num_pages: 182
description: Agatha Christie's debut novel was the first to feature Hercule Poirot, her famously eccentric Belgian detective. A refugee of the Great War, Poirot is settling in England near Styles Court, the country estate of his wealthy benefactor, the elderly Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is poisoned and the authorities are baffled, Poirot puts his prodigious sleuthing skills to work. Suspects are plentiful, including the victim’s much younger husband, her resentful stepsons, her longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons who just happens to be visiting the nearby village. All of them have secrets they are desperate to keep, but none can outwit Poirot as he navigates the ingenious red herrings and plot twists that earned Agatha Christie her well-deserved reputation as the queen of mystery.
language: English
title: The Mysterious Affair at Styles
titlecomplete: The Mysterious Affair at Styles
characters: Arthur Hastings, Detective Chief Inspector James Japp, Evelyn Howard, Hercule Poirot, Cynthia Murdoch, Emily Inglethorp, Lawrence Cavendish, Dorcas (The Mysterious Affair at Styles), Mary Cavendish, John Cavendish, Alfred Inglethorp
genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Murder Mystery, Detective, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Classics, Crime, Audiobook
ratings_count: 396420
places: England, Essex, England, United Kingdom
series: Hercule Poirot
awards: awardedAt: 852105600000
name: Audie Award
category: Mystery
publisher: Bantam