Summary

It’s 1916, the second year of World War 1, and Mrs. Inglethorpe has been an active volunteer for the war effort. She is a wealthy woman who has been involved in a great deal of charity work for a great many years. When, at the age of 70, she chose to marry Alfred Inglethorpe, her secretary, an odd man who was several decades younger, her family and friends quietly disapproved, but none of them dared say a word. When she is poisoned, her family is certain that her husband must have been responsible. A visitor to the home, an acquaintance who is convalescing from a war injury, recommends that they seek the help of a Belgian refugee whom Mrs. Inglethorpe had helped to re-settle in England, a man who was once considered Belgium’s greatest detective. He is certain that Hercule Poirot can find justice for Mrs. Inglethorpe.

My Thoughts

I have already read Christie’s entire body of writing, some of them numerous times, and I always enjoy them. When I heard about the Read Christie 2024 challenge on bookstagram, I knew I wanted to take part. This year’s challenge participants are reading one Christie book a month and working our way from the 1920’s-1970’s, spanning her career as a writer. The Mysterious Affair at Styles was the first of her books, and though, as I’ve mentioned, it was written and set in 1916, it wasn’t accepted for publication until 1920 and wasn’t released in the UK until 1921. It feels fitting to start the challenge with her first book, whether you consider it a book from the 10’s or 20’s. 

I loved this book. 

This is Agatha Christie’s first book and the world’s introduction to the great detective, Hercule Poirot. She wrote this mystery on dare from her sister. During the war, Christie worked in a hospital pharmacy where she picked up a great deal of knowledge about poisons. This knowledge served her well in this book.  

The mystery is intricately and expertly crafted. Not only is there the question of who poisoned Mrs. Inglethorpe, but also the question of how they managed to administer the poison. There are red herrings and plot twists. Clues are dropped throughout the book as Poirot tries to help his dear friend Hastings figure out for himself what has happened. More often than not, Hastings, like the reader, misses the point. It has all the elements I need in a great mystery.

The list of potential suspects is small – two step-sons, a much younger husband, a daughter-in-law, a live-in factotum, a young daughter of an old friend, and an expert on poisons who is visiting a nearby village. It’s the perfectly sized suspect pool, especially when they all have secrets they are hiding. 

For those who haven’t read Christie before, it’s important to know that her stories are plot-driven rather than character-driven. Other than Poirot, the detective, and Hastings, the narrator, the reader is unlikely to come away with very lasting impressions of the characters. Christie didn’t write the kind of mysteries that made people feel strong emotions. Her stories are puzzles. You may develop a passing feeling for what the characters are like, but you are unlikely to find yourself actually caring deeply about them.  

Poirot’s purpose is to seek justice for the victim, and at that he is very skilled, but the reader may even find that it isn’t especially easy to like Poirot all the time. Even his dear friend, Hastings, finds himself occasionally resentful of Poirot’s rather high-handed ways. However, Poirot is an exceptional character. I love all of his little peculiarities – re-arranging things so they are orderly, building houses from cards, and the way his speech is peppered with French.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the denouement when Poirot breaks down all details of the crime and ultimately identifies the culprit. He explains all the clues, reveals secrets some may have wished to keep hidden, and ultimately exposes the killer. 

What I tried to do as I read through it this time was to pay closer attention to the smaller details that I had forgotten over time or may have escaped my notice in the past.

Two details really jumped out at me, that I had either completely forgotten or that didn’t register in earlier readings –

• Hastings is 30 years old. I always visualized him being at least a decade older.
• Hastings notes that Poirot has a limp. I don’t remember a limp in any of the other books, but I will be keeping my eyes open in the future.
• I had forgotten how violent the death was. 

Trigger/Content Warnings

• Racist Language

• Anti-Semitic content

My Rating 5/5

About the Author

Agatha Christie is perhaps the world’s best known mystery author. You can find out more about her and her life on her official website.