The Mysterious Affair at Styles, with eBook

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Penelope Dellaporta

Set in Essex in the English countryside, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is one of the great classic murder mysteries. The victim, Mrs. Emily Inglethorp, is the wealthy mistress of Styles Court. After an evening of entertaining family and guests, she is found poisoned in her locked bedroom. The long list of suspects includes her gold-digging new husband, her stepsons, her best female friend, and a visiting doctor. As luck would have it, a brilliant, if rather eccentric, detective is among the company at Styles. In this, her first published mystery, Agatha Christie introduces her beloved Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot, who methodically pieces together the intricate evidence of this bewildering crime. From his very first appearance, Poirot amuses audiences with his oddly fastidious habits---then astonishes them with the power of his razor-sharp mind. Christie keeps listeners guessing as to the murderer's identity until Poirot finally presents his ingenious solution to this landmark mystery.

Public Domain (P)2009 Tantor

Wonderful Debut Book for Agatha Christie!

After reading this novel, it is little wonder that Agatha Christie is considered the queen of mystery! I was fully entranced by the novel from start to finish. I am so very glad that she didn't give in to her fear of not earning much from this first book and wrote many more!

Very much looking forward to reading/listening to more of her books!!

Every Detail Counts

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mysterious Affair at Styles to be better than the print version?

This story was amazing. Little details of the story that seemed insigificant added to the end of the plot. This was a fantaftic mystery with a very surprising, detailed ending.

What other book might you compare The Mysterious Affair at Styles to and why?

Death in the Air. If you love Agatha Christie, you'll love this mystery.

What does Penelope Dellaporta bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The change in voices helped the story be believable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listen in the car rides to and from work and couldn't wait to get into the car.

A very enjoyable performance by a talented narrator! It’s a favorite Agatha Christie story.

I always like this twisting mystery. Whether book, movie or audio performances. This one is an especially well done production.

Narrator unsuited for the story

My 1-star rating has nothing to do with the book/story itself, and everything to do with the absolute unsuitability of the narrator. I could only listen through chapter 4 before I had to buy the book with a different narrator, because I simply could not listen to her butcher Poirot and Hastings the way that she did. I don't doubt that she is a good narrator in other contexts, but she should never have done a Poirot story. Save yourself the trouble and look for another version of this one.

Don't buy this audible w/this Narrator..

Narrator for this book was simply horrible....the voice used for Poirot was just terrible....a women's voice should not be used for this character....