Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Mysterious Affair at Styles

This is Christie’s first novel and it’s so good! Every character is interesting, and Poirot is so fun and unique. I love how much she pokes fun at the narrator - I laughed out loud several times and was reminded of Austen’s subtle humor. Christie definitely had a Hastings in her life, as do we all.

I have to mention - there are several instances in the dialogue of period-typical racism. Because it’s always in dialogue it’s never clear if the author endorses it, although the (unreliable) narrator doesn’t give it a second thought. It’s possibly a commentary on rich and/or rural British attitudes of the time, but I can’t tell. Mostly antisemitic sentiments, as well as a mention of blackface.

I’m excited to read more of Christie’s works. She’s definitely one of those authors who deserves the hype!

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ellanarose's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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an_actual_floof's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Quite a fun mystery!! I was drawn to this series in my local bookstore when I saw the huge shelf dedicated to Agatha Christie; I had heard of her before (obviously) and her character Poirot. Since I’m a fan of Sherlock Holmes, I thought I might find a similar comfort in this book. Plus, I love detective stories. I do think I got the sense of a similar aesthetic, but I appreciate how drawn out the mystery was (compared to how short SH books tend to be). The twists and turns kept me going and Poirot was endlessly entertaining and mysterious himself. I also enjoyed Hastings’ interactions with Poirot, I found it funny how sassy he got with him when the detective didn’t share all his findings. Overall, the characters have drawn me in, and the writing style is easy to enjoy. I think I’ll be continuing this series :)

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rebeccainspace's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This is my first Agatha Christie book and after seeing the knives out films, it was so cool to read what they were heavily influenced by. I could see the influence immediately. I love the tone, and this subgenre of murder mystery in a mansion. I loved the reveal, especially because even though I felt good about my guess I was pretty far off! There were many little questions I thought wouldn't be able to be answered or would be forgotten but everything came back at the conclusion!

I described the novel as funny because some character interactions that made me laugh. The main detective is quite a character which results in some numerous reacts of other characters. The main character can also be an idiot sometimes, especially with women, and I enjoyed joining other characters in laughing at him.

I did knock down the review a bit because while a great story, the result of being an old novel means that there are some things that make it unenjoyable to read. For instance there is some racism and the n-word is used once. For reference, it is minimal in comparison to other classic novels I've read, but it still affected by reading experience when it happened.

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danisacchi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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? Yes

4.0

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oceanwriter's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I’m pretty sure this was my first Agatha Christie book (how bad is it that I don’t remember…) and my expectations were high after a lifetime of hearing about her and her mysteries. It’s easy to see how she became an original master of the genre, but as someone who’s read so many other mysteries and prefers more thrill to the plot, I ended up feeling underwhelmed.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the book that started it all — Agatha Christie’s debut as well as the first introduction to Hercule Poirot. When a wealthy and elderly woman is poisoned, there are a number of suspects in the household. It’s up to Hercule Poirot to deduce who the killer is.

The book was good. I love the fine details of everything and it was a great setting. I just struggled to get excited or really into the plot. The problem when you read a lot of mysteries is that the formulas become ingrained. I was more in the mood for a short audiobook at the time rather than a mystery itself, so I’m sure that was part of the problem. I will definitely be returning to Agatha Christie though, particularly Murder on the Orient Express.

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