prefer the one Agatha ended up choosing because the original felt a bit underwhelming in comparison to it

2- I thought it a possibility but at one point I also suspected her of having faked it

3- I was hysterical with laughter when I read the part where Mr Inglethorp was exposed because I totally fell for Christie's ploy (yet again) xD

4- I did strongly suspect Miss Howard but in no why saw the Inglethorp reveal coming

I really enjoyed reading this with you guys! Can't wait for the next one :D

[Erika]

Sorry, I'm a day late, yesterday was very busy!
1. My edition did not have the original chapter 12, but I wish it had. What are the major differences?
2. The possibility of Cynthia being drugged did actually cross my mind, but I wasn't absolutely certain. @Nada I also started to think that she might have been faking at one point.
3. Mr. Inglethorp is definitely this book's red herring! The whole time I was thinking that because Poirot was leading away from him that he had to be innocent (at least, innocent of the murder. Like I said last week, I still suspected that there was something else going on with him.). I was also not expecting him and Miss Howard to be in on it together at all.
4. No! I was completely surprised. Which happens a lot while reading her books. I also need to work on my sleuthing skills, they are obviously subpar lol.
Overall I really liked this book. It's a little shorter in length, and I think that makes it a great introduction to Poirot and his mysteries. And I'm so glad I found others to read along with. Looking forward to the Sittaford Mystery!