[.ca] The Mysterious Affair at Styles (ISBN 0486296954)

What an intro to the quirky little Belgian:
I've always preferred Agatha Christie's early mysteries to those published late in her life. Somehow the most recent works feel cranked out rather than thought out. "Styles" reeks with atmosphere, and the characters, stock though they may be, are quite good. The English country house, locked room murder tale has been overdone a bit (I eschew hyperbole), but it seems fresh-born here. Perhaps it is because this is the author's first-born mystery novel and she cared about what she was doing. Other reviewers have described the actual plot, so I will not repeat that. Suffice it to say that the plot works, and the surprises are indeed unexpected. The logic and denouement are fair to the reader. The plot doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to..."work," for lack of a better verb. Mystery readers, often without knowing it, read this genre not for the ingenious plot but for the feel of place and for the characters. If feel and characters are your thing, you can't go wrong with this one.

Opens the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.:
Thirty-year old Mrs Agatha Christie turned a nice little profit with this, her first book, in 1920. It introduced Hercule Poirot. Wisely, she gave him many flamboyant, eccentric characteristics to leaven the depiction of detection work, but unwisely she created a character of advanced age that she subsequently needed to preserve for a further fifty years. What became the regular Christie recipe for a whodunit is found here. Perhaps there is a tad more reliance on the dispensing of medicines, reflecting the author's occupation during World War One. A formula that she later discarded was the use of a narrator - Hastings - who presents one of the "cases" of his friend Poirot. 1920 and the publication of this book marked the opening of the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction". Expect that there are plenty of servants, plenty of drinks at bedtime, much making and re-making of wills, and characters - including Poirot - who walk everywhere. This rates highly in the Christie collection for classic charm, readability and ingenuity. Few of her books from the 1920s excel it.

Hercule and Hastings begin their adventures:
This is the first Christie and the first Hercule Poirot novel. The action opens with Hastings describing his first adventure with Poirot. They become involved in solving a death in a locked room with the most obvious suspect being the husband. Many twists and turns later Poirot prevails and justice is served. Hastings circumstances (invalid army officer alone in the world) are very like Dr. Watson. The relationship between Hastings and Poirot is similiar to Watson and Holmes in that Hastings is the bumbler, always leaping to the wrong conclusion while Poirot, like Holmes, drops little hints but by in large keeps his companion in the dark until the last minute. Christie began her pattern here of going against established mystery conventions (most obvious suspect being innocent) while playing fair, (all clues are fairly laid out for the reader). The trademark Christie twists and turns are here as well. This novel was originally published in 1920 and many of the details show its age. There are references to things that the modern reader will not be familiar and some comments are absolutely not politically correct but these do not detract from the story and in fact enforce the WWI English country house setting. This is a 'must read' for any Christie fan, and highly recommended for any fan of 'cozy' mysteries.

Hercule Poirot's first book:
Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's long-running character, is introduced to the world in this book. He is a Belgian detective who is living near Styles, a large home owned by Mrs. Inglethorpe. When Mrs. Inglethorpe is killed, Poirot is asked to help solve her murder. The detective works with his friend Hastings, who is staying at Styles, and he methodically interviews each person in the house to ascertain the identity of the killer. Poirot pays fastidious attention to every detail and painstakingly pieces together a solution, much to the consternation of Hastings, who is more impulsive and emotional when trying to solve a crime. This book marks the beginning of a long-running series which has attracted fans for many decades and is a good example of Christie's wonderful "whodunits".

Agatha Christie's 1st Book!!!:
This is Agatha Christie's first book it is very interesting from the start.Just incase you have not read the book I will not tell you all about but, I will say this it is a very,very good book and I recomend it to any Agatha Christie fan and even if you have never read any of her books at least read this one.