#MyAgathaChristieYear-Part 4-‘Cards On The Table’

I have to be honest, my heart sunk when I picked this Christie title from my tbr jar…

‘Cards On The Table’ is a Poirot mystery featuring one of my favourite characters, Ariadne Oliver-creator of Finnish detective Sven Hjersen-but the entire plot revolves around the card game bridge.

For those unfamiliar with this game , asking me is a bad idea as I have not a clue!

Thankfully, there is an author note at the beginning saying instead of being a cast of 1000’s, there are 4 detectives and 4 suspects-who will you agree with and will you be right?

I don’t want to put anyone off, the ensuing story is a gripping one.

Self-styled collector of unusual items and party host extraordinaire, Mr Shaitana, invites Poirot to his latest gathering. Reluctantly accepting, Poirot agrees to attend.

However, on arrival Poirot finds himself at a party unlike any other.

The items on display are actual murderers-Shaitana had no interest in collecting things a la ‘The Crime Museum’ -as far as he is concerned they were all failed murderers, the ones who have not been caught are the real prizes.None of the guests are aware of the dark history of the others.

The four guests are Anne Meredith, a timid young woman, matrinly Mrs Lorrimer, Major Despard and Dr Roberts-all of whom Shaitana has told Poirot are apparently killers.

They are playing bridge in one room whilst the other 4, of which only Poirot knows the truth about the murderers, are Superintendent Battle, Ariadne and Captain Battle . During the evening, they all play bridge until they come to the end of their ‘rubber'(not a vlue, maybe like a hand?) and go to wake a sleeping Shaitana who is slumbering infront of the fire.

But he is not slumbering, he is dead…

The investigation kicks off with Poirot explaining to his comrades what he was made aware of before they attended the party. They split up and interview the different suspects to work out not only the murder that they got away with but also which one committed Shaitana’s …

It’s definitely got all the charaxcteristics you would expect of Christie and Poirot , and knowing bridge doesn;t mean you cannot enjoy ‘Cards On The Table’ but it’s not my favourite. The TV adaptation with David Suchet is very good and I feel circumvents the bridge issue.

About the author…

Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. She wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym ,Mary Westmacott.

Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author, having been translated into at least 103 languages.

She is the creator of two of the most enduring figures in crime literature-Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple-and author of ‘The Mousetrap’, the longest-running play in the history of modern theatre.

Links-https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-sgq2s-30a5a97

https://www.agathachristie.com/

Links to the other review posts-

My Agatha Christie Year Part 9-Halloween Party

My Agatha Christie Year Part 8-Lord Edgware Dies

My Agatha Christie Year Part 7-After The Funeral

My Agatha Christie Year Part 6-Five Little Pigs

My Agatha Christie Year Part 5 -Poirot Investigates

My Agatha Christie Year Part 4-Cards On the Table

My Agatha Christie Year Part 3- N Or M?

My Agatha Christie Year-Part 2-The Man In The Brown Suit

My Agatha Christie Year Part 1-Miss Marple’s Final Cases