The Mysterious Affair At Styles - One for the Intervals

When one of your closest friend is getting married thousands of miles away and chooses to do so at the auspicious time of half past midnight of your local time, what do you do? A few years ago, I would have been sound asleep. The past me would have argued that bearing witness when I couldn't be physically present, is a misguided exercise in freeing oneself of guilt.

Now, I couldn't want to miss it for anything. On a sidenote, congrats to the happy couple in question. So I wanted to stay awake to witness my friend tying the knot. I needed something to help with that, and no, I don't drink coffee.

This something needed to be exciting, grab and hold my attention from falling asleep. But at the same time not too engrossing that it supersedes the reason for me staying up late. The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie was this something.

Akin to Fast Food - The Burger and Fries

While I did like the mystery at the core, I have to deem this ultimately a forgettable affair. It is certainly not as groundbreaking as "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" or, engrossing as "And there were None". This I believe is by design. It aims to be a satisfying murder mystery and largely achieves it.  

And that is fine. It is not a delicious Michelin level meal, but closer to that of a burger and some fries. And sometimes I do prefer to have burgers and fries. Because a great book requires time, attention and effort on my part to properly appreciate it. But this, it helps me pass the time while not being bad.

The characters here, except Poirot, are all not that memorable. They are present to serve the plot. Once I was done with the book, I could remember the names, but not the characters.

The book is well paced, I was able to quickly assimilate the details without spending too much time. The plot keeps moving and rarely stagnates. Which I do come to expect of Agatha Chirste.

The mystery was engaging, but it was hardly anything else. I felt the Agatha tried too hard to hood wink the readers into who didn't do it that there is a whip lash when the murder is finally revealed. And not in a good way. It is still fine, it makes sense within the context, but still, it didn't sit right with me.

Ultimately, it is a fine book that deserves to be read while on commute or when waiting for something better to come by.

Post Scriptum

These are my thoughts, you may agree or disagree. If you have any suggestions on what I should read or watch, please leave a comment below. Or you could reach out to me. I do plan on reading either the "Crooked House" by Agatha or "Feet of Clay" by Terry Pratchett.

Thank you for reading, appreciate it.