Discussion: The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie (spoilers)
 

Let's discuss the MRBC September selection, _The Mysterious Affair at Styles_ by Agatha Christie.

Well I quite liked it :)

Loved it! I totally didn't see that ending coming! I've kind of given up trying to figure out what is going on in her books, because I never figure it out. So I just sit back, relax, and enjoy the story. Maybe if I read more I'll get used to her style and figure things out better, but honestly I'm not sure if I want to :)

On another note, does anyone else want to read the runner up, Murder Must Advertise?

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit tough at the beginning... she introduces a lot of characters and used both their first and last names quite a bit.... so it was hard to follow. I had to be back a few times and see... of was Evelin, Ms Canterbury (or whatever) until I got the characters straight.

My biggest issue with many mysteries is that it is almost impossible to figure it out... because the detective knows information that is not revealed...

But, it was a lot of fun. Hercule is my favorite Christie detective.

BOb

This was my first time reading a Christie novel, at least as far as I can remember.

I liked it for the most part. Lots of characters, lots of clues providing some twists and turns, the culprit isn't obvious halfway through the book. A good solid mystery.

She is one of my favorite authors in this genera and created some of the most odd lead characters in the genera IMO. This was her first novel and introduces Hercule Poirot, who is in 32 more novels and 54 short stories. Naturally I couldn't resist comparing the book to the BBC television series and I have to say that the book and the TV series both stood up very well, which is not always the case. I was highly amused to see that Hercule's subtle put downs of Captain Hastings as portrayed on TV were actually in the book. I had missed those the first time I'd read some of the Poirot books many years ago. Quite possibly the best known Poirot story is the wonderful Murder On The Orient Express.

It is interesting and somewhat puzzling that all three of the top poll nominees were all written in the 1920s. All three were pleasant reads but The Mysterious Affair At Styles was far and away the best. Best written and best mystery in my opinion, I thought there were sufficient clues to enable me to solve the mystery prior to Poirot, although it was touch and go.

I want to thank who ever it was that suggested the Charlie Chan mysteries, having the collection of the first six available here at MR is wonderful and I am midway through the fifth book now. Lovely period stuff about America in the '20s and especially Hawaii and San Francisco as well as being cracking good mysteries.

:thumbsup:

Well, I finished re-reading about 2:00 a.m. w/the same frustration I felt initially in trying to follow the cups, the cocoa and the coffee. Decided it didn't matter that much as it was a pretty good read overall. I didn't remember Poirot as such a romantic from my recollection of the BBC Mystery productions. I did love his description of Miss Howard as "...an excellent specimen of well-balanced English beef and brawn..sanity itself." I sort of agree w/NormHart but this is a rare instance when I'd choose the visual.

I also read the nominated Sayers' Murder Must Advertise which I also liked. I was surprised that advertising was seen much the same in the 1930s as it is now.

I also think it notable the difference in early English and U.S. detectives. Even when the English fellows started turning a bit scruffy, when? in the 70s or so... they seem to retain a patina of upper class intelligentsia. Maybe excepting Ms. Marple.

I'm off to see about The Chinese Parrot. Know nothing of C.Chan, but don't have an image of him as what I think of as "typical" U.S.

My 1st Agatha Christie. Mystery/Thriller is one of my favorite genres, so I throroughly enjoyed this. The suprise ending was truly a suprise to me...I don't try to 2nd guess too much...I'm not the sharpest of detectives, but get 'that nagging feeling' that there was some reason for making some point (the author as he/she writes), which will show up later. But I'm not the one for figuring out the mystery...I, like our characters, have to be led along to the final act.

Now, I also sometimes don't pay real close attention to detail (or forget immediatly after reading) but it was news to me that there had been a former 'relationship' between our killer & the spouse of the deceased.

I guess I also have not seen any of the films her stories were made into.
Anyway....her (Christie's) writing is fun and am looking forward to reading more of her.

It's nice...I'm reading things I would never have thought of reading since getting my ereader.

That is regarded as "not playing fair" when it comes to good detective stories. The reader should always have access to the same clues as the detective, and have as fair a chance of "solving" the crime.

I seemed to find that it happened a lot in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Or maybe I just missed it.

BOb

I found Poirot to be a little bit like Monk with his having to straighten the vases.

