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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Was there truly no other way to end the book, Agatha? For what reason did you choose such a gimmick?
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
@bookslikewhoa made me read it! I have been catching up on her YouTube channel and she frequently talks about Agatha Christie being her favorite author. This is my first Christie novel and the first in the Hercule Poirot series. I was not sure what to expect. I enjoyed Poirot as a character, but the writing is a bit dated/a product of its time. Casual racism and the use of the n-word definitely knocked me out of the story at points.
“You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.”
⭐️⭐️ & a half
2025 📖 Read #16/Book #59
“You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.”
⭐️⭐️ & a half
2025 📖 Read #16/Book #59
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was fun! I was in the perfect mood when I checked this out of the library, and my library participates with one of those digital audiobook lenders, so I was able to carry it everywhere with me. I listened to it in the car, while I was cooking, doing chores, checking my emails, cleaning my fish tank, getting ready in the morning, etc. The library is enabling me. I'm not sure I've ever read an audiobook so fast before (of course, I usually only listen to them in my car, so it's really not that surprising. Side note to my sidenote: I love my iPhone 6).
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Hercule Poirot mystery, and was Agatha Christie's first book. After I finished, I mosied over to Wikipedia, which also informed that she wrote it on a bet*. I think that's funny. I really do. The woman had probably one of the most successful literary careers of all time, and it was started by a bet with a friend.
*The bet, if you're curious, was whether she could write a book where the reader wouldn't be able to guess the murderer. She proved that guy wrong. Like, hundreds of times probably.
The actual plot of a Poirot novel isn't that important (and you don't want to go in knowing too much anyway). There is a murder. Poirot is called in (or butts himself in) to solve it. He does so in a way that baffles or infuriates or straight up deceives those around him. At the end, he reveals all. If you're not down with that type of thing, Agatha Christie probably isn't for you. If you do like it, this book is a pretty great example, and I thought the mystery (concerning a poisoned old woman) was extra twisty and clever. The narrator in this one was also very amusing for me. Hastings is recovering from a war wound (this takes place near the end or just after the end of WWI) at the home of a friend, when his friend's stepmother is murdered. Hastings knows Poirot from their days in the war (Poirot is a Belgian refugee) and calls him in to the case. Hastings fancies himself a bit of a detective now, so half the fun in this is watching as Poirot frustrates the hell out of him, or how Hastings constantly misreads or totally ignores clues, all the while thinking he's the cat's pajamas.
My enjoyment was perhaps enhanced by the way I immmersed myself in the story, but I think this was a great way to start out the year. I plan on reading at least three more Christie books this year, but judging from how much fun I had with this one, it'll probably be more than three. Anyway, she wrote a million books, so I don't think I will ever run out.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Hercule Poirot mystery, and was Agatha Christie's first book. After I finished, I mosied over to Wikipedia, which also informed that she wrote it on a bet*. I think that's funny. I really do. The woman had probably one of the most successful literary careers of all time, and it was started by a bet with a friend.
*The bet, if you're curious, was whether she could write a book where the reader wouldn't be able to guess the murderer. She proved that guy wrong. Like, hundreds of times probably.
The actual plot of a Poirot novel isn't that important (and you don't want to go in knowing too much anyway). There is a murder. Poirot is called in (or butts himself in) to solve it. He does so in a way that baffles or infuriates or straight up deceives those around him. At the end, he reveals all. If you're not down with that type of thing, Agatha Christie probably isn't for you. If you do like it, this book is a pretty great example, and I thought the mystery (concerning a poisoned old woman) was extra twisty and clever. The narrator in this one was also very amusing for me. Hastings is recovering from a war wound (this takes place near the end or just after the end of WWI) at the home of a friend, when his friend's stepmother is murdered. Hastings knows Poirot from their days in the war (Poirot is a Belgian refugee) and calls him in to the case. Hastings fancies himself a bit of a detective now, so half the fun in this is watching as Poirot frustrates the hell out of him, or how Hastings constantly misreads or totally ignores clues, all the while thinking he's the cat's pajamas.
My enjoyment was perhaps enhanced by the way I immmersed myself in the story, but I think this was a great way to start out the year. I plan on reading at least three more Christie books this year, but judging from how much fun I had with this one, it'll probably be more than three. Anyway, she wrote a million books, so I don't think I will ever run out.