Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot)
by Agatha Christie
Our Price: $6.99
Availability: Usually ships in 6 to 7 days
Buy Used: from $0.07 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Agatha ChristieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Print
Published: 2005-07-05
ISBN: 0425205959
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Product features:
- Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot Murder Mystery
- Dell Publishing Co, Inc. New Dell Edition, 3rd Printing January 1980
- ISBN-10: 0-440-11052-1
- Amazon ISBN-10: 0425205959, ISBN-13: 978-0425205952
- Note: The word "detection" is spelled "dectection" on the back cover!
Book Reviews of Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot)
Book Review: "A Murderer Can Be An Artist..."
Summary: 5 Stars
Written at the height of her powers, "Cards on the Table" contains one of Christie's most intriguing set ups. The mysterious Mr Shaitana (who is repeatedly described as Mephistophelian) is a purveyor of odd collectibles, and approaches Poirot to invite him to a dinner party with a difference. The assembled guests are Poirot, Colonel Race, a Secret Service agent, Inspector Battle of Scotland Yard, and the mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver, as well as Mrs Lorrimer, a composed widow, Anne Meredith, a young ingénue, Major Despard, a big-game safari hunter, and Doctor Roberts, a personable physician. The former group are all investigators of some kind or another; the latter are a more disparate group, but when Shaitana separates the two into bridge parties and falls asleep in a chair by the fire, none are prepared for what happens next.
When Poirot and his group finish up the game and enter the drawing room, they are horrified to discover that Mr Shaitana is sitting dead in his chair, stabbed to death with a stiletto. Any of the four sitting in the room could have done it, and it soon becomes obvious that all are equally suspect. Shaitana had previously made hints to Poirot that he "collected" murderers who had gotten away with their crimes, and Poirot realizes that his death is exactly what Shaitana had planned for his dinner party.
It's four detectives pitted against four murderers: each one of them had the motive and the opportunity, but only one of them is guilty. Whilst the other three detectives go about the usual methods of deduction, Poirot takes an interest in the psychological aspect of the bridge game that the would-be killers were playing.
"Cards on the Table" is one of the few mysteries that contains a foreword by the author, in which Christie explains that too often she's been told by her readers that most of the time all they have to do to identify the killer is to find the least-likely suspect. In this case however, all four suspects are *already* guilty of a crime, with an equal interest in committing another. As Christie herself says: "they are four wildly divergent types; the motive that drives each one of them to crime is peculiar to that person, and each one would employ a different method. The deduction must, therefore, be entirely psychological." Perhaps more than any other Christie mystery, the solution to the murder is found in Poirot's insight into the criminal mind.
Readers who are unfamiliar with the game of bridge may be a little cross-eyed at the constant references to the bridge game, though it should not impede the possibility of deducing who the killer is. Christie still "plays by the rules," and does not overly rely on specialized knowledge. She does - as the title implies - puts all the cards on the table.
This also marks the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver, who is a very transparent fictional version of Christie herself. With her tendency to eat apples while she's writing and her frustration toward her fictional detective Sven, Christie takes the opportunity to poke fun at several aspects of her writing career - including fastidious readers, the complications in getting a plot underway, and the distaste she has for several of her own novels. She's a great character, and pops up often in subsequent mysteries.
"Cards on the Table" is one of the best Christie mysteries out there, with Poirot at the top of his game.
Summary of Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot)
A flamboyant party host is murdered in full view of a roomful of bridge players! Mr Shaitana was famous as a flamboyant party host. Nevertheless, he was a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation to view Shaitana's private collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether!Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.73
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.78
Price in other shops:
Taken at the Flood: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-08-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.32
Price in other shops:
Murder in Mesopotamia: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Published: 2007-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
Appointment With Death: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Published: 2007-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.48
Price in other shops:
The Big Four: A Hercule Poirot Mysteryby Agatha Christie
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-08-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.37
Price in other shops:
The Mystery of the Blue Train: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Published: 2007-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
The Murder on the Links: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-06-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.34
Price in other shops:
Five Little Pigs: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.64
Price in other shops:
Sad Cypress: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Published: 2007-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.97
Price in other shops:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)by Agatha Christie
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: