The Secret Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Mystery. Classic. 

Rating: 4/5

Pages: 288

Started: 5 June 2024

Finished: 8 June 2024

Summary:

    Captain Hastings was invited by an old friend to spend a summer at Styles, relaxing and enjoying polite society. What he was not expecting to encounter? A murder. When Mrs. Inglethorpe, the owner of the manner, is found dead of Strychnine poisoning, Hastings decides to invite his friend, famed detective Hercule Poirot, to solve the case. Between burnt wills, spilled coffees, and fake mustaches, every turn gives Hastings a new suspect--but Poirot, he knows, will be able to catch the real culprit.

Thoughts: 

    This was a super fun mystery. Dynamic characters, clever clues, engaging writing--it's easy to see why Agatha Christie remains renowned for her mystery novels. Hastings was just the right amount of a hilarious protagonist, convinced that he could solve clues better than Poirot, and his capriciousness, ego, and humanity rendered the narration sympathetic and interesting. Poirot, on the other hand, was a fabulous character to see from the outside. I have many thoughts on the depiction of Poirot's gender & sexuality (his utterly unthreatening masculinity falls into early 20th century queer archetypes) but I'll leave that for later, when I've read a few more of his mysteries. 

    The one issue I had with this book was the conclusion. All of the clues were cleverly tied up, except the actual murderer was found because he . . . wrote a letter to his co-murderer which completely incriminated him? The explanations were interesting, but proof was so clear-cut and obvious; I wish it had taken a bit more logic to prove the murderer's identity. 

    I loved this book though (and the narrator who read the audiobook version) and I very much intend to read more Agatha Christie soon.