World War 1 and British Army officer Arthur Hastings is recuperating in a quiet manor in the English countryside. When a woman is murdered in the household, Hastings enlists the help of an old friend to solve the mystery - Hercule Poirot.Intriguing and quite nostalgic. This is the mystery that cemented the Poirot-Hastings partnership. So quite an historic feel to it.

"The Mysterious Affair at Styles" marks Poirot's first mystery. Interestingly, Poirot's first and last cases take place at Styles.Here he reconnects with a friend, Captain Hastings, whom he has not seen in some time. Hastings is recovering from an injury he received during World War I. He is staying in a mansion that has been conscripted as a hospital.In the beginning, we see Hastings and other patients watching the newsreels which shows Belgian refugees arriving in England. This is how Poirot first came to England.Hastings has an old friend who invites him to his place, Styles Court. He confides in Hastings that his mother has married a younger man, Alfred Inglethorp. The whole family believes that he is a golddigger.Not long after that, Emily Inglethorp is murdered by strychnine. Hastings appeals to Poirot to investigate. Inglethorp is the obvious suspect, but are things as they seem? This is a beautifully made episode that displays the era with perfection. The story has a couple of holes, but Poirot's deductions are excellent, and even if you know the denouement, you will be intrigued by the way it unfolds.David Suchet is the best Poirot - fastidious, cheerfully egomaniacal, and eccentric. Delightful episode.

Although IMDb lists this feature length outing as the first episode of the third season, it is actually a stand-alone episode which was made to mark 100 years since the birth of Christie. I know this because early doors I did have to do some Googling to understand the context because the film is the very first book where Poirot makes an appearance and as it fit into the flow of the season. The plot sees Hastings having only previously met Poirot once but by chance reunited with him as the little Belgian and others have temporarily been granted entry into the UK to escape the war. Whenever the residence where Hastings is staying experiences a death, he suggests they involve Poirot to help with the investigation.The change in time appears to have had other impacts too because this special is not quite as good as the previous two seasons had been. The change in dynamic and relationship is an impact but it is not particularly negative in the grand scheme of things but it does jar a little when watching in the context of the previous episodes; Hastings is a darker character in the wake of the war and Poirot's relationship with him is perhaps too superficial (as one would expect) so the humor between them is not as evident. The plot is engaging but not all of it makes sense and as part of filling out two hours, there is a lot more in the way of red herrings than normal which by definition means that the mystery becomes less accessible and less straightforward. These factors are small things though because, although clearly different from the episodes before, the film still works very well and delivers in the ways it normally does – even if that is not quite as well as we are used to.The cast remain very good although understandably there is some restrictions on their characters as we "get the gang together" as it were. Suchet is as good as ever even in a younger appearance; I liked that he retained the character but made it work a few steps earlier in the line – for example his fussy, irritable streak is more gently shown with an attention to detail. Fraser has less of a comedic role, which is a shame as he is very good at that, but he does make for more of a rounded character. Jackson is solid in support as usual but is less used. The supporting cast are generally pretty good although in a way I went for them less because to me they were part of the "fuller" film feel and thus worked a little against the fresher, more accessible plots than I had enjoyed of late.The Mysterious Affair at Styles is still a very enjoyable film that is a nice addition to the episodes even if it clunks a little bit against the flow. The essence is still there even if it must be said the longer running time and the change in the dynamics does rather reduce the fresh humor of the episodes and how accessible they were.

A picturesque version of 1917 in England is beautifully evoked -- lovely scenery, vintage cars, perfect costumes. Poirot and Hastings are good and the story is absorbing, at least at first. You need to be very wide awake, however, to keep careful track of the characters and events. Agatha Christie herself commented (I think in her autobiography) that she had perhaps overloaded this, her first book, with clues. In the book, you have time to take all this in and can look back if necessary. This TV version has to cram it in at fairly high speed. This - along with the technical nature of the poisoning - means that the average viewer has very little chance of working out how the crime was done. Another problem is that there are quite a lot of characters, some of whom get very little screen time. It was a commendable act of piety to make this film for the centenary of Agatha Christie's birth, but perhaps the book is not really suitable for dramatization.