The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916. The novel is narrated in the first person by Arthur Hastings, a guest at Styles Court, a lavish manor outside of Essex, England. As the story begins, the inhabitants of Styles Court awaken one morning to find that the rich elderly owner of the estate, Emily Inglethorp, has been poisoned to death with strychnine. Arthur Hastings, a soldier on sick leave from the Western Front, travels to the nearby village of Styles St. Mary. While there, Hastings solicits the help of his friend, Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot, to investigate Emily’s death. Poirot, who is indebted to Inglethorp for helping him acclimate to his new life, agrees to help. Poirot learns that Emily inherited immense wealth following the death of her previous husband, Mr Cavendish, who left her with both the manor and a percentage of his income. The inhabitants of the household include Emily’s new husband, Alfred, whom she recently married; their stepsons, John and Lawrence Cavendish; John’s wife Mary; Cynthia Murdoch, daughter of a deceased family friend; and Emily’s attendant, Evelyn Howard. As Poirot investigates further, he discovers that John Cavendish has been named in Emily’s will as the sole inheritor of the property, just as had been stipulated in his father’s will. You can listen online to free English audiobook “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” by Agatha Christie on our website.
