Mini Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Normally, I would have included this in my weekly audio post, but since this is my very first Agatha Christie I wanted to post it separately.  I've seen several Hercule Poirot mysteries on TV, and Agatha Christie has received millions of words of praise for her writing abilities, so I have no intention of doing a formal review.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first Poirot story in which not only Poirot, but also Hastings, his sidekick are introduced.  Poirot's sartorial fastidiousness, his tendency to assume Hastings is making the same assumptions he does--only to discover that Hastings is often in the dark--and his meticulous methodology are well established even in this first story.

I found reading this (even with my ears) a delightful experience and look forward to many more Christies.  I think that I had been afraid that perhaps the writing would have had an old-fashioned stiltedness that I would find boring.  I assure you it wasn't the case.  This was every bit as fun as the TV series--in fact I suspect I will find the rest even more so.

Nadia May(aka Davina Porter) did her usual good job of narration.

Mini Review: Agatha Christie Bedside Companion

Ok...I'll confess.  I've never read an Agatha Christie mystery.   We inherited this book, and when I discovered it on a shelf several weeks ago, I was delighted because I thought it was an anthology of her works, or at least a sampling, and would be a great introduction to this famous writer.

WRONG!  Julian Symonds has edited this mishmash of items about Agatha Christie, including everything from reviews to articles, to publicity shots; it does not however contain any of her writings. The small (think about 8) font makes it difficult to read at night, and its large and heavy size makes it (in spite of what the title proclaims ) a "not for bathtubs" book.  As an armchair companion it works, but it's much more a reference, browsing book than one to read cover-to-cover. And again, I confess, I did not, could not, can not, and will not, am I sounding like a Dr. Seuss book? read it all. I slogged through quite a bit of it, enough to realize that she is a highly regarded writer, and obviously worthy of the accolades compiled here.

If you're a Christie fan, you might like it.  If like me, you've still got to cut your teeth, I suspect this is not the place to start. It did induce me to read one of her stories to find out what all the excitement is really about.