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The Mysterious Affair at Styles

by Agatha Christie

77 Installments—Entirely free

(Preview)

Members' Rating: 4.26from 27 Ratings and 12 Reviews

Tags: Classics, Mystery, Thriller

ISBN:0646418432

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
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Description

Here is the great Agatha Christie's first novel and the debut of her infallible detective Hercule Poirot. In the midst of World War One, a group of guests at an old mansion in the countryside find themselves caught up in a murder plot. Someone has been poisoned to death and the killer is at large among the visitors. Who could it be? Who else may lose their lives before the killer is caught? Luckily, Hercule Poirot is on the case and, as befits the best murder mysteries, a tangled web of secrets and dark motives is revealed as Poirot's brilliant methods bring him closer and closer to the truth.


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About the Author

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is one of the most widely-read mystery writers of all time, with a career that spans decades and dozens of published works. Christie was born in England to an American father and British mother. In childhood she lost her father and was raised by her widowed mother. Christie was educated at home and abroad, in Paris. She married in 1914, and perhaps because she was unhappy in her marriage, she turned to writing as a creative outlet. Christie published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced the immortal Hercule Poirot, in 1920. Her success as an author was soon established, and Christie continued to turn out novel after novel, even while enduring personal difficulties. In 1930 Christie married for the second time and found happiness traveling the world and writing further mysteries, often with settings inspired by her exotic destinations. Christie died in 1976, having left behind an enormous body of work, full of bizarre twists and turns, chilling crimes, and detectives who were always just too smart for murderous villains.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

The intense interest aroused in the public by what was known at the time as "The Styles Case" has now somewhat subsided. Nevertheless, in view of the world-wide notoriety which attended it, I have been asked, both by my friend Poirot and the family themselves, to write an account of the whole ...

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Member reviews

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5/5 5.00

Reviewed by cgarri on Jan 20, 2013

A real page turner

Her writing style is such that it's very easy reading. And, the way she mixes humor over, under, and within the mystery plot adds to the reading pleasure. I highly recommend the book.

Though I never even had a suspect for the murder, it was a little disappointing that a key piece of information was withheld until the final reveal. I like to try and solve the mystery before the final pages, and then read on to see if I was right. This time I had incomplete information, but somewhat less than 77 days to think about it, so given that balance, I guess Ms. Chrisite wins and I lose. A pleasurable loss, though.

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5/5 5.00

Reviewed by lunardust on Jul 29, 2009

Wonderful story

Great mystery

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5/5 5.00

Reviewed by Wings1295 on Jul 2, 2009

Super!

My first Hercule Poirot story - and I loved it, too!

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5/5 5.00

Reviewed by saturntv on Jun 29, 2009

Agatha Christie strikes again.

This book was a wonderful read. Agatha Christie tripped me again. I was reading this out loud, actually, and when I came to the killer's name, I nearly shouted it. I was very surprised.

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4/5 4.00

Reviewed by Hayes13 on Apr 19, 2009

A classic mystery

Christie's first published novel where we are introduced to our old friends Poirot, Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp.

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Ratings for 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' by Christie, Agatha


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325tbotkins 4.00   2012-08-18
blueridgereader 5.00   2010-02-15
Bookreader95 5.00 Read review 2009-04-19
cgarri 5.00 Read review 2013-01-20
cuiblemorgan 4.00 Read review 2009-02-20
dkaufman1 5.00 Read review 2008-10-04
eileen1971 3.00   2012-01-17
Harm 4.00   2008-08-08
Hayes13 4.00 Read review 2009-04-19
jermanda23 4.00 Read review 2009-02-27
JoannaMegan 3.00   2012-11-13
jonesli 4.00   2009-02-20
JPrewitt 5.00   2011-05-19
juv3nal 5.00   2008-08-28
Leah87 4.00   2009-06-15
leviathan 5.00   2011-10-13
lunardust 5.00 Read review 2009-07-29
malv 5.00 Read review 2009-02-12
mavin 4.00 Read review 2009-04-06
msargeant 5.00   2010-03-18
rodmitch 2.00   2008-12-19
satishmedos 3.00   2009-08-02
saturntv 5.00 Read review 2009-06-29
solarchakra 4.00 Read review 2009-02-10
turtle7761 4.00   2010-05-24

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