Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles
    Unavailable
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles
    Unavailable
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Mysterious Affair at Styles

    Written by Agatha Christie

    Narrated by Charles Armstrong

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Read the ebook instead

    About this audiobook

    The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel that was written by Agatha Christie in 1916 and first published in 1920 to rave reviews. It introduces her famous detective Hercule Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, who settles in England near the home of his wealthy, recently widowed friend Emily Inglethorp. When the widow is found murdered via the administering of poison, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery. Featuring multiple red herrings and surprise twists, the book ushered in what is known as The Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateFeb 27, 2018
    ISBN9781974901197
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies. She is the author of eighty crime novels and short-story collections, nineteen plays and six novels written under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.

    More audiobooks from Agatha Christie

    Related to The Mysterious Affair at Styles

    Related audiobooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Death On The Nile

      Jan 8, 2021

      Death On The Nile
      1 min read

    • Article

      Cracking The Case

      Mar 25, 2020

      Cracking The Case
      3 min read

    • Article

      100 Years On, It’s No Mystery Why Agatha Christie’s Stories Endure

      Oct 2, 2020

      The Queen of Mystery’s legendary plot twists and beloved characters have inspired legions of fans – especially mystery authors.

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Mystery Of Christie

      Dec 4, 2020

      The Mystery Of Christie
      4 min read

    • Article

      Cosy Crime Time

      Oct 11, 2023

      There’s been a murder – and we are about to meet the suspects, who quite often live in a sleepy village. Twists, turns, hidden clues and red herrings – it’s all in a day’s work for the local detective. It’s fair to say, cosy crime novels are having a

      2 min read

    • Article

      Spooks From Elmstein To Essex

      Apr 20, 2023

      Spooks From Elmstein To Essex
      10 min read

    • Article

      Who Was The Count St Germain?

      Apr 21, 2022

      Who Was The Count St Germain?
      1 min read

    • Article

      Mysterious World

      Aug 27, 2020

      Mysterious World
      1 min read

    • Article

      Peculiar Postcards

      May 18, 2023

      Peculiar Postcards
      3 min read

    • Article

      Treats For Bookworms

      Oct 18, 2023

      How to Survive a Classic Crime Novel by Kate Jackson (British Library, £12.99) is for those with groaning shelves of golden-age crime novels. Kate Jackson has plundered the works of Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and others to give tips on how the re

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Murder The Strange Case Of Walter Sickert And Jack The Ripper

      May 19, 2022

      Whitechapel, London, the autumn of 1888. Through the midnight streets stalks a dark figure, wrapped in a long, checkered coat. As the secretive figure makes his way along Copenhagen Street, he attracts the attention of a group of young girls. Talk of

      15 min read

    • Article

      Death By The Dozen

      Jan 19, 2021

      Death By The Dozen
      2 min read

    • Article

      Peculiar Postcards

      Jul 13, 2023

      Peculiar Postcards
      3 min read

    • Article

      Hog In The Limelight

      Dec 17, 2020

      Hog In The Limelight
      3 min read

    • Article

      You Recommend

      Mar 18, 2021

      We asked our Twitter followers which history books captured their childhood imaginations… I loved the Ladybird books on English monarchs – though I’m not sure the history was always sound... Horrible Histories. If Terry Deary had illustrated the Iris

      1 min read

    • Article

      On The Bookshelf

      May 28, 2021

      Triple Cross by Tom Bradby Published by Bantam Press Price £12.99 Pages 368 ISBN 9781787634251 After her husband’s betrayal and her own enforced departure from MI6, Kate Henderson is attempting to get her family life on track. After an unexpected and

      2 min read

    • Article

      On The Podcast

      Jun 8, 2023

      Want to learn more about the lives of the Tudors? We've rounded up some of the best HistoryExtra podcast episodes about the famed royal dynasty, including a six-part series that delves into the stories of each of Henry VIII's wives Take a whistle-sto

      2 min read

    • Article

      You’ve Got A Friend In Me

      Feb 26, 2020

      You’ve Got A Friend In Me
      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Jun 9, 2022

