The Mysterious Affair at Styles

by Agatha Christie

Poirot was an extraordinary-looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandified little man who, I was sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the most celebrated members of the Belgian police. As a detective, his flair had been extraordinary, and he had achieved triumphs by unravelling some of the most baffling cases of the day.

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 308-313). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

I love Hercule Poirot. Such a great detective. Such a character. There's always a great mystery with lots of twists and turns and red herrings, all of which keep me riveted. The characters are interesting and have complex motives for their actions. That said, not a huge fan of Hastings. He's too busy being on his high horse to be likable. I've read many Agatha Christie books before but not all and not in order so I'm in the process of commencing a reread. Highly recommend to crime lovers.

In The Mysterious Affair at Styles we are introduced to our narrator, Captain Arthur Hastings who is on leave from the army and runs into an old friend, John Cavendish. He gets invited to stay with them and not long after his arrival the friend's mother (stepmother actually but referred to mainly as mother) is murdered and it becomes a whodunnit. Poirot is in town so when the doctors imply that Emily Inglethorpe has been poisoned, Hastings suggests Poirot be fetched.

Much like Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, all of our information regarding the crime and Hercule Poirot himself is filtered through our narrator, Captain Arthur Hastings. Although Hastings tries to be objective and unbiased, he tends to be influenced by his own ego and supposed prowess as a detective. He's also pretty quick to be offended by perceived slights and is often frustrated by his own lack of understanding. Although Hastings admires Poirot, he seems to fall down a lot in their friendship - often disregarding Poirot's thoughts and theories and feeling joy when it appears he's failed.

I came across a man in Belgium once, a very famous detective, and he quite inflamed me. He was a marvellous little fellow. He used to say that all good detective work was a mere matter of method. My system is based on his— though of course I have progressed rather further. He was a funny little man, a great dandy, but wonderfully clever.’

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 154-157). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Poirot is an understanding friend although can be passionate in both happiness, excitement and anger. He prefers method and order to chaos and gets worked up when he doesn't settle his thoughts first. That said, he is not a particularly action based detective. Although he wouldn't disregard physical evidence (footprints, blood, etc) he also doesn't go out of his way to look for it - preferring to puzzle through the crime in his head and tease out the psychological elements.

‘The true work, it is done from within. The little grey cells— remember always the little grey cells, mon ami.’

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 2957-2959). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

I enjoyed the case, even if Hastings annoys me. Frankly the hint of romance between him and Mary Cavendish disturbed me. Because Mary is married. To his friend. That's he's staying with. Like seriously? I was amused by Poirot manipulating him because he's a bad liar. And this doesn't really have anything to do with...well anything really - it just made me laugh.

‘Oh, you,’ I replied hastily.

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Location 586). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Hastings replied hastily. Hehe.