#48: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Christie, Agatha: The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Project Gutenberg, 2008. Ebook.

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SETTING: Styles Manor in Essex County, England, north-east of London, during WWI.

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SUMMARY: Arthur Hastings, the narrator of this story, is invited to spend some time at Styles Manor by his good friend John Cavendish.  Within a day of his arrival, John's stepmother, who inherited the manor upon John's father's (her husband's) death, is found dead in her locked bedroom.  Enter the famous Belgian detective, Mr. Hercule Poirot, who brilliantly solves the mystery.

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "Poirot was an extraordinary looking little man.  He was hardly more than five feet, four inches, but carried himself with great dignity.  His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side.  His mustache was very stiff and military.  The neatness of his attire was almost incredible.  I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound." - Chapter 2.

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There's a huge possibility that I read this book once before.  The story felt new, but the title was familiar, and this is also the first Hercule Poirot book written by Christie.  It's quite possible that I read it so long ago that I forgot the story.  My forgetfulness regarding which books I have and haven't read was the main inspiration for starting this blog, so I guess from this point forward, I won't forget.  I picked that quote as my favorite because it is such a perfect description of Poirot, and a description that Christie fabulously maintains in all of her Poirot novels.  

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Things I liked about this book:

1. Poirot!  My favorite detective!  I love his style, both personal and professional.  Working with a person like that would be productive and constantly entertaining.
2. The culprits.  Just like the last Christie book I wrote about, I was again wrong about who did the deed.  
3. The romantic relationships in this novel.  They became one of the main themes, and it was a nice fit in a crime/mystery novel.  I usually find romance in a crime novel annoying, but not this time around.
4.  Incorporation of real life activities in the novel.  The story was written during WWI and, as Christie usually does, she incorporates that as the backdrop of this novel.

Thing I didn't like about this book:

1. The amount of time spent detailing different poisons that can be used to murder someone.  Seemed extraneous and unnecessary.

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I really enjoyed this book, as I usually do.  Agatha Christie has a formula that I enjoy, and she has yet to disappoint me.  Even when I branched out from the Poirot books, I was still satisfied. 

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Recommend?  Yes!

#47: The Secret Adversary

Christie, Agatha: The Secret Adversary. Project Gutenberg, 2008. Ebook.

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SETTING: London, England in the year 1919.

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SUMMARY: Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley are both bored, out of work, and dying for an adventure, especially after having experienced life as a soldier and a war hospital volunteer, respectively.  As fate would have it, they find themselves in the midst of a big mystery after Tuppence receives a strange job offer from an even stranger man.  Their curiosity in finding out who this man is eventually leads them into the service of the British intelligence, as they are on a hunt for this same man!

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'What fun it will be,' responded Tuppence. 'Marriage is called all sorts of things, a haven, and a refuge, and a crowning glory, and a state of bondage, and lots more.  But do you know what I think it is?' 

'What?' 

'A sport!' 

'And a damned good sport too,' said Tommy." - Chapter 28.

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I finished reading this book at least a month ago, if not longer, but I haven't had time to write about it until now!  I realized today that I'd already forgotten quite a bit about this book, and if I didn't type down my thoughts now, I'd forget everything!  This entry is very sparse, but I did my best.  One of my hopes for 2015 is to read more, and hopefully with that, write about the books I read in a more timely fashion. 

On a different note, I downloaded this book onto my iPad via iBooks, and all I could find regarding publication information is what I have above.  I'm not even sure if this is the right way to cite this book, but oh well...

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Things I liked about this book:

1. Tommy and Tuppence!  I loved them in the last Agatha Christie book I read, and loved them again in this one.  This book provided me with their backstory, and I really appreciated that.  If I had to pick a favorite though out of the two, it would definitely be Tuppence.  She's such a strong and creative character!  But they are a fabulous team, and I'm sad that there are only four Tommy and Tuppence books.
2. Julius Hersheimmer and Jane Finn. I thought I wouldn't like them, each for their own reasons, but they surprised me in the end. 
3. Annette.  All I can say is... what?? A twist I didn't anticipate at all.  In retrospect, though, I probably should have...
4. The culprit.  I thought I had an idea of who it was, but I was completely wrong!  I've become better at identifying the culprit, especially in Agatha Christie's books, but I guess I'm not quite the expert I thought I was!
5. Where the treaty was hidden at the end.  The best hiding place oftentimes is right in front of your nose.

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As you can see, I don't have a dislikes section for this book.  As far as content is concerned, I didn't have any dislikes.  This is an easy, comfortable read, and if you're looking for anything grand or mind-blowing, you've reached for the wrong book.  

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Recommend?  Yes!