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Book Review of The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
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In 1920 (literally 100 years ago), Agatha Christie started her long and illustrious career with Hercule Poirot and THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. Over her career, she wrote literally hundreds of books, short stories, plays, and even an autobiography.

This book is set during World War I with an elderly, retired Belgian detective taking refuge in England. An older woman, married to a man 20-years younger, is found in the throes of death. Poirot, living outside the estate, is summoned by Captain Hastings, a visitor at the estate. Mrs. Christie flings red herrings about with abandon and it takes considerable time to wade through the clues and false leads to a solution. I thought it was a bit contrived; obviously, this was the author's early work.

I listened to an audio version of this book with the voice of Penelope Dellaporte. I thought this reader struggled with the Belgian/French accent and that was distracting to the story.

Hercule Poirot
** 1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles(1920)
2. The Murder on the Links(1923)
3.Poirot Investigates (1924)