Instinct is a marvellous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
About: Emily Inglethorp is the bane of her relatives; elderly and indecisive, changing her will annually and marrying a man far her junior. When she ends up poisoned, Hercule Poirot takes on the case and absolutely no one is above suspicion...
Thoughts
This is the one: Agatha Christie's debut novel and it's a great introduction to her cunning. The solution is a constant slight of hand as Poirot keeps his cards close right until the very end. We're forced to follow poor, clueless Hastings - and in his perspective I have to own, my own brain cells gave up and I simply waited to be told by Poirot what had actually happened. So it wasn't a fun read in terms of trying to unravel a mystery but I did enjoy Poirot as a character and I thought the list of suspects were interesting.
Overall this was clever, full of surprises and I loved the build up. The death was very dramatic and sets the stage for what to expect from the Queen of Crime.
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