The Mysterious Affair At Styles

Hercule Poirot’s associate, Captain Hastings narrates the book The Mysterious Affair At Styles.

Well, I guess we don’t know his rank at the time of this book. Agatha Christie wrote him as more competent than he comes off in the UK TV series Agatha Christie’s Poirot He does propose marriage to one female character, and develop a crush on another one, however.

This book is a distinct product of its times, which is “during the Great War”. Words like effectually and benignantly show up. Christie actually wrote the sentence

“Decorum and good breeding naturally enjoined that our demeanour should be much as usual…”.

The word “breeding” comes up a few more times, always in puzzling places to a North American in the 21st century.

Despite having seen this story in Agatha Christie’s Poirot, season 3, episode 1, I did not figure out whodunit, or foresee the reasons why.