La Mystérieuse Affaire de Styles (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) is the 15th episode of series 2 of the French TV series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie. It was produced by Escazal Films and France Televisions. It is an adaptation of the Hercule Poirot novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Synopsis[]
Plot Summary[]
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
Comparison with the original story[]
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
Aside from obvious differences in the character list (with the omission of central characters such as John/Lawrence/Cynthia/Mary/Hastings, and the addition of several others), other differences include:
- Styles Court is a spa with popular treatments to restore youth; Emilie drinks the blood of children in an attempt to retain her own youth
- Emilie has two daughters - one who was abandoned as a baby and later rediscovered (Alice), and one recently adopted (Dorothée). Alice is the subject of two failed murder attempts during the story, by the same perpetrators, and Dorothée is carrying Adrien's child as a surrogate mother for Emilie who is infertile
- While Cynthia herself is not present, the storyline of sleeping powder introduced to Emilie's drink for reasons unrelated to the murder, is retained. In this version, the sleeping powder is added by the character Diane Clément-Roussel, who is secretly having an affair with Adrien
- Eve and Adrien have previously executed a similar scheme on another lady, Viviane Dujardin. In that case, they did not murder her, although they did murder an author who discovered the secret, Martial Marchetti, by drowning him in the spa pool. This murder occurs early in the adaptation, even before Emilie's murder
- Strychnine is slowly added to Emilie's skin by means of a spiked massage oil, through her spa massages
- Other major aspects of the novel removed include the unfinished letter written by the murderer, and the court case
Cast[]
| Episode character | Actor | Equivalent novel character |
|---|---|---|
| Commissaire Swan Laurence | Samuel Labarthe | Hercule Poirot, as the detective of the story, although having a markedly different personality |
| Alice Avril | Blandine Bellavoir | None; a journalist who turns out to be Emilie's long lost daughter |
| Marlène Leroy | Élodie Frenck | None; Laurence's secretary |
| Èmilie Beauregard | Frédérique Tirmont | Emily Inglethorp |
| Ève Constantin | Sophie Cattani | Evelyn Howard |
| Tim Glissant | Cyril Gueï | None; a pathologist with a rather lax work ethic, who is helping with the investigation |
| Diane Clément-Roussel | Alexia Barlier | None; the wife of a government minister, who is having a secret affair with Adrien. She also starts an affair with Laurence, who is suffering from erectile dysfunction |
| Adrien Sauvignac | Andy Gillet | Alfred Inglethorp |
| Dorothée Mellul | Charlie Joirkin | None; her name may be a reference to Dorcas, as both characters are junior staff members working at Styles |
| Professor Hoffman | Frédéric Fisbach | None; a scientific researcher working at Styles, who believes that drinking the blood of children is a way to restore youth |
| Ernest Tricard | Dominique Thomas | None; a police commissioner and Laurence's superior |
| Viviane Dujardin | Anouchka Csernakova | None; a prior victim of Adrien and Eve's criminal schemes |
| Martial Marchetti | Fabrice Gaillard | None; an author who discovered Adrien and Eve's prior dealings with Viviane Dujardin and was murdered |
| Mr. Brincard | Rémy Gence | Mr. Mace |
| Sylvie | Floriane Potiez | None; the mother of a boy whose blood Emilie wants to drink |
Filming locations[]
- Chateau de Tilques - today a hotel.[1]