kaberi-893-642316 This was the first mystery story that Agatha Christie ever wrote. Reasonably faithfully depicted here, it is an entertaining if straightforward retelling of what happened when Captain Hastings, recovering from a war wound in 1917, finds himself visiting the estate of an old friend in the village of Styles St. Mary. The same village where, coincidentally, Hastings's acquaintance Poirot has been living for the last 4 years, along with 7 other Belgian war refugees. When Poirot's benefactor, Mrs. Inglethorp dies mysteriously one night, Poirot and Hastings work together to investigate the matter.The story is helped along by some minor touches of humor, especially the scene where a young woman appeals to Hastings for advice, and Hastings impulsively proposes marriage to her. This story, outside of simply being the first Christie novel, is also noted for having her first rather shocking final revelation, one that here is so shocking that the final confession "All right, we love each other!" looks really too ridiculous to be believed. But overall, the period detail is wonderful to behold, and Suchet and company as usual do an excellent job.

blanche-2 "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" marks Poirot's first mystery. Interestingly, Poirot's first and last cases take place at Styles.Here he reconnects with a friend, Captain Hastings, whom he has not seen in some time. Hastings is recovering from an injury he received during World War I. He is staying in a mansion that has been conscripted as a hospital.In the beginning, we see Hastings and other patients watching the newsreels which shows Belgian refugees arriving in England. This is how Poirot first came to England.Hastings has an old friend who invites him to his place, Styles Court. He confides in Hastings that his mother has married a younger man, Alfred Inglethorp. The whole family believes that he is a golddigger.Not long after that, Emily Inglethorp is murdered by strychnine. Hastings appeals to Poirot to investigate. Inglethorp is the obvious suspect, but are things as they seem? This is a beautifully made episode that displays the era with perfection. The story has a couple of holes, but Poirot's deductions are excellent, and even if you know the denouement, you will be intrigued by the way it unfolds.David Suchet is the best Poirot - fastidious, cheerfully egomaniacal, and eccentric. Delightful episode.

Paularoc The story opens with Captain Hastings recovering from a WWI injury in a beautiful mansion converted to a convalescent home for soldiers. A newsreel is being shown, one item of which is "Belgium refugees welcomed to our shores." This, the first Christie novel, provides us with the background on why Poirot came to Britain and how he and Hastings met and became fast friends. An old friend of Hastings visits him and invites him to his home, Styles Court. He tells Hastings that his family is very concerned that his mother, Emily, has married a much younger man, Alfred Inglethorp. The family is convinced that Inglethorp is after Emily's money. Soon after arriving at the village of Styles St. Mary, Emily Inglethorp is brutally murdered by strychnine. Also in the village are Belgian refugees, including Poirot. Hastings had met Poirot in Belgium and they quickly re-establish their friendship. Hastings asks Poirot to investigate the murder. The aloof and generally unlikable Alfred Inglethorp immediately is a suspect and gives an incredibly poor showing at the coroner's hearing. But come to find out, Inglethorp has an iron clad alibi for the time in which the strychnine was purchased. And so the investigation continues. This film is visually stunning with its depiction of the the era - the costumes, the shops, the vehicles, the country lanes, the magnificent Styles Court - all beautifully captured. Although somewhat flawed, the mystery and how Poirot unravels it is a darn good yarn. And the Poirot character, with all his eccentricities (the scene where he tries to get the shopkeeper to rearrange her goods into a more logical way is a hoot) is both memorable and engaging. From this story, it is easy to see why Christie became such a popular and enduring mystery writer. This entry in the Poirot series is a real winner.

gridoon2018 Set in 1917 and based on Agatha Christie's first book, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" is sort of a prequel to the regular Poirot series (in fact, it reminded me somewhat of the recent Casino Royale - right down to the absence of the classic opening credits and the gradual introduction of the familiar music theme - only the timeline here makes much more sense). Having met before in Belgium, Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings run across each other again in the English country, where they have to solve a perplexing crime - the poisoning of the owner of the huge manor where Hastings was staying as a guest. This is also the first time Hastings meets Inspector Japp (Poirot had known him from before). The production is exceptional (apparently going 2 decades back from their usual timeline was no problem for the cast and crew), and the story will absorb and surprise you. Many little details and clues are well-thought-out, but (and here we are going into "spoilers" territory) an illogical central contrivance is hard to ignore. Simply put, everything connected with "the letter" that the killer writes and that incriminates him/her is complete bull: why doesn't the killer TAKE THE LETTER WITH HIM instead of ripping it to (only 3) pieces and leaving it behind? Why doesn't he come back to get it at a later date, even if he has to break into a locked room? Why does he write the letter in the first place, clearly naming his accomplice? Why does he leave it locked in a place for which his target also has a key? And finally, why does the target, after having read the letter, allow herself to be poisoned in exactly the way described in it? Everything about this "letter" reveals this as Agatha Christie's beginner's work, although as I said in all other respects her story is well-thought-out, intriguing and surprising. (***)