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.

sanddragon939 The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, is a historic novel in 2 ways: It launched the literary career of the 'Queen of Crime'-Agatha Christie and it introduced to the world the greatest fictional detective after the legendary Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot. Beyond its historical significance and the fact that it was obviously well-written with a well-constructed plot, the novel is not really considered remarkable when you stack it up against some of Christie's far superior and far more famous works published over the next several decades (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, A Murder is Announced, And Then There Were None stand out as some exceptional works), but nevertheless, it certainly deserved an adaptation of some sort which is precisely what Granada did for the centenary of Christie's birth year...STYLES tells the story of how the Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot(David Suchet), who is a refugee from his native land during the First World War, ends up being invited by his old English friend, Arthur Hastings (Hugh Fraser) to investigate the murder of a wealthy old woman, Mrs Inglethorp, who died under mysterious circumstances in her country house, Styles Court, in the middle of the night. Poirot puts his detective skills to good use, investigating the scene of the crime, interviewing suspects and witnesses, collecting evidence and ultimately using the little 'grey cells' of the brain to discover the hidden truths of the matter. There are certainly no shortage of suspects in this case: There is Mrs. Inglethorps eldest son to consider, not to mention his wife and younger brother; there is her protégée and of course her much younger second husband who is hated by the rest of the family. Clues are in abundance as well: a smashed coffee cup, a glass of cocoa, a burnt document, a piece of green thread... The differences between STYLES and other Poirot adaptations which Suchet acted in become apparent-there is the setting to consider; Poirot is no longer (or rather, hasn't yet reached) the Art Deco settings of 1930's London; his reputation is briefly hinted at but he still isn't considered the greatest and most famous detective of Europe; Hastings too is just getting used to the idea of playing the slow sidekick to a great mind. There are also certain differences derived from the fact that this is Christie's first novel, like the abundance of clues and tangible evidence, the vast number of red herrings (later Christie stories would have more subtle psychological elements), the excessive stereotyping of the characters etc. But all this shouldn't spoil your enjoyment of a well-directed and acted TV movie. A must watch for all Christie and Poirot fans!