This is one of the few book club books that I finished reading. (Some day I'll go back and finish A Passage to India.) I had never read any of Agatha Christie's books though I am very fond of the BBC productions of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

I was surprised that this book from the 1920s was just as easy to read -- and just as "modern" -- as many of the contemporary mystery novels I read. It was a bit short, but I think that's also typical of the time. I was willing to accuse different characters at different times. I was surprised that once "cleared" a character would wind up being suspected again. I think that was the twist that kept everyone on their toes.

I believe that it was Wilkie Collins who first established the "fair play" rule in The Moonstone. The reader is given all the information necessary to solve the problem themself, unlike Conan Doyle's stories.

I feel that it cheats the readers if they aren't given a fair chance to solve the puzzle for themselves.

I was interested to find out that this book resulted from a bet with her sister Madge that she couldn't write a detective story.

True or just one of those stories that get passed around?

I don't know, but if it is true... thank you so much to Madge. I have read and enjoyed many of Christie's books.

If I am correct isn't Agatha Christie still the best selling author of all time?

BOb

I did enjoy the fact that the book did not feel outdated. It was a fun read. I liked how it took you in one direction and then you found yourself going another direction without knowing it.

It doesn't really bother me for some reason. But like I said earlier, I just sit back and enjoy the show :)

I think she was listed as such in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Just finished.
 

I don't remember reading any other Agatha Christie novels although I do like older literature. One of the reasons I like the older novels is they are more intellectual and allow you to use your imagination more than some of the more modern literature. Every now and then I pick up a more recently written mystery and too many of them are way too graphic. Needless to say, my chosen genre I read the most is classics.

I did have trouble getting into this book and at one point sort of guessed "who done it", then changed my mind as the various characters were either under suspicion or cleared. I also thought the plot was a bit implausible. Several inexperienced people suddenly working as spies? And two of them just for the adventure?

I would like to read Charlie Chan and Dorothy Sayers. I've downloaded Chan from this site but haven't looked for Dorothy yet.

So many books, so little time. :book2:

Have you investigated Cozy mysteries?

BOb

Bob....Thanks! Cozy Mystery's site is very nice...just the kind of mysteries I enjoy reading...didn't know someone had come up with a name for them...just right. :2thumbsup

Nice!
 

That is a great site!

Well, I am WAY late to this party. My mom, sister, and maternal grandparents all loved Agatha Christie when I was a young lad in the 80s.

Just for the heck of it, I looked her up on Wikipedia.

Those are some impressive stats!

- Bestselling author of any kind, alongside Shakespeare. Outsold only by the bible! (roughly 4 billion copies!)
- Translated into at least 56 languages
- Wrote 80 detective novels, along with plays & short stories

J.K. Rowling has a ways to go before she can hope to catch up! I personally don't think she'll have the staying power of Christie.

I couln't download this to my sony. It had an attirbute error. apparently "no split". What does that mean and how do I rectify it. I am using Calibre.

Not sure what it means. FWIW that book (assuming you're using the ePub) works fine when copied over by the Sony software.

I finished reading this the other day. It was a good book, and I believe this was her first attempt. To those who have read more of Chritie's work, how do the later works compare to this one? I liked it, but would have been disappointed if it were a $10 download. $1 was a great deal.

I don't like Poirot. His character is well-written, of course, but the guy is a jerk. I'm curious now what Miss Marple is like.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this book about a 6, but I'm not a die-hard mystery fan. I much prefer Sherlock Holmes' character. Doyle's writing style is more colorful, but that may be because he was from an earlier era. I've finished reading half of his works before I got my K2, and in every case I can recall, the reader had all the information Holmes did. Doyle just didn't draw attention to each clue.

Lastly, to me, full-length mysteries seem to draw on a bit too long. This one is about as long as I'd want a mystery. I REALLY enjoyed Doyle's Holmes short stories. He cut right to the chase.

I also like that there is more physical action in the Holmes' stories. This one just had the characters walking around talking most of the time. No quarrels in this one along the way.

To be fair, I will read more of Christie's works. I've read her first one, now I'll cut to one of her best-loved ones next. Probably 10 Little Indians / and then There Were None

I LOVED "And Then There Were None!!!" Why did you pay $1 for this one though? It's free on here.

You might like Miss Marple better. She's very kindly. Poirot is arrogant, but I find it amusing. Christie didn't though, his character drove her insane.