Going in, I was pretty sure Agatha Christie's *The Mysterious Affair at Styles* wouldn’t grab me – figured it'd be just an okay read. And yeah, that was mostly right. Still, there were moments where Christie's cleverness and skill really got my attention. It’s a classic murder mystery, of course. While it’s not a top-tier book for me personally, I think *The Mysterious Affair at Styles* is impressively done, especially for a first novel. For the most part, it was pretty entertaining and had a s...

I'm planning to rate all the books I read this year before writing my big 2022 review on Goodreads. Just jotting down a few quick thoughts on each unrated book, and hopefully I'll come back with more when I've got more time.This is the very first book in the famous Hercule Poirot series, and honestly, it shows a little. Agatha Christie's writing style in *The Mysterious Affair at Styles* still feels like it's finding its feet, and the same goes for the characters and the plot. But even so, it's ...

Agatha Christie has been a part of my life since childhood. I started reading her books quite early on and have always really liked most of them.I also read this book years ago, but it was time for a reread.I still really like it! :)It's a classic, very entertaining detective novel. Hercule Poirot is simply unbeatable. If you're looking for a great detective novel, Agatha Christie's "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" is a fantastic choice. It's a classic "whodunit" that keeps you guessing until t...

To celebrate finishing my 1000th book of the decade, I picked Agatha Christie’s first Hercule Poirot mystery novel, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", for this special reading slot. I’m especially proud of reaching this milestone because earlier in the decade, when I was working full-time, there was one whole month (September 2014) where I only managed to read one book, and two months where I only read two (May and June 2012)! Agatha Christie actually wrote "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" way...

Alright, let's get right to it. This is a classic British mystery novel, so be prepared for a lot of information! Keeping it all straight in my head was a real challenge, my brain was all over the place, but honestly, that's what makes a good mystery, right? This is the debut of the world-famous Hercule Poirot and his pal Hastings. Poirot is an eccentric Belgian detective who escaped to England during WWI. Hastings is a bit of a drama queen, always jumping to the wrong conclusions, and completel...

February has been a tough month for me this year. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there have been too many gray days, even without the snow on the ground. Thankfully, spring is just around the corner, bringing with it sunshine and happier reading times. I tend to read mysteries as palate cleansers between denser books, but I've already read four mysteries this month, and I might even squeeze in another. In fact, February should officially be mystery month. On that note, what better way to...

If you've read my reviews before, you know I love mystery fiction, and in particular, the classics. Agatha Christie died in 1976, and I was born the following year. Two things come to mind... (1) It's a good thing I wasn't alive when she died because I would have been so miserable to be around. (2) Since I was born just about a year later, I'm wondering if maybe a small part of her lives on... as I love her genius and her works of literature... and I can re-read her books over and over again wit...

Choose Your Own Adventure!You are Captain Arthur Hastings, and you are slowly falling in love with a Belgian. The feelings are embarrassing at first; you find the Belgian himself to be quite an embarrassment. But there is just something about him. Could it be his suave, continental sense of humor... his keen sense of justice... his shapely, rubenesque figure? Or is it simply his hypnotic mustache, perhaps? The passion develops in fits and starts. You don’t want to love him, you really don’t. You...

"Good heavens, Poirot," I said with a sigh, "I think you've explained everything! And how wonderfully considerate of you to wait until page 230 to finally shed light on all your absurd behavior throughout the book, and to justify all the red herrings and narrative padding! But of course, it could only be so in the classic style of a fiendish murder mystery! Why, in fact, though this is but the first case we have solved together, I have no doubt we could do the exact same thing as many as 86 more...

Poirot is introduced in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, so how can you *not* love it?!Actually, pretty easily.This simply *isn't* Agatha Christie's best work.And that's mainly because it's her first book. Yeah, so not only was she still figuring out who *Poirot* was, she was still figuring out this whole mystery writing thing. I mean, for her first go at it, she did a phenomenal job. But if you go into this thinking you're going to get her *best* story, you'll more than likely be disappointed.*...