Having never read an Agagtha Christie book before, I decided it was only appropriate to begin with her first Poirot mystery, rather than a more well known title like Murder on the Orient Express.
The reader follows narrator Arthur Hastings, a soldier recently released on sick leave from the Western Front during WW2. He runs into an old friend, John Cavendish, who invites him to stay at his families sprawling estate, Styles Court. There, Hastings is reintroduced to several characters:
- Emily Inglethorp, John’s stepmother
- Mary Cavendish, John’s wife
- Lawrence Cavendish, John’s brother
- Cynthia Murdoch, Emily’s ward and a war-time nurse
- Alfred Inglethorp, Emily’s new husband
- Evelyn Howard, Emily’s housekeeper and cousin to Alfred
What begins as a pleasant stay at Styles Court quickly turns dark as the matriarch, Emily, dies violently and unexpectdly in the middle of the night only a couple days after Hastings arrival. Soon after, her death is ruled a homicide and the suspected murder weapon is poison. Luckily, Hastings’ good friend Hercule Poirot is staying on a nearby property owned by Emily, having been displaced from his native Belgium due to the war. Poirot is quickly on the case, and with each chapter he dives deeper into the seemingly perfect lives of the family at Styles Court, uncovering infidelity, money troubles and domestic disagreements. Any one of the above named characters could be the killer, and its up to Poirot to figure out who it is before it’s too late.
I really enjoyed this book. While I was familiar with the general thematic beats from recently watching A Haunting in Venice, reading a Christie work is a totally different experience.