The mood of Agatha Christie’s 1920 detective mystery The Mysterious Affair at Styles is surprisingly light for a novel that centers around a murder case and the discovery of a pair of adulterous killers. The fun that Hastings enjoys as he follows Poirot to unravel the mystery of Emily Inglethorp’’s death is practically infectious, inspiring the readers’ curiosity and desire to solve the case themselves. Poirot’s enjoyment of the careful, controlled methodology required by deductive casework is presented as something to admire. The combination of Poirot’s and Hastings’s different attitudes towards casework creates multiple humorous exchanges throughout the novel, as in the case below from Chapter 4:
I had the utmost difficulty in controlling my excitement. Unknown to herself, Annie had provided us with an important piece of evidence. How she would have gaped if she had realized that her “coarse kitchen salt” was strychnine, one of the most deadly poisons known to mankind. I marvelled at Poirot’s calm. His self-control was astonishing. I awaited his next question with impatience, but it disappointed me.
Hastings is uncontrollably excited about the revelation of another clue, and he behaves with giddiness. Although Poirot’s calm reaction disappoints Hastings, his self-control in fact adds to the humor of the narrator’s exaggerated over-eagerness to solve the case. Combined, this scene exemplifies the light mood of the novel, in which revelations and logical discoveries are revealed in a timely and enjoyable manner for the duration of the plot.
