The Mysterious Affair at Styles was Agatha Christie’s first novel. It is also the first appearance of her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Coincidentally, it’s the first Agatha Christie book I ever read, longer ago than I care to admit.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is narrated by Poirot’s good friend and occasional companion, Captain Hastings and follows a well-tried formula. A murder is committed. Most of the family have a motive for killing the victim, or access to the means of doing it. The main suspect was absent at the time of the murder, but could have returned to do it. Clues and red herrings abound and there are many problems to solve. Why was the coffee cup smashed? Who left the large patch of candle grease on the carpet? How was the poison administered?
Hastings is the enthusiastic but slow character we come to know and love. He can’t see a possible clue without jumping to conclusions about its significance. For example, he wonders if the phrase ‘I am possessed’ must indicate some kind of mental condition, rather than recognising an attempt to get the spelling right. We also meet Detective Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard. He’s a very minor character in this novel, although he later features in a number of Poirot stories.
There are just enough twists to keep the reader interested. Poirot prevents the police from arresting the main suspect because there isn’t enough evidence to convict him. The police later arrest the wrong man. Poirot doesn’t clear him straight away because it might have allowed the guilty party to go free. And for those who like a little romance, Poirot brings two people together and prevents the break-up of a marriage.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles isn’t great literature, but that’s not what Agatha Christie was about. As with all her stories, this novel is designed to entertain the reader, and possibly to exercise their ‘little grey cells’, if they want to try to solve the mystery before Hercule Poirot does! This is good old-fashioned detective fiction for people who like a nice, relaxing read with no gratuitous sex or violence.