      Q&A
      4 min read

    • Article

      Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb

      Oct 6, 2022

      Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb
      9 min read

    • Article

      All Gilt, No Guilt

      Jun 16, 2023

      All Gilt, No Guilt
      5 min read

    • Article

      History’s 20 Greatest Hoaxes

      Aug 13, 2020

      History’s 20 Greatest Hoaxes
      9 min read

    Reviews for The Mysterious Affair at Styles

    4/5

    2,280 ratings106 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Apparently, Agatha Christie - who had never written a book before - wrote this book in response to a complaint that there were no crime novels where all the facts were known to the reader, as well as the detective, before the denouement which weren't solvable in the first few chapters. This is the book, narrated by Hastings, that introduces us to Hercule Poirot.Hastings has been invalided out of the war, and while convalescing, is invited back to Styles, the country home of an old acquaintance, John Cavendish. While there, a crime occurs, and on wishing out loud that a great detective he met in Europe was here to help them, Hastings discovers that Poirot is, in fact, living in the nearby village, as a Belgian refugee from the war. And so Poirot gets involved in the case, and finally brings the criminal to justice.I've read many books by Christie in the past, but I can't remember if I've read this one before. So earnest was I (previously) in reading the clues to solve the crime (which I never did) that I hadn't realised before that Christie is quite funny; written at the same period as P.G. Wodehouse was writing, while not being as uproariously funny, it has a similar sense of humour.Poirot (speaking of the criminal) : "... We must be so intelligent that he does not suspect us of being intelligent at all."I acquiesced."There, mon ami, you will be of great assistance to me."I was pleased with the compliment. There had been times when I hardly thought that Poirot appreciated me at my true worth."Yes," he continued, staring at me thoughtfully, "you will be invaluable."This was naturally gratifying, ...Poor old Hastings would like to think of himself as the romantic lead, or at least the great detective (since he often thinks that Poirot is no longer on his game), but is usually seen by the other cast members as a sympathetic shoulder to lean on.Christie (and occasionally Poirot) misdirects us gaily until the last moment, when Poirot explains all. There are, of course, the odd coincidence, and a few instances of great good luck. I might have docked stars for my not being able to solve the crime (*sour grapes*), but I'll give them back for the unexpected humour. And the hint of romance doesn't hurt; there's nothing so sweet as requited love.I must say that, while reading Poirot's dialogue, I kept thinking of David Suchet playing the part (though admittedly his eyes aren't green). Kudos to him for getting the part down.
    • 4/5
      A poisoning at Styles brings in the clueless Cpt. Hastings and HP to solve the murder.
    • 4/5
      The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930) (Harley Quin) by Agatha Christie. This character, Harley Quin, is reported to have been Dame Agatha’s favorite as she only had to write about him when she wished to. Quin, along with his puppet, the good Mr. Satterthwaite, set out to right wrongs, solve vexing problems of the heart, and occasionally solve a murder.Satterthwaite is in his sixties, an English gentleman who has no wish for sport or romance or business. He is from that class of people Christie liked to populate her books with, the idle rich who know everyone of importance and in hand, are known to all, and beloved by them in return. He has an interest in people and they seem to trust and open up to this benign older gent. But it is Mr. Quin who is the driving force here. He appears and disappears like a spector, arriving in a time of need, appearing to Mr. Satterthwaite when there is a problem, merely talking with the kind gentleman, asking questions that Mr. Satterthwaite is surprised to find he knows the answers to, and helping the latter solve the puzzle.This book contains an even dozen tales of the pair, each a tie plum of deliciousness ready to be devoted. Help yourself.
    • 4/5
      Although this novel is a Hurcule Poirot, it is told through the viewpoint of a friend of Poirot, Mr. Hastings. The viewpoint character is effective, since he basically has no detective instincts whatsoever, therefore not giving away what Poirot is thinking, which would ruin the mystery. The novel starts off with the death of Emily Cavendish. There are a handful of characters who are in the house at the time, and like with most good mysteries, there are various clues lying about. Half the time, I felt like Hastings, not being able to figure out who did what and always playing catch up with Poirot. About two thirds of the way through, I had a guess as to who committed the murder, and it turns out I was half right.I like Christie’s story telling style, but there were some problematic elements of the way the story unfolded, and a couple of elements that defied logic. Poirot comes off as enigmatic and charming. Because of the gap in time from when the story was written until now, some of the aspects of the plot were a bit hard to grasp, but for the most part the plot was strong, and the reveal was logical. This was a strong mystery novel that I would recommend.Carl Alves – author of Conjesero
    • 4/5
      Agatha Christie's first Poirot mystery. What else is there to say?
    • 4/5
      Very enjoyable debut of both Christie and Poirot.
    • 3/5
      In which a lieutenant, an inspector and a Belgian emigré solve murder during the War.

      Let the flaying begin. Well, actually, don’t. Coming 39th on the Agatha Christie rankings isn’t that bad. "Styles" is a seminal novel in 20th century detective fiction: Christie’s first published work, and Hercule Poirot’s first appearance in literature, as well as the introduction of then-Lieutenant Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp. Poirot’s methodology is relayed to us by Hastings in a manner very similar to Watson’s introduction of Sherlock Holmes in "A Study in Scarlet". This novel, I rush to point out, is a damn sight better than Holmes’ introductory one, with Poirot emerging almost fully formed, and the country house of Styles a suitably atmospheric host for murder.

      The David Suchet adaptation – coming very early on before the series had established a darker visual style – is satisfactory, largely due to Suchet’s ability to create a younger, more ‘foreign’ Poirot. But it doesn’t have the raw power of the later adaptations in the series.

      I do have to be honest, though, and confess this is not one of my favourite Poirots. Christie hadn’t yet ironed out her style yet (she had another sixty years of writing to go, so I’ll cut her some slack), and – aside from Poirot – none of the characters really jump off the page. Still, this is an impressively easy read, and all fans should check out where Poirot began his British career (in the same place he would end it sixty years later). If you’re new to the series, keep in mind that Christie will – with experience – challenge her own style in the years to come.

      Poirot ranking: 24th out of 38
    • 5/5
      I was curious to read Agatha Christie’s first Poirot novel, which was published in 1920. And I was not disappointed. Midway through the book I was surprised to remember that this was one of her first novels… I think Mrs. Christie was born a writer: there is nothing in this book that betrays the novice. She worked as a dispenser in a hospital during WWI, hence, I believe, her knowledge of poisons and the presence of the young nurse’s character in the book. Here you will find the first description of Hercule Poirot, the “little man” with a gigantic intellect and an even larger (if possible!) ego. Inspector James Japp is also first presented to the reader, “a little sharp, dark, ferret-faced man”—physically different from Philip Jackson of the Agatha Christie’s Poirot series, Japp also does not present any of the irritating and almost unintelligible cockney accent the Jackson of the movies sported. Most definitely this is a must read for any Agatha Christie fan.
    • 5/5
      Timeless. First in Christie's series of Hercule Poirot and loved it.
    • 4/5
      I have loved Agatha Christie's mysteries for as long as I can remember. It's good to know that her books were excellent from the beginning. The Mysterious Affair at Styles was her first published work.

      If you use the Wake County public library, you can borrow this recording from the Download library - I've just returned it :) The narration was excellent, the story and the characters delightful.
    • 4/5
      This is the first time I have picked up an Agatha Christie novel and I'm wondering what took me so long?!This was her debut novel introducing Hercule Poirot and it was a great read. It had all the characteristics of a good murder mystery and I especially enjoyed that Hercule gave the reader all the same clues that he had and left it up to the reader to figure out, if they can. I thought I had it figured out and then they threw me for a loop! I will check out more from this series!
    • 5/5
      As usual, Hercule solves the crime! I adore all things Agatha and Hercule is my favorite sleuth.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book in the Poirot series, written on a bet with Christie's sister Madge. It introduces the characters of Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Inspector Japp. Christie tries the elements that will become the foundation of her enormous success; a wealthy family, a mystery set at a country house, a non-violent murder, and a bit of romance. The mystery begins during WWI. Emily Inglethorpe has made a second marriage to a younger man. Her first husband left her a country house, money and two grown stepsons who also live at the estate, called Styles. Arthur Hastings is friends with one of them, John, and has gone to the country home to recover from a war injury. During Hastings' visit Emily Inglethorpe dies in a mysterious manner. Poirot happens to be a Belgian refugee staying in the nearby village, is known to Hastings and is brought to the country house to help solve the mystery.Of course this is not the best of the Poirots, characters will be furthered developed in subsequent novels. I liked it because it was the first, not because it was the best. The Styles estate will also become the setting for the last in the Poirot series.
    • 4/5
      This is the first Hercule Poirot novel. This is a re-read for me, but I still enjoyed it. Every time I read it, I still fall for the clues that lead to the wrong man. I have to correct myself everytime. Agatha Christie is the master of convincing me of whatever she wants. I fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
    • 4/5
      Classic closed-room murder mystery with a large number of suspects, twists to the narrative of each, and, of course, Belgian master-detective Hercule Poirot bring the mystery to a grand conclusion with all of the suspects in attendance, revealing all of the clues, however miniscule, that were in the story all along.

      I listened to the Audible version of this book, narrated by David Thorn. Normally, I listen to Audible books at 2x speed, but Mr. Thorn's accents made it nearly impossible to follow, especially his Belgian accent when reading the lines of the detective, so I had to slow down the recording. Not sure I'll look for any other books narrated by him.
    • 4/5
      When a family matriarch is poisoned, Hercule Poirot must discover who committed the crime.Again, a reread for me (I think I've read Christie's entire bibliography, but I may have missed one or two, as I was not scientific about keeping track of my reading at the time). This is the first Poirot novel, told from the point of view of Hastings. I was struck, on this reread, with just how stupid Hastings is. This never bothered me originally, so I'm not sure if it's because I'm older than I was on my initial readings, or if it's because of the audiobook narration, or if that aspect of Hastings' character was softened in later books (I always liked Hastings, so I was surprised to be so impatient with him during this reading). This was read by a different narrator than my last two Christie books, and I did not like him at all -- partly because he gave Poirot such a strong accent that I had a hard time understanding what he was saying at times. Also, the denouement of this story seemed to take forever. All in all, though I love Christie, and Poirot particularly, I don't think I'd recommend this as a starting point.
    • 3/5
      The Mysterious Affair at Styles was Christies first published book and is most notable for one thing: it is the first of the Poirot books and explains the background between the famous friendship between the Belgian detective and Captain Hasting.

      Hastings is on medical leave in Essex during the First World War and by chance bumps into an old friend of his - Poirot. Poirot is a refugee and managed to settle near his friend, Emily Inglethorp, who owns Styles Court where Hastings is a guest.

      Shortly after, Emily Inglethorp is found dead.

      The Mysterious Affair at Styles is one of the straight-forward mysteries of Christie's where it is a joy to guess alongside the characters and try and connect the clues to figure out the identity of the murderer.

      The only problem I have with this one is that I don't find it memorable in any way other than the meeting between Hastings and Poirot.
    • 2/5
      I liked the book, but I made a serious mistake when I first approached it: I underestimated Agatha Christie. The last time I read Agatha Christie was in high school (The ABC Murders and Murder on the Orient Express) and now I had thought her dated and perhaps even less-than- sophisticated! I was struck by the density of the cast list, the plot, the motives and the subterfuges. I anticipate returning to this book again and being able to appreciate it more with each re-reading or re-telling.

      As much as I love Nadia May, she was miscast for this book. The narrator is a 45 year-old male Captain coming in from the Front. Despite Nadia May's versatility, there was no way to ignore that she wasn't a 45 year-old male Captain coming in from the Front! There is a scene early on wherein Captain Hastings looks out the window to see Lawrence Cavendish walking with Cynthia Murdoch. In my mind's eye, I saw Miss Marple peering out the window! Later, as Captain Hastings expresses his crush on Mary Cavendish or even later, proposes to Cynthia Murdoch, it took me aback.

      Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Hercule Poirot Mysteries (1-4): Mini Op-Ed Reviews, 10/10/2011 and; The Msyterious Affair at Styles, 10/14/2011
    • 3/5
      First outing for Hercule Poirot narrated by Hastings, his side-kick. This has all the classic Christie characters with taut plotting but the unpalatable nature of class and race relations did not leave me wanting to pick up another Agatha Christie in a hurry.
    • 4/5
      Christie's first and it stars Hercule Poirot with narration by Hastings. Poirot hasn't gotten as irritating as he becomes in later novels. If I tell you to "follow the money," I won't be helping you too much - since just about everyone is after the murdered woman's money.
    • 4/5
      Another of the great early Christie offerings.
    • 4/5
      Normally I love the ease of Christie's thrillers. This, however, was very long-winded. Somehow missing a fast-paced tension. Although I'm a fan of Poirot's little gray cells and I love his charming Belgian way to solve a murder mystery, he convinced me not in this book.
    • 3/5
      I have to start by pointing out that this was written in 1920, and that is worth at least 1/2 look in itself. This is the first story of many for Hercule Poirot, and that is worth another 1/2 look. With that said, the superb writing of this one pulled it from 2 looks to 3 looks, in my opinion.


      This is the second Agatha Christie book I have read. I can't believe I have gone through 46 years of life, and 40 of reading, where I have read only two Christie books. The first, And Then There Were None, was superb in every way. It was suspenseful, intriguing, thrilling and kept me guessing until the very end. Wonderful!


      Mysterious Affair was extremely well written, but I got so bogged down at the ending explanation of the murder, my head was fairly spinning. I just felt that it didn't have to be so ... complicated. It really served to put a negative spin on the rest of the book. Writing = 4 looks, overall story and resolution = 2 looks, average is 3 looks.


      Some of my favorites:
      It struck me that he might look natural on a stage, but was strangely out of place in real life.
      From the very first I took a firm and rooted dislike to him, and I flatter myself that my first judgments are usually fairly shrewd.
      A "man of method" was, in Poirot's estimation, the highest praise that could be bestowed on any individual.
      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.
    • 2/5
      Perfectly fine version of what it is, a disposable mystery novel for an airplane. For books of this kind the appeal must come from either satisfaction in the ingenuity of the plot when revealed or incidental pleasure of the characters and setting along the way. Neither is exceptional, but the first is ingenious in an artificial/unrealistic way.
    • 3/5
      The first time I read The Mysterious Affair At Styles... Well, I can't even remember the first time I read it so recently decided to re-read the book that was the beginning of Agatha Christie's wonderful career. It has a great reputation and it was probably completely amazing for its time (otherwise it wouldn't have been as successful as it was) but to me it was little more than Agatha Christie starting out, testing her pen, coming into her own. The writing isn't as precise and engaging and Poirot is more exuberance than method but this mystery already has the elements I've come to expect from her work: the detective's presence is more serendipity than anything else, there's a rather large cast of characters and if you dig deep enough every one of them has a motive but none of them actually had the opportunity to commit the crime (not at first glance anyway), and the culprit is not at all the person you've suspected. As different as Poirot may have been in this book from his later appearances he was ultimately my favorite part of this story. Because of his lack of reserve in his interactions with the English, his status of a refugee, even how stumped he was as for the identity of the murderer made him much more endearing than when he gradually transformed into an infallible force of intellect who always keeps his cards to his chest in the later books. I also liked his role in the human element of this story when he attended to the personal lives of some of the characters as a side project during his investigation. What can I say, the man cared and I like seeing that in fiction!All in all this is a good debut novel and although because of the writing I can't give it more than 3 stars I believe that if one decides to read all of Christie's novels the way I have one might as well start at the beginning and watch the master perfect her craft.
    • 4/5
      Husbeast and I have been watching a lot of the David Suchet Poirot movies lately, and it occurred to me that I've read very little Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None as part of an assignment in eighth grade, which, honestly, is probably one of the reasons I've read so little Christie since then, and one or two others here and there, mostly, if I remember right, when I've been sick). So, picked up the first Poirot from the library the other day. Enjoyed this one quite a bit, much more than I've ever enjoyed reading Christie before, and I'm going to chalk that up to having been "introduced" to the characters (Hastings, as well as Poirot) in such a delightful way through the television programs. Looking forward to reading more--I already have Peril at End House in the short queue, as I didn't fully understand the solution as presented in the movie we watched (a rarity, that), and I'm hoping the book will tell me something that I missed or that was left out of the film.
    • 4/5
      Another Christie classic!
    • 3/5
      After hearing so much about how great Agatha Christie's mysteries were, I decided to read a recommended book, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles".This story is told in first person narrative by Mr. Hastings, who is visiting an old friend at the estate of Styles, Mr. John Cavendish. John's step-mother, Mistress Emily Cavendish, has recently married a man who seems to only want her for her money. Early on in the story, Mrs. Cavendish dies of apparent strychnine poisoning, and the entire family is suspect.I suppose if I'd read this as my first ever mystery, without running into the "family in the drawing room as the murderer is exposed" cliche, I would have enjoyed it more. It was mildly diverting and amusing, but I doubt I'll reread it.
    • 3/5
      Poirot's first case is a quick and entertaining read and it kept my interest. The clues were not obvious enough for me to solve the mystery before hand, and there were plenty of red herrings, but it was still a fun read. I would read more of this series if only for the challenge of exercising my deductive powers. The characters are believable and I enjoyed the relationship between Hastings and Poirot. It was not one of troubled genius and everyman simpleton (ala Holmes and Watson), but rather more dispassionate experienced Poirot and passionate young Hastings. It's more egalitarian. Also, as a side note, its also interesting to catch and observe some of the vocabulary used by Christie from the 1920's that you would never hear anyone using today. My favorite was the liberal use of the verb "ejaculate". Our book club had a good laugh about where we would be able to inject that word into modern conversations. Sadly, we couldn't find a acceptable example.
    • 4/5
      First Agatha Christie in which a device she is to use frequently is introduced into the novel of unusual complexity for her usual plotting. See _Evil Under the Sun_, _Death on the Nile_, for other examples.