The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Mysterious Affair at Styles features a cast of suspects, most of whom had reason to want Emily Inglethorp dead. Her two stepsons, John and Lawrence Cavendish, who both relied on Mrs. Inglethorp for their financial security after she inherited their father’s fortune; the enigmatical Mary Cavendish, John’s wife, who is often out in the woods with the mysterious Dr. Bauerstein, Cynthia Murdoch, Mrs. Inglethorp’s protégé, the no-nonsense and loyal secretary Evelyn Howard, and Alfred Inglethorp, the murder victim’s younger husband who the family believes to be nothing more than a gold digger.

The death occurs nearly two weeks after our narrator, Hastings, arrives at Styles Court to recuperate from his war wounds at the request of his friend John Cavendish. At first, it appears that Emily Inglethorp died of violent seizures, but it’s Dr. Bauerstein, a worldwide expert on poisons, who declares her death suspicious and the police are called in.

Much to Hastings’ surprise and delight his old friend, Monsieur Hercule Poirot, who in his time had been a celebrated Belgian detective, is staying in town as a refugee of the war at the charity of the murder victim. He is immediately engaged by Hastings to investigate the crime scene and collects a series of clues before the inspectors from Scotland Yard arrive at the inquest. After a series of twists and finger pointing, Poirot makes the first of what will become many drawing room revelations of “who done it.”

I enjoyed the story being told from Hastings’ point of view and the first incarnation of Poirot and his penchant for incredible neatness, his famed and lovingly tended moustache, and his little grey cells, which were put to the test by this seemingly impossible case of a dead body found poisoned in a room locked from the inside.

I was in the dark until the very end as not one, not two, but three seemingly guilty suspects were accused and cleared of the crime. It’s hard to believe this was Agatha’s debut mystery as she already demonstrates she’s a master of deception when it comes to clues, motives, and most importantly, suspects. The reader is left with a nagging suspicion about nearly every character presented in the story, but in the end, it all comes full circle as double meanings, incorrect assumptions and misinterpretations are unraveled to reveal the true killer.

I give The Mysterious Affair at Styles four out of five stars, but the real thrill was knowing that Hercule Poirot and Agatha Christie had only just begun.

The Mystery Begins...

“I had been dared to write a detective story; I had written a detective story; it had been accepted, and was going to appear in print. There, as far as I was concerned, the matter ended. Certainly at that moment I did not envisage writing any more books.”

-An Autobiography by Agatha Christie

It all started with a dare.

Agatha worked in a hospital and eventually was promoted to assistant in the dispensary. It was there that she conceived the idea of writing a detective story – something she had been dared by her older sister Madge to do a year or two earlier. Since she was surrounded by poisons, what better method for murder than a poisoning case? And the plot?

“The whole point of a good detective story was that it must be somebody obvious but at the same time, for some reason, you would then find that it was not obvious, that he could not possibly have done it” (The New Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie).

And so became the premise of Agatha Christie’s first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and the birth of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

The book was written in 1915, but took five years to reach publication. Although Agatha made meager royalties because of the contract she had signed as a “raw and innocent author,” luckily for us, she was encouraged enough to continue penning mysteries.

A Year of Mystery Begins...

I love Agatha Christie. And that is why I’m attempting to read all 66 of her detective novels in a year.

I first started reading her mysteries over 20 years ago at my local library after making my way through Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children and Trixie Belden. I was immediately drawn to Hercule Poirot and his “little grey cells,” and Miss Jane Marple and her unassuming, but sharp-as-a-knife, character.

But most of all, I loved the challenge of the mystery that Agatha presents in each of her books – a colorful cast of characters (each usually with a motive), a brilliant detective who takes you along for the ride but doesn’t show their hand, the clues and hints embedded throughout the narrative and conversations, and the conclusion where the guilty party is found out (usually in a drawing room) and often leaves me saying, “Of course!, Why didn’t I see it?”

So this year, just a few days after my 35^th birthday, I am going to dedicate myself to getting to know Agatha Christie a little better. I’m going to enjoy all of her detective novels (short stories and romances written under Mary Westmacott not included) in chronological order of when they were published. I’m going to research the stories behind each story, and learn more about what made Agatha Christie such a beloved and enduring author.

If I pull this off, my husband has promised to take me to England next year for my birthday to visit Greenway and see The Mousetrap. Added incentive!

So join me. Whether you want to take the challenge with me, or weigh in on your favorite Agatha Christie novels, I’d love to have other fans along for the journey.

And with that…let A Year of Mystery begin.