Amanda Shofner

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/08/20/review-the-mysterious-affair-at-styles-by-agatha-christie/I think my main issue with this book–and a big reason why it was easy to put down–was that the detective in the case, Hercule Poirot, is not the narrator. In fact, we see him through Mr. Hastings’ eyes, and it’s not always a flattering light. I never mind not knowing everything the detective knows (so that the perpetrator is a surprise at the end of the book), but something about being so “distant” from the detective left me feeling quite disconnected from the entire mystery.The way that Agatha Christie weaves her murder mystery, though, is fabulous. With more suspects than you can shake a stick at (sorry; that was terribly cliche of me, wasn’t it?), the suspect pool is ever changing with each new piece of information. I loved this aspect of the mystery. Just when you think you’ve got everything figured out, something happens that dashes all of your original assumptions and you’re left with wondering who could possibly have committed the murder. It’s not necessarily twisty and turny, but I think it’s more that Christie plays on your assumptions and manipulates them pretty thoroughly.Overall, while I felt a slight disconnect from the book and characters, the mystery was good enough that I will seek out more Agatha Christie books in the future.