THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES Hercule Poirot, Book 1

Narrator Joel Froomkin is the perfect Hercule Poirot; his accent, vocal eccentricities, and braggadocio are spotless. Listeners first meet Captain Hastings, Poirot's friend, who is on respite from WWI at Styles. When Hastings learns of the murder of the lady of the house, he brings in Poirot, a Belgian refugee. Hastings, splendidly rendered by Froomkin, is an ideal sidekick who often draws wrong conclusions, bringing humor to the story. Colorful descriptions of the locale, food, and worried family members add atmosphere, and numerous secretive suspects and a clever use of poison invite many false hypotheses. Audio enhances the story's early-twentieth-century speech patterns and vocabulary, making this production the ideal way to savor Agatha Christie's first mystery. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2025]