The illustrious career of Hercule Poirot begins with this tale of intrigue. Poirot, a master of inquiry, is called in to investigate the sudden death of elderly Emily Inglethorp at Styles Court in the village of Styles-Saint-Mary in Essex. She has just married for a second time, and Alfred Inglethorp (a former secretary and 20 years younger than Emily) is the new husband. There are many people in residence at Styles at the time of death who can be considered suspects...at the top of the list is Alfred whose name she repeated several times as she was dying. Nervously restrained accusations in the household reach the bursting point. A post-mortem is performed; strychnine is detected. This sensitive situation now requires the utmost discretion. Poirot, a retired Belgian detective, employs investigative methods that inspect every small detail that tells its own story and must fit seamlessly into the whole picture. A shattered coffee cup, a piece of burned paper, an empty box of sedatives, and several wills written at different times must all be considered. Poirot's careful and ceaseless examination of particulars at last bring the complicated events to a precise resolution.

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