Today I bring you the review of a book I finished a few days ago: The Mysterious Case of Styles, written by no one else than Agatha Christie.

The story is told by Hastings, who is invited by his good friend John Cavendish to the Styles mansion, where he lives with his wife Mary Cavendish and his stepmother, Emily Inglethorp. Early in the story, we are told how dissatisfied John and Lawrence Cavendish were with their stepmother's recent marriage to Alfred Inglethorp, a man 20 years younger than Emily, because they speculated that the only reason Alfred had married her was to get all the family's wealth.

One night, Mrs. Inglethorp dies of what some called a "heart attack", which is refuted by the family doctor, who after performing the autopsy claims that Emily's death was caused by strychnine poisoning. Everything points to Alfred Inglethorp being the murderer so he can keep Emily's wealth. Shortly after the doctor's explanation, Hercule Poirot, a retired detective and a good friend of our narrator Hastings, appears. He tries to find a solution to this case, looking for evidence in the most remote places and in the strangest circumstances you guys can imagine.

Personal opinion: It's the second book I've read from this author, and the truth is that it doesn't disappoint. Throughout the story Agatha Christie introduces us to each of the characters while the course of the plot is not altered and gives to the reader the impression that all the members of the family (including the service staff) had some reason to kill Emily Inglethorp, so Poirot and Hastings will must use their intelligence wisely to find the real killer.

It's a fairly short and easy to read novel (I read it in 3 days, and it usually takes me a little more than a week with each book), and it becomes addictive, hahaha. Agatha really has the ability to captivate the reader and keep him or her on the pages that just drives me crazy. Throughout the story she tells us the reasons why anyone at the Styles mansion might have killed Mrs. Inglethorp, so that we're more eager to keep reading until the end to find out how it really happened! And, let's be honest.... Books that won't let you get away with anything are the best in life.

However, the end left me a little bit disappointed (I think those who already read this book will know why). When I finished it I thought something like "Oh, that's okay....". I mean, I was not surprised by the result and I feel that the story lacked that element of surprise to close the work with the finishing touch. Although we must remember (and I must admit) that this is one of the author's first novels, so it is understandable that her plots did not yet have that touch of surprise that lasted until the end, and that Agatha developed with practice. In spite of that, I enjoyed reading it a lot, apart from the fact that the characters seemed to me to be very well constructed, each one with a quite particular personality, which gives a personal and unique touch to this Agatha's novel.