The Mysterious Affair at Styles: Pre-Reading Discussion

[Ilona]

This month we will be reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the first book featuring Hercule Poirot, by Agatha Christie.

This book was nominated by bailey for our monthly theme Trust!

A refugee of the Great War, Poirot has settled in England near Styles Court, the country estate of his wealthy benefactor, the elderly Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is poisoned and the authorities are baffled, Poirot puts his prodigious sleuthing skills to work. Suspects are plentiful, including the victim’s much younger husband, her resentful stepsons, her longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons who just happens to be visiting the nearby village.

All of them have secrets they are desperate to keep, but none can outwit Poirot as he navigates the ingenious red herrings and plot twists that contribute to Agatha Christie's well-deserved reputation as the queen of mystery.

Are you excited to read this book? Have you read it before or is it your first time? Have you read any other books by this author? Or seen any of the adaptations?

[Valerie]

Pretty sure I haven’t read this one - hopefully I won’t get halfway through and realise I know who did it!

[Ilona]

Valerie wrote: "Pretty sure I haven’t read this one - hopefully I won’t get halfway through and realise I know who did it!"

That would be disappointing!

I am excited to read this one! I have only read Murder on the Orient Express by this author. I have seen three adaptations: the mini series And Then There Were None (2015), which I really enjoyed, and the recent movies Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile.

[Ashleigh]

This will be my first Agatha Christie book, but I'm excited. I have a terrible habit of figuring out who did it, or the plot twist, in books, shows and movies about 3/4 of the way through (it annoys my husband when we watch a movie together lol) and I pride myself in this haha.

I know next to nothing about this series or these books so I'm excited!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I've read this one before but I haven't seen any of the adaptations. It was interesting to read the "origin" of Poirot; I really wasn't aware about Belgian refugees in England during and after WWI so it made me more aware of that aspect of history. I thought the mystery was clever as well and it certainly led to a long and fruitful career for Christie.

[Kemuel]

i will read this one :)