The Mysterious Affair at Styles

“At present, we are all thinking so much, and saying so little.”

My mom and I talk on the phone every week or so about what we're reading, and when she asked me this week what I was reading and I told her I was reading this book, there was a pause on the line and then an “oh.......... that doesn't seem like you.” I had to laugh a little, because it really doesn't when you look at my read list. Before this book, I think the only other mystery series I've kept up with was Louise Penny's Armand Gamache books. I've always counted Agatha Christie books as “the books my grandma read” when I was growing up, and I'm ashamed to say I never gave them the time of day. Now that I work at a library though, I've cast my literary net far and wide to scoop up the genres I don't normally read and the “pillars” of each genre to compare them against. It's been a wild ride.

I won't summarize the entire plot (since there's approximately 5 million other reviews here that will do a better job), but basically we're introduced to Hercule Poirot through the perspective of our ride-along character Arthur Hastings at Styles Arms. There's a lot of familial in-fighting within Styles about rich old Emily Inglethorpe's choice in men, and wouldn't you know it, she turns up dead. Hastings, staying at Styles Arms, hears by chance about a group of Belgians staying at a nearby house, and wouldn't you know it, his old detective buddy Poirot is there. Together, the duo wade through the complex family drama and we're introduced to Poirot's method of detective work, equally frustrating and amusing from Hastings' (and our) perspective.

I will say I enjoyed this book a whole lot more once I stopped trying to second-guess the murderer's identity and started just enjoying the process. I noted several comments where people were annoyed they couldn't follow along and guess the murderer, which I get is a feature in some cozy mysteries, but I enjoyed the surprise and the method much more once I stopped worrying about it. It very much felt like a Columbo episode, which I loved.

I kept having this issue that a lot of us have where I wish I could focus on two things at the same time. I recently discovered I can do that by listening to audiobooks while drawing. My first pick was this book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, also my first Agatha Christie book.

I hit the jackpot with Hugh Fraser narrating the audiobook because otherwise I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much. Hugs Fraser is amazing, his voice acting was on point, he made every character sound unique and he effortlessly drew me into the story. Most of my enjoyment came from his brilliant narration.

If I would have read the book myself I think I would have struggled a little. That's because of Hastings, I did not like him. I don't know how to say this in a kinder way, but he is so dumb, he is an idiot and he overestimates himself greatly from all points of view. At the start of the book he sees himself as a skilled detective, and later he sees himself like a catch for any woman, and, man, no, you are not any of those things. It bothered me how he couldn't make up his mind about Poirot. He went from saying Poirot is the greatest detective to saying he'd gone mad, to saying he's the greatest detective again. The manner in which he oscillated between the two mildly pissed me off.

The plot was very interesting and I liked it a lot. I loved trying to reach a conclusion, to find out who the murderer was, by piecing together every bit of information. I was, of course, not successful, but it was fun nonetheless. I liked how Agatha Christie shifted the view from one suspect to another and by the time I reached the reveal I thought I knew who did it.

I also liked that none of the characters were plain. They all had something about them to make them stand out in a way or another. Every character had a motive to their actions and none of them were there solely for advancing the plot.

With or without Hastings (although that's kind of a package deal in more ways than one), I am going to say yes to another of Poirot's adventures, especially (or maybe I should say 'only'?) narrated by Hugh Fraser.