Agatha Christie Playing Cards

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However Cards on the Table has also been adapted for radio by BBC Radio 4, featuring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot, Donald Sinden as Colonel Johnny Race, and Stephanie Cole as Ariadne Oliver. This adaptation is much more faithful to the plot of the novel. Poirot and Mrs Oliver being 2 of the "detectives" are ably joined by a Police Superintendent and a Secret Service operative (the other two players) in their investigation of the only 4 possible suspects. I have been quite fond of the Hercule Poirot experience undertaking for the past few months. Each story is not only exciting, but also full of wonderful mystery writing that is no longer the norm in today’s publications. Agatha Christie knows what she’s doing and keeps the reader entertained with many reveals they could not have seen coming. Brilliant work and it keeps me wanting to read more.

Aunque la novela me ha gustado, me esperaba mucho más de ella, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta, que aquí junta a 4 de sus grandes protagonistas, el superintendente Battle, el coronel Race, la escritora Ariadne Oliver y Hercules Poirot. The jigsaw is 48.5 x 68 cm (19 x 27 in.) when completed and comes in a sturdy and attractive box, making it the perfect gift for a Christie fan. Cards on the Table is one of my favorites, so it was a lot of fun to hear it with voice actors and sound effects.

Agatha Christie's Death on the Cards

Agatha Christie had warned us in her foreword that the novel has only four suspects and the deduction must be purely psychological. Amusingly, she also said that this was one of the favourite cases of Hercule Poirot, while his friend Captain Hastings found it very dull. She then wonders how her readers will feel.

This is, in my opinion, one of the best Poirot novels. Even the title is a riddle, with a double meaning. Superintendent Battle says that Cards on the Table was to be their motto, but the entire plot of novel is based on the theme of playing cards. All the potential murderers played the card game, contract bridge, as the main murder was actually committed. A third interpretation of the title is another metaphor. To play contract bridge demands a certain level of skill, and ability to take risks. This also forms part of Poirot’s method: a close analysis, and study of the psychology of each individual. Poirot's fellow guests include three other crime professionals: secret service man Colonel Race, mystery writer Mrs Ariadne Oliver, and Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard; along with four people Shaitana believes to be murderers: Dr Roberts, Mrs Lorrimer, Anne Meredith, and Major Despard. Shaitana taunts his suspects with comments that each understands as applying only to them. I never think your questions foolish, M. Poirot,” said Battle. “I’ve seen too much of your work. Everyone’s got their own way of working.”

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Despite the genuine clues, Agatha Christie deftly leads us along false trails and feeds us many red herrings. There are bodies galore, with several murders in the past as well as the present one – plus a future murder, a future suicide and a future accidental death. There is romance – and deceit. A hired actor is employed by one of the detectives, to great effect. And, astoundingly, the entire plot turns on the game of bridge, and the bids made, alongside the guests’ memories of the room they were in. Poirot’s bases his theory upon the murderer’s recollection of the bridge game. The murderer could remember very little about it, except for the grand slam that they made, yet they could remember a lot about the layout of the room they played in. This was significant, and was in direct contrast to what the other suspects recalled. The solution to the murder is an analytical one – quite brilliant and a complete surprise. Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan. That is until Shaitana is found dead in his chair from a stabbed through the heart with his own stiletto at the end of the evening.