REVIEW: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Author: Agatha Christie

I first read The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1977. I was 9 and on summer break from school. My teacher from the prior school year  lived nearby and she was having a garage sale. I rode my bike over to say hello and check out her sale. On one table I saw a collection of paperback books in a slipcover. Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot. Murder mysteries. I was intrigued. I had never read a mystery novel before. A dapper little man was pictured on the side of the box. He sported an almost impossible looking mustache and an odd pair of glasses. I loved to read. These books were obviously for adults. I had a high reading level, so I wasn't deterred in the slightest.  The one deterrent -- the box had a $4.00 price tag. How could I possibly get my mother to give me $4? Utterly exorbitant pricing for a yard sale! I really wanted those books so I thought up my only possible chance while peddling home. I made my request....with the addendum that I would mow the lawn and tend the garden all summer in exchange. Understand that in 1977 sodas and candy bars cost 10 cents and entire day at the city pool cost a quarter. Four whole dollars was a HUGE amount of money for a 9 year old. I explained that I wanted a set of Agatha Christie paperbacks. Books won the day! Mom got out her little stash of mad money and counted out 4 dollar bills. I raced down the block....imagining scores of people showing up to her sale, all wanting those books. Jumping off my bike, I eyed my prize and swooped in to snatch them from the table and make my purchase. My teacher smiled (she had a rough year trying to teach me that year. In the 70s, small town school systems didn't know what to do with kids who were different or had very high IQs so it was rough on both of us) and I raced my way back home as fast as I could peddle my bike. After doing all the chores my mother required of me for the day, I retreated to my room with the books. I opened The Mysterious Affair at Styles.....and fell in love with Agatha Christie's writing. She is my favorite author to this day.  I spent an entire summer mowing, weeding, watering, picking tomatoes.....and reading Agatha Christie. Best $4 I ever spent!

I still have all 5 of those original paperbacks. They are 40+ years old and in sad shape. So, when I decided to re-read Christie in publication order, I left the physical book on the shelf (the pages are falling out) and opted for the audio version from the library instead. I'm going to re-read and replace my old Christie books in order. As I read, I will buy a new copy for my shelf....and repurpose the old, dying paperbacks for craft projects.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Hercule Poirot mystery.....and the first book Agatha Christie published in 1920. Christie would go on to write more than 30 books featuring Poirot and his amazing little gray cells. After almost 100 years, the dapper little man is still going strong, immortalized by books, film and television.

In this first mystery, Arthur Hastings is on sick leave from the Western Front. He is recovering at the estate of an old friend, John Cavendish, at Styles St. Mary. Hastings is overjoyed when he discovers an old acquaintance staying in the village. Hercule Poirot is in England to escape the war in Europe. His famous detective skills certainly come in handy when Emily Cavendish is found dead in her locked bedroom, seemingly a victim of foul play. How was she killed? And by whom? Hercule puts his gray cells to work on the case, while Hastings forms his own conclusions.

The audio version of this book from Dreamscape Media is wonderful! I loved having one of my favorite stories read to me! Narrated by Charles Armstrong, the audio is just shy of six hours long. I listened while working outside and thoroughly enjoyed re-visiting the first murder mystery I ever read.

Lovely Golden Age detective novel!  I'm now going to retire my old worn out paperback and purchase a new copy for my keeper shelf. Moving on to Christie's second book (1922) -- The Secret Adversary!