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prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Medical content, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Racism, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, and War
edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity and Medical content
Minor: Incest, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Antisemitism
thatchickengirl23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: War
kasialipa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity
Minor: War
averageawkwardasian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My first book into the series as I plan to complete the Poirot books in order. Full of turns and twists. Very easy to read through. Narration is delightful.
Unlikely to be the most memorable or my favorite out of the series down the road, but still a very entertaining start to the journey.
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death and Infidelity
irb0red's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Infidelity and Racism
mzlac134's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
Minor: Infidelity
writteninmagic's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Classism
fishreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
"The Mysterious Affair at Styles" opens with the character of Lieutenant Hastings retelling the events of how he happened to be invited to Styles Court by his acquaintance John Cavendish, the stepson of Styles Court's current owner, Mrs. Inglethorp. Mrs. Inglethorp, a lady in her seventies, became the family matriarch after the death of her first husband, Mr. Cavendish, who left the majority of his wealth to his wife instead of his two sons. While Mrs. Inglethorp might have been perfectly generous to her two stepsons, her second marriage to Arthur Inglethorp, a man twenty years younger, made the rest of the family quite displeased.
A few days into Lieutenant Hastings's stay at Styles Court, Mrs. Inglethorp dies in her bed, her symptoms seemingly pointing to poisoning. Hastings invites Hercule Poirot, a very famous detective who left quite an impression on him after they met in Belgium, to investigate the case.
It took me a few days to finish this book, as I kept falling asleep after reading only a few pages in the evening. In the beginning, during the setup of the scene and before Poirot's arrival, the writing did drag a bit. Lieutenant Hastings might entertain the idea of being a detective and proclaim his methods further advanced than Poirot's, but his overconfidence couldn't have been more obvious. Maybe it makes me a mean person, but I did enjoy the parts where Poirot would not so subtly insult Hastings's intelligence. At the same time, I have to say Poirot seemed quite fond of Hastings and appreciated his other qualities.
As for the murder mystery, even though my initial assumption of who the culprit/s might have been was correct, all the subsequent events and clues managed to throw me off the track completely, so by the end, I was quite surprised by the reveal.
I'm not sure about other editions of the novel, but the one I got for free contained a few racist slurs and instances of antisemitism.
I decided to rate this book somewhere around 3 stars as I didn't find it the most compelling, can't-put-the-book-down type of mystery. I still found it sufficiently entertaining, even if I had to pause more than a few times to look up translations of Poirot's random French exclamations. It did make me wonder if reading a translation in my native language (hopefully with readily annotated French translations) might make the experience somewhat more enjoyable.
Themes: single POV, murder mystery, detective
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
ninahuynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Murder