The Mysterious Affair at Styles

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Judi Pennington

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this first novel by Agatha Christie, she introduces the inimitable Hercule Poirot, who would go on to appear in 33 Christie novels and 54 short stories. Outside of Sherlock Holmes and perhaps Philip Marlowe, he is the best-known detective in the history of the genre. The Mysterious Affair at Styles deals with the case of an old woman poisoned with strychnine for her money. Nothing is obvious, however, in the way Christie handles a plot. The story spirals round and round, leading the reader in one direction, then another, convincing the reader that first one character, then another is the guilty party.

Public Domain (P)2011 Cherry Hill Publishing

enjoyable book - terrible narrator

What other book might you compare The Mysterious Affair at Styles to and why?

always enjoy agatha christie for the quaint, dated atmospheres and terribly polite characters. nothing too disturbing, just simple mysteries in interesting locations.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

had to force myself to listen the whole way through. worst reading i have ever heard - awful pronunciations, the voice of poirot was cringeworthy, and the narrator was sooooooooooo slooooooooow! for some reason she had decided that a 2 second pause was warranted at every comma or full stop. infuriating.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Story was good but...

I really enjoyed this story, the physical and audio book, however the presenter lacked imagination and voices for the different characters. Still a good in my opinion.

I love Agatha Christie

I loved the entire story line.
The narrator did good, she kept my interest in the story.

Not my cup of tea!!!

Did not care for the book... 3 stars to be fair as I believe it was just my taste in novels not the quality of the novel

enjoy good mystery

Would you listen to The Mysterious Affair at Styles again? Why?

yes because I enjoy Agatha Christie mysteries, and the reader was easy to listen too and put different vocals to each character...have read the book many times so made the "listen" even more enjoyable

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

well not really, because as I said previously, have read the book many times...but for someone that hasn't read it...it will keep you guessing as to "who done it"

What about Judi Pennington’s performance did you like?

she read it with good understanding of the book and the characters

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

just enjoyed

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this "listen" to anyone who likes mysteries without foul language or graphics of any kind...just good writing, and good reading...and much pleasure of literature

Competent reading of a classic

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It took a while to get past the echoes in the recording, next time I will probably pay more for the other audible options, but once past that it was a competent enough telling of a well known story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Agatha Christie? Why or why not?

I will try other book from Agatha Christie, having read hard copies of all of the stories I will enjoy listening to another interpretation.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Perhaps more inflection for Poirot would have made him more enjoyable.

Could you see The Mysterious Affair at Styles being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I've seen the tele series of many Christie stories, not many of them get it right. Can't beat Ustinov for Poirot.

I really wanted the book to be better than it was.

Where does The Mysterious Affair at Styles rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book was somewhere in the middle. the story was much better than the preformance therefore it had the potential to rate much higher.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This book was a group production, that is why the quality of the narration is so important.

What aspect of Judi Pennington’s performance would you have changed?

She did well with the female voices, but did poorly with the mens voices. Also I found myself rewinding often because of her strong British accent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. At it's best it reqired time to digest.

Performance detracts from story.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The reader was not able to distinctly separate characters so part way thru, I had to buy another version read by David Suchet. Skip this version with this reader. All voiced characters sound the same and very confusing. Not worth the money.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

A bit sub

Bad recording, badly read (Judi doesnt quite manage to hold the right accent for the right character). Fab story though. Try the Hugh Fraser version instead.