This is the very first Poirot/Hastings story. Set in 1916, we meet Captain Hastings as he is invalided out of the Great War and goes to convalesce at Styles Court, the family home of his great friend, John Cavendish. By an extraordinary coincidence, billeted in the village is a brilliant little retired detective with an egg-shaped head, who made a considerable impression on the Captain when he was in Belgium. Styles is not a happy household and in the blistering summer heat, tensions mount. Even so, the tragic murder, which occurs is not expected. The entire family is drawn into the case but with their reluctant permission, Hastings calls upon the services of the diminutive Belgian.
As Hercule Poirot sifts through his post one particular morning, he alights upon a letter from an elderly and (as it transpires), exceedingly rich spinster – Miss Emily Arundell. She is clearly in great distress and seeking his help, but doesn’t say why. Her only specific mention is ‘the incident of the dog’s ball’. However, what intrigues Poirot is the date of the communication – it was written two months ago. He persuades Captain Hastings that they must visit the lady with all haste.
On arrival they discover that she has died, apparently of natural causes. But Bob, Miss Arundell’s devoted wire-haired terrier, knows better.
!["The Mysterious Affair at Styles" by Agatha Christie [A BBC RADIO 4 FULL-CAST DRAMATISATION]](http://englishtips.org/uploads/posts/2011-07/1309840168_1171819502_actmas.jpg "\"The Mysterious Affair at Styles\" by Agatha Christie [A BBC RADIO 4 FULL-CAST DRAMATISATION]")
