The Mysterious Affair at Styles
First published 1920 · English · 183 pages
- Novels
- Mystery and crime
- Thriller and suspense
Christie's first published novel, a classic country house mystery. Captain Hastings, recovering from war wounds, is invited to stay at Styles Court, the Essex home of a wealthy elderly woman and her large, quarrelsome household. When a crime shakes the house, Hastings turns to his old friend Hercule Poirot, a Belgian refugee living nearby. Poirot begins to sift through small details, family tensions and conflicting accounts. The book introduces the fussy, brilliant detective and his admiring companion, and it set out the pattern of clues and suspects that Christie would refine for decades.
Quotes
The fellow is an absolute outsider, anyone can see that. He's got a great black beard, and wears patent leather boots in all weathers!
Ah!” Poirot shook his forefinger so fiercely at me that I quailed before it. “Beware! Peril to the detective who says: ‘It is so small — it does not matter. It will not agree. I will forget it.’ That way lies confusion! Everything matters.
Ah, my friend, one may live in a big house and yet have no comfort.
You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.”