Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table

CARDS ON THE TABLE

Author: Agatha Christie

pages:320

This is a classic Agatha Christie suspense thriller novel.There are only four suspects and given the right circumstances , any one of them might have committed the murder. Each of them have already committed at least one murder or more , and each of them is capable of committing further murders.They come from a widely different background and would employ different methods.The deduction therefore has to be entirely psychological as Poirot says " When all is said and done it is the mind of the murderer that is of supreme interest"...

The Story
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Hercule Poirot is visiting an exhibition of Snuff-Boxes at Wessex House when he has a chance encounter with Mr.Shaitana, a person with a bizzare taste in clothes and appearance, and, according to Poirot someone who every healthy decent Englishman longed earnestly and fervently to kick !
Nobody knew Mr Shaitana's origins , but what was known was that he was very rich and lived in the lap of luxury,and, he gave wonderful parties - sometimes macabre, sometimes queer, sometimes classy but never dull. And lastly he was a man of whom nearly everybody was a little afraid . He made it his business to dig out any little hidden secrets of various people known to him and took pleasure in making them aware of this fact by giving little hints about his knowledge which made them uncomfortable and uneasy ..

Shaitana while baiting Poirot at the exhibition invites him to his apartment where he claimed he had a 'Black Museum' , and he was willing to show Poirot some objects in his own line , crime !
According to Shaitana murder was an art form and the 'ones who got away with it' were the successes and according to him were the ' ultimate artistes'.
Shaitana arranges a dinner party for Poirot to meet his 'exhibits' (the ultimate artistes?) - but Poirot is reluctant to attend the party and warns Shaitana against the idea , but, finally gives in and decides to attend the party out of sheer curiosity.

The party consists of Poirot, Mrs Oliver the well known writer of detective novels and a feminist to the core, Superintendent Battle, one of Scotland yard's best representatives and Colonel Rice , an unassuming, quiet secret service agent , with a sharp observant mind.

The other guests include Dr. Roberts, Mrs Lorrimer, Major Despard and Miss Meredith - supposedly Shaitana's four exhibits. Shaitana's idea of fun was to have a party with his four exhibits and four sleuths.
What begins as an absorbing evening consisting of an Excellent dinner, a lively discussion on crime and murder and bridge, turns into a dangerous game with Shaitana found stabbed with one of his own collection of an exquisitely carved and jewel headed Stilletto. Shaitana literally signed his own death warrant when he made certain leading remarks and concluded 'But who am I to pronounce with so many experts present ?'

As Poirot remarks later 'The stupid little man, to dress up as the Devil and frighten people' - Now it was the task of the four sleuths to find the murderer , who was exceptionally daring and cunning..

My views about the book
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This is another very interesting book by Christie. As she writes in her forward at the beginning of the book, there are just 4 suspects and anybody could have done it. They all had the motive and all of them had the courage and the desperate need to execute the crime. This is another one of her whodunnits where i had absolutely no clue about the identity of the murderer, and Christie has made sure that you dont come to know about it right until the very last page..

Very gripping and compelling and witty like most of her novels, i would rate this as one of Poirot's most complicated cases and probably that's why there are three other experts helping him out.
I like the way Christie describes Mrs Oliver the writer of detective stories, who makes an appearance in many other novels along with Poirot. She is the typical feminist writer, a bit vague but with an eye for detail and unknowing to herself she blurts out the right things at the wrong moment ! this leads to many humorous situations which is quite funny and enjoyable.

Given the circumstances it seems impossible to commit a murder within the confines of a room where eight people are playing bridge, with Shaitana sitting and watching them, quite enjoying the tricky situation he has created and totally unaware of the dangerous situation he has put himself in !
When Christie explains the daring manner in which the murder is committed one can visualise the desperation of the murder- excellent suspense

This was made into a film with David Suchet in the lead role of Hercule Poirot..
But there were some unnecessary changes that made a mess of the storyline and reduced the impact .The book was one of Christies masterpieces but sadly the film was not upto the mark.This has been happening with many of Christie's works of late, and in my opinion there is no advantage , in fact it only dilutes the storyline..

Summary: A great read