Resumo de Cards On The Table

Some of my favorite Agatha Christie''s involve the character of Ariadne Oliver- friend of Hercule Poirot and a funny if somewhat obnoxious parody of the writer herself. Ariadne (when she isn''t too busy telling everyone that women ought to run Scotland Yard) gives the reader an inside, if skewed, view of the mystery writer''s craft. It seems that the things Christie wouldn''t say directly to her fans often come out of Ariadne''s mouth- like how she really dislikes the foreign detective character that made her famous.

Ariadne isn''t the only reoccurring character in this Hercule Poirot novel. Superintendent Battle and Colonel Race apply their talents to the case as well, which involves not one, but six possible murders (and one attempt). Christie explains in her preface that she lays her cards on the table- that is, she lays out the four suspects for the reader and promises not to spring any surprise killers out of the woodwork of the various lesser characters.

The story begins with a conversation- almost a duel- between Hercule Poirot and one Mr. Shaitana. The reader will identify Shaitana immediately as the victim because he has the temerity to compete with Poirot in the facial hair department. Shaitana invites Poirot to attend a dinner party with his "collection" of four murderers. His prankster nature also causes him to invite four sleuths, the afore-mentioned Oliver, Battle and Race, along with Poirot.

Since there is no physical evidence, identifying the murderer from the four involves uncovering past murders and comparing the methods of each. The game within a game theme is furthered by the placement of the murder during a game of bridge. Poirot uses the device of asking the suspects about the game in order to uncover the psychology of the characters. This is a classic Poirot psychological puzzle. The deftly plotted threads come together at the end for a satisfying conclusion with several twists.

One aspect of this book that dates it is the racial undertones found in some of the discussions between the characters. This is found mainly in the lines of Colonel Race, a most Kipling-esque character. I read that Agatha Christie was once acquainted with a Nazi couple. She found their views so abhorrent she removed anti-semitic references in later additions of her books. So my guess is that she included these remarks in order to show the mentality of the