It is somehow multiple months into 2025, so all of the usual “new year, new you” talk has finally died down. Thank goodness. I will not be changing this year; if anything, I’ll be doubling down on all the wonderful and terrible things that make me Me.
One of those wonderful and terrible things is my obsession with cozy mysteries — you know, those pretty little murder puzzles that take place in a large country estate, and star “detectives” who are actually just retirees with a fetish for being nosy. If you hand me a mystery that can in any way, shape, or form be described as “hard-boiled” or “police procedural” or, worst of all, a “thriller,” do me a favor and throw it off a bridge instead.*
Spy thriller? Nyet. Psychological thriller? Who hurt you, friend? Noir thriller? Now see here, doll, I got better things to do than babysit kids like you looking to play dress-up in your mommy’s heels. And by “mommy”, I do of course mean Agatha Christie. (No need to overanalyze that one.)
Agatha Christie — or AC, as I usually call her, because I’m lazy — is probably the author I’ve read the most. By certain metrics, she’s the best-selling and most widely read author of all time, so I guess it’s not all that surprising that I’ve read a few of her books.
The real question is, how many of her works have *you* read? And the REAL real question is whether you’ve read her very first mystery novel: the aptly titled The Mysterious Affair at Styles. If you haven’t, you’ll know very soon whether you should… oooh, suspense!
*please don’t litter; donate it to a little free library or something
The Book
The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie (John Lane, 1920 [US] / The Bodley Head, 1921 [UK])
The Numbers
The starting point of perhaps the most impressive career in English literary history: 60+ novels, over a dozen short story collections, over two billion copies sold — surpassed only by William Shakespeare and the Bible — the longest-running play in the world (sorry Billy Shakes), and the most translated individual author in history (sorry God).
This particular novel also marks the first appearance of Hercule Poirot, one of the most popular and enduring characters in literature, and it helped kick off the Golden Age of Detective Fiction — which dominated the inter-war period and continues to influence mystery and crime genres today. Goodreads rating of 4.0.
The Spoiler-Free Skinny
War is raging in Europe, but Arthur Hastings is on sick leave from the front. He is invited by his old friend, John Cavendish, to convalesce at Styles Court: a manor house in the country.
The estate belonged to John’s late father, but is currently owned and run by John’s stepmother, Emily Inglethorp. Also present at Styles are Emily’s new husband, Alfred Inglethorp; John’s wife, Mary; John’s younger brother, Lawrence; Cynthia Murdoch, the orphaned daughter of family friends; and Emily’s companion, Evelyn Howard.
Shortly after Hastings arrives, the formidable matriarch of Styles Court suddenly dies — poisoned by strychnine. But in a stroke of luck, a contingent of Belgian refugees are staying in the nearby village, among them Hastings’ friend Hercule Poirot: a retired detective with peculiar methods. Poirot joins the case, with Hastings bumbling along beside him.
You’ll Love It
Wealthy widow? Check. Suspicious younger husband? Check. Jealous “athletic” female friend? Check. Broke playboys set to inherit fortune? Check. Plucky ward with convenient access to poisons? Check. Handsome young narrator in love with every single woman in the story? Check.
Quirky detective who seems to know absolutely everything about absolutely everyone at all times because he is more observant than everyone else, you idiot, you complete buffoon? CHECK.
You’ll Loathe It
There are no chase scenes. There are no firefights. There are no mentions of anything prurient or scandalous or untoward by today’s standards. There are no psychologically or emotionally manipulative spouses slowly driving their significant others insane. There are no grand international conspiracies. There is almost no mention of the world beyond Styles Court at all.
In other words, there is no real “action” to speak of. True, Hercule Poirot does not literally sit back and solve the mystery calmly and peacefully from the comfort of the armchair in his sitting room — but only because AC didn’t realize she could get away with that yet.
Read It Or Leave It?
If solving a mystery could ever be described as a leisurely activity, it would be within these pages. Hastings takes up the task almost for sport, while the retired Poirot — who claims to have an obligation to Emily Inglethorp for sponsoring his Belgian comrade — simply lives for the drama. The setting is posh and idyllic. The characters are vivid and dramatic. The mystery is puzzling and complex.
One of the critiques that’s often thrown at The Mysterious Affair at Styles is that the mystery is maybe a bit too complex. There are a lot of layers, red herrings within red herrings, accusations and alibis and explanations that hinge on extremely specific details. It is certainly possible for the reader to figure out who the murderer is and why they offed Emily Inglethorp, but the how is nearly impossible to determine on one’s own.
Does that matter, though? So what if it’s a bit on the complicated side? With most good mysteries, the journey matters at least as much as the destination. Styles is a bit heavy on the technical puzzling at times, and there’s no action in the modern sense — but the thing moves. The cascading revelations fuel a pretty brisk pace, making it difficult to put down.
And just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, there’s a new piece of information to consider. Poirot might have it all lined up in his brain perfectly, but Hastings is as clueless as the reader (if not more so) for most of the story, so it never feels frustrating. It’s a book that’s easy to enjoy.
The Final Verdict
It’s easy for me to say that The Mysterious Affair at Styles is excellent when I’ve enjoyed dozens of Agatha Christie novels myself. But we’re not here to talk about AC’s incredible career; we’re here to talk about the book that started it all.
The truth is, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is fine. It’s fine! It’s a good time. If you like AC already, then you’ll like this one too.
But if you haven’t read any of her books yet, or aren’t already a huge fan of cozy mysteries, then this isn’t the place to start. Do yourself a favor and check out The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or And Then There Were None.
You could even try one of the short story collections, like The Thirteen Problems, which features the first appearance of AC’s other most famous amateur sleuth: Miss Marple. I’m a huge Miss Marple fan, but Christie didn’t give her nearly as much attention as she gave Poirot — Miss Marple’s only got a dozen novels and 20 short stories to her name, versus the Belgian detective’s 30+ novels and 50+ short stories. But I digress.
Maybe try to find out if you even like cozy mysteries before reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles. It’s a fine book, and a good mystery, but it’s Agatha Christie just starting out — not nearly at the height of her powers. It’s 2025, and we’re not reading things just to read them anymore. You deserve better than that.
About the author
Brian McGackin is the author of BROETRY (Quirk Books, 2011). He has a BA from Emerson College in Something Completely Unrelated To His Life Right Now, and a Masters in Poetry from USC. He enjoys Guinness, comic books, and Bruce Willis movies.
