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Miss Marple #1
Murder at the Vicarage & The Mysterious Affair at Styles
13 hours and 17 minutes
Enjoy the first novels that brought the world two of Agatha Christies' most enduring detectives: Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
The Murder at the Vicarage
The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction.
"Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe," declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, "would be doing the world at large a favor!"
It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later—when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman's study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Captain Arthur Hastings, invalided in the Great War, is recuperating as a guest of John Cavendish at Styles Court, the 'country-place' of John's autocratic old aunt, Emily Inglethorpe—she of a sizeable fortune, and so recently remarried to a man twenty years her junior. When Emily's sudden heart attack is found to be attributable to strychnine, Hastings recruits an old friend, now retired, to aid in the local investigation. With impeccable timing, Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, makes his dramatic entrance into the pages of crime literature.
Make sure not to miss the rest of these detectives' exciting adventures!
Enjoy the first novels that brought the world two of Agatha Christies' most enduring detectives: Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
The Murder at the Vicarage
The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction.
"Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe," declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, "would be doing the world at large a favor!"
It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later—when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman's study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Captain Arthur Hastings, invalided in the Great War, is recuperating as a guest of John Cavendish at Styles Court, the 'country-place' of John's autocratic old aunt, Emily Inglethorpe—she of a sizeable fortune, and so recently remarried to a man twenty years her junior. When Emily's sudden heart attack is found to be attributable to strychnine, Hastings recruits an old friend, now retired, to aid in the local investigation. With impeccable timing, Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, makes his dramatic entrance into the pages of crime literature.
Make sure not to miss the rest of these detectives' exciting adventures!
Audible Audio
First published October 16, 2012
4 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,817 books75.3k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 20, 2025
Quick Review: A Hercule Poirot mystery
My Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is book #1 in the Hercule Poirot mystery series. It was originally released in 1920.
About the Book: "Captain Arthur Hastings, invalided in the Great War, is recuperating as a guest of John Cavendish at Styles Court, the 'country-place' of John's autocratic old aunt...
When Emily's sudden heart attack is found to be attributable to strychnine, Hastings recruits an old friend, now retired, to aid in the local investigation."
In My Own Words: A mysterious death leaves everyone guessing as to who did it.
My Final Say: I was intrigued by how Poirot came on the scene of crime investigation.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Book 1: 4/5 and Book 2: 3/5)
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
My Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is book #1 in the Hercule Poirot mystery series. It was originally released in 1920.
About the Book: "Captain Arthur Hastings, invalided in the Great War, is recuperating as a guest of John Cavendish at Styles Court, the 'country-place' of John's autocratic old aunt...
When Emily's sudden heart attack is found to be attributable to strychnine, Hastings recruits an old friend, now retired, to aid in the local investigation."
In My Own Words: A mysterious death leaves everyone guessing as to who did it.
My Final Say: I was intrigued by how Poirot came on the scene of crime investigation.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Book 1: 4/5 and Book 2: 3/5)
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
October 1, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed both books. It was nice having Miss Marple #1 and Poirot #1 together like this. I liked that Dame Agatha could lead me in one direction, change direction, and then catch me at the end by circling back. She was very good at that. Those red herrings were hard to detect at times. I will continue reading her books as I am finding them very enjoyable. It only makes sense that I would love her since I love cozies so much. Today she would be queen of the cozies!
July 29, 2017
The three star rating is because I would only give Murder at the Vicarage two stars but I would give Affair at Styles four. Hugh Fraser's narration is wonderful and I like Poirot stories better than the Marple stories.
September 25, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed these two stories, but I did not like Joan Hickson's narration of Murder at the Vicarage. Her voice was hard to hear and understand at times. I will continue with both series, but probably not in audio when Hickson is reading.
July 24, 2017
Will try reading instead of listening to the audio book. The narration was really bad.
August 20, 2019
Murder at the Vicarage - Enjoyable small-town romp, with a satisfying mystery and occasional hilarity. Audiobook comment: The narrator choice would have made more sense if the POV character was Miss Marple, but as the POV character was the Vicar, a voice that sounds like that of an elderly woman seems an odd choice. I haven't decided if I'll continue to get Miss Marple audiobooks if they are all narrated by Joan Hickson. Maybe.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Nicely intricate plot, with enjoyable characters, and an entertainingly obtuse POV character. I didn't pick up on all the clues, but I picked up on more than poor Hastings (which is probably why he's used as the POV character). A similarity with a later work struck me. Audiobook comment: I love Hugh Fraser's narration, and I'm a bit saddened that I haven't found him as narrator for any other author (of course, there are LOTS of Agatha Christie books, so maybe he just doesn't have the time for anything else!).
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Nicely intricate plot, with enjoyable characters, and an entertainingly obtuse POV character. I didn't pick up on all the clues, but I picked up on more than poor Hastings (which is probably why he's used as the POV character). A similarity with a later work struck me. Audiobook comment: I love Hugh Fraser's narration, and I'm a bit saddened that I haven't found him as narrator for any other author (of course, there are LOTS of Agatha Christie books, so maybe he just doesn't have the time for anything else!).
February 4, 2025
My first Agatha Christie novel! There's a reason Christie is the Queen of her genre. I couldn't put it down. I admit, I wasn't expecting Marple to play such a small part in the overall story. I'm also not entirely sure when/where the final note (the one found in the curate's room) was written. This might be my own fault. I didn't want to stop reading, but I was trying to multi-task, so I kept pausing and skipping back, and maybe I still didn't catch when that was explained.
Audiobook narrator Richard E. Grant was a bit disappointing. On one hand, this book is told from the Vicar's perspective, and he does seem to be a rather dull man who wouldn't manage voices well. OTOH, this book would have been better served by a narrator who did voices well. Miss Marple, especially, could have used a bit of PERSONALITY. Overall, Grant's performance detracted from the story.
_____
My second Agatha Christie mystery is my first Hercule Poirot story. This one was quite enjoyable with lots of twists and turns and opportunities for the reader to say, "I knew it!"
Audiobook narrator Hugh Fraser is excellent as the voice of Hastings.
Audiobook narrator Richard E. Grant was a bit disappointing. On one hand, this book is told from the Vicar's perspective, and he does seem to be a rather dull man who wouldn't manage voices well. OTOH, this book would have been better served by a narrator who did voices well. Miss Marple, especially, could have used a bit of PERSONALITY. Overall, Grant's performance detracted from the story.
_____
My second Agatha Christie mystery is my first Hercule Poirot story. This one was quite enjoyable with lots of twists and turns and opportunities for the reader to say, "I knew it!"
Audiobook narrator Hugh Fraser is excellent as the voice of Hastings.
March 18, 2019
Didn't care for the narration for Murder at the Vicarage--something about the tone or accent, and I had a hard time engaging. Ended up abandoning it around chapter 3. Full marks for The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
August 13, 2020
Nothing better than back-t0-back Agatha Christie in the same book. In Murder at the Vicarage Miss Marple solves the crime and in The Mysterious Affair at Styles the beloved Hercule Poirot saves the day.
September 19, 2021
Like others, I enjoyed Hugh Fraser's narration of Poirot's tale more than Joan Hickson's narration of Miss Marple's. But both stories are good, and I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good classic or historical cozy mystery!
January 9, 2017
I am a very big fan of Hercule Poirot. And I went back to the very first book and it didn't disappoint.
May 7, 2019
This was a wonderful narration of two very classic Agatha Christie mysteries - reminding readers just how clever the author was!
Highly recommend for mystery fans!!
Highly recommend for mystery fans!!
August 12, 2022
I enjoyed the Miss Marple a little bit more than the Hercules Poirot mystery. But the narrator was fantastic for both. Looking forward to listening to more of these two-book audiobook mysteries.
Read
June 13, 2013The Murder at the Vicarage
Narrator - Joan Hickson
Sound quality - Excellent
Narration - I love the A&E Miss Marple series starring Joan Hickson so I was excited to listen to this edition. Unfortunately what I did not take into consideration is that that Ms. Hickson does not necessarily have the best voice for such things. Due to her soft tone I found many areas hard to understand and had to reverse and listen again to pick up what happening. Her inflections and all that were great, but I found that I simply did not enjoy her narration as much as I hoped.
Characters - This was Dame Agatha Christie's introduction to her readers to Miss Marple, and although she is not as well rounded as in other books and is not even the main focus of the story, it was a nice introduction which set the scene for her later development. The other characters were all very well developed and likable or not likable as Ms. Christie intends. As is the case with most of her books the characters are realistic in the meaning that she shows their strengths and weaknesses and makes you feel like they could be people you know in your everyday life. It is part of the reason her novels are so timeless.
Plot - The plot is a very well constructed "whodunit" and as always we are provided with a lot of subjects to choose from who all have their own reason for wanting the demise of the murdered man. Listening as the vicar makes rounds hearing all the inside happenings from the members of his flock as they all tell each others secrets and actions was a fun way of exposing all the possibilities and reasons and background. I think every single person is made to look guilty at one point or another in the story which is always fun as you try to determine who really committed the crime. I did find the ending a bit of a let down and bit too far fetched on how it all worked out, but not more so than other mysteries I have read of similar settings.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Narrator - Hugh Fraser
Narration - As disappointed as I was with Joan Hickson as a narrator for the Miss Marple series, I was as equally pleased with Hugh Fraser (the actor who portrays Captain Hastings in the A&E Series) as a narrator for the Poirot stories. His voice is very smooth and he nails the inflections in tones to really bring the story to life. It was especially fitting for this book as it is told from Captain Hastings point of view. I like him almost as well as I like Simon Prebble as a narrator.
Characters - This was Christie's first introduction to Poirot and he does not appear until a few chapters in as the story focuses on Captain Hastings return from the war and how he fits into Poirot's life. It introduces the three major recurring characters in all the Poirot novels - Poirot, Hastings, and the infamous Inspector Japp (although his character is not as well introduced as the others). Being the first book the characters are a bit more exaggerated and less "real" then they become in later novels as she spends time accentuating their foibles that make them unique. The supporting cast of characters were a bit weak in this novel possibly because the reader has so many to keep up with, but over all they are not unlikeable or unbelievable, just a bit underdeveloped.
Plot - The plot in this book is well constructed and complex as the one from the Murder at the Vicarage, but again I felt the ending was a bit rough. Just not enough to make the reader buy into it and you almost don't care by the time you get there. I cant' really comment too much more without adding spoilers which I don't want to do. I believe fans of Agatha Christie will note that the ending reveals a plot which she develops better in one of her other novels but I won't say which one, but I will say it is a novel that was executed much better in building up to the unveiling than this one.
All in all I would rate the first story as a 3 star and the second as a 4 star so I am going with the 3 star due primarily to problems with the endings and Hickson's lack of success in my opinion as a narrator.
Narrator - Joan Hickson
Sound quality - Excellent
Narration - I love the A&E Miss Marple series starring Joan Hickson so I was excited to listen to this edition. Unfortunately what I did not take into consideration is that that Ms. Hickson does not necessarily have the best voice for such things. Due to her soft tone I found many areas hard to understand and had to reverse and listen again to pick up what happening. Her inflections and all that were great, but I found that I simply did not enjoy her narration as much as I hoped.
Characters - This was Dame Agatha Christie's introduction to her readers to Miss Marple, and although she is not as well rounded as in other books and is not even the main focus of the story, it was a nice introduction which set the scene for her later development. The other characters were all very well developed and likable or not likable as Ms. Christie intends. As is the case with most of her books the characters are realistic in the meaning that she shows their strengths and weaknesses and makes you feel like they could be people you know in your everyday life. It is part of the reason her novels are so timeless.
Plot - The plot is a very well constructed "whodunit" and as always we are provided with a lot of subjects to choose from who all have their own reason for wanting the demise of the murdered man. Listening as the vicar makes rounds hearing all the inside happenings from the members of his flock as they all tell each others secrets and actions was a fun way of exposing all the possibilities and reasons and background. I think every single person is made to look guilty at one point or another in the story which is always fun as you try to determine who really committed the crime. I did find the ending a bit of a let down and bit too far fetched on how it all worked out, but not more so than other mysteries I have read of similar settings.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Narrator - Hugh Fraser
Narration - As disappointed as I was with Joan Hickson as a narrator for the Miss Marple series, I was as equally pleased with Hugh Fraser (the actor who portrays Captain Hastings in the A&E Series) as a narrator for the Poirot stories. His voice is very smooth and he nails the inflections in tones to really bring the story to life. It was especially fitting for this book as it is told from Captain Hastings point of view. I like him almost as well as I like Simon Prebble as a narrator.
Characters - This was Christie's first introduction to Poirot and he does not appear until a few chapters in as the story focuses on Captain Hastings return from the war and how he fits into Poirot's life. It introduces the three major recurring characters in all the Poirot novels - Poirot, Hastings, and the infamous Inspector Japp (although his character is not as well introduced as the others). Being the first book the characters are a bit more exaggerated and less "real" then they become in later novels as she spends time accentuating their foibles that make them unique. The supporting cast of characters were a bit weak in this novel possibly because the reader has so many to keep up with, but over all they are not unlikeable or unbelievable, just a bit underdeveloped.
Plot - The plot in this book is well constructed and complex as the one from the Murder at the Vicarage, but again I felt the ending was a bit rough. Just not enough to make the reader buy into it and you almost don't care by the time you get there. I cant' really comment too much more without adding spoilers which I don't want to do. I believe fans of Agatha Christie will note that the ending reveals a plot which she develops better in one of her other novels but I won't say which one, but I will say it is a novel that was executed much better in building up to the unveiling than this one.
All in all I would rate the first story as a 3 star and the second as a 4 star so I am going with the 3 star due primarily to problems with the endings and Hickson's lack of success in my opinion as a narrator.
December 19, 2022
Murder at the Vicarage and The Mysterious Affair at Styles were enjoyable. I liked Murder at the Vicarage more than the Mysterious Affair at Styles. I enjoyed listening to them on audiobook. The narrators for each of the stories did a great job. Agatha Christie always manages to keep me guessing until the last second
October 14, 2016
I had trouble with the thick English accent of the female narrator in the Murder at the Vicarage, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear Hugh Fraser's voice for the Mysterious Affair at Styles. It seems fitting that the actor that played Hastings in the BBC television production of the Poirot series should narrate this book as well.
July 17, 2015
My first Agatha Christie read. I enjoyed the Poirot story much more than the Miss Marple story. Neither did much for me, however.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews