The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. It is Christie’s first published novel, and introduces Hercule Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp and Lieutenant Hastings (later, Captain). The story is told in first person by Hastings, and features many of the elements that, thanks to Christie, have become icons of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It is set in a large, isolated country manor. There are a half-dozen suspects, most of whom are hiding facts