The Mysterious Affair at Styles

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Judi Pennington

In this first novel by Agatha Christie, she introduces the inimitable Hercule Poirot, who would go on to appear in 33 Christie novels and 54 short stories. Outside of Sherlock Holmes and perhaps Philip Marlowe, he is the best-known detective in the history of the genre. The Mysterious Affair at Styles deals with the case of an old woman poisoned with strychnine for her money. Nothing is obvious, however, in the way Christie handles a plot. The story spirals round and round, leading the reader in one direction, then another, convincing the reader that first one character, then another is the guilty party.

Public Domain (P)2011 Cherry Hill Publishing

I love Agatha Christie

I loved the entire story line.
The narrator did good, she kept my interest in the story.

enjoyable book - terrible narrator

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

always enjoy agatha christie for the quaint, dated atmospheres and terribly polite characters. nothing too disturbing, just simple mysteries in interesting locations.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

had to force myself to listen the whole way through. worst reading i have ever heard - awful pronunciations, the voice of poirot was cringeworthy, and the narrator was sooooooooooo slooooooooow! for some reason she had decided that a 2 second pause was warranted at every comma or full stop. infuriating.

Competent reading of a classic

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It took a while to get past the echoes in the recording, next time I will probably pay more for the other audible options, but once past that it was a competent enough telling of a well known story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Agatha Christie? Why or why not?

I will try other book from Agatha Christie, having read hard copies of all of the stories I will enjoy listening to another interpretation.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Perhaps more inflection for Poirot would have made him more enjoyable.

Could you see The Mysterious Affair at Styles being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I've seen the tele series of many Christie stories, not many of them get it right. Can't beat Ustinov for Poirot.

Not my cup of tea!!!

Did not care for the book... 3 stars to be fair as I believe it was just my taste in novels not the quality of the novel

Good Story

Liked the way the characters were built and intertwined together. Good story and mystery that hold your attention.