Reviews

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

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nm_young's review against another edition

5.0

The Michael Jordan and Tom Brady of murder mystery writers has done it again folks! The GOAT Ms. Agatha Christie has yet written another novel that will stand the test of time.

This is the first book in the long ongoing saga of Detective Hercule Poirot and it was a fun one. We are introduced to him through his acquaintance Arthur Hastings, whom is telling us the story in first person.

It took me a little to get into the flow on the first person POV because all of the other Christie books I have read were told by a third person narrator and we saw much more of Poirot and gained more insight on his thought process. But as this was an introduced I understand why we were only shown a glimpse of him.

At one point in the book I was a bit let down because I felt like the "who done it" was too predictable and that the killer was revealed too soon. But boy was I wrong because Christie dropped a twist in there that I never saw coming! But wait! There's more! Because she saved the absolute best bombshell for last! My mind was blown more than once while reading this!

I will never doubt Ms. Christie again and she will continue to forever be one of my favorites. As will the quirky but loveable Hercule Poirot.

TWO THUMBS UP!

bledoux's review against another edition

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3.0

[3.5]

I've decided to start the Hercule series and this was an okay introduction to him.

I had previously read 5 Little Pigs and that's what interested me in starting this series but if if it wasn't for what I know Christie can write I don't think I would've continued.

Guess I was just disappointed in how things felt like thay fell into place for Poirot whenever he was looking for clues or ideas on how to figure the murder out.

I also don't like the ending, I get what Christie was trying to do but it's not satisfying for me in anyway so I can't like it.

alliepeduto's review against another edition

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4.0

After reading a different fictional book about Agatha Christie (rather than by her), I figured I would go back to read where it all began! I’ve of course read several Hercule Poirot novels over the years, but despite my OCD I’ve somehow only managed to read them out of order. It was refreshing to visit the first installment, though I was worried since this was a debut that it wouldn’t be a deliciously plotted as some of Christie’s other works have been.

I worried in vain, as I did not see the ending coming! It was cleverly done, and it’s truly inspiring to see how talented Christie was even at her first mystery novel. I had also recently read the below think piece about whether solving the mystery matters. I’ve included the link below, but considering how much I enjoyed reading this despite not figuring it out, I think you have my answer.

https://bookriot.com/does-solving-the-mystery-make-a-difference/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RR%20July%2015%2C%202021&utm_term=BookRiot_TheRiotRundown_DormantSuppress