THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. It was written in 1916 and was first published in 1920.*****It is Christie's first published novel, and introduces Hercule Poirot, Chief Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings. 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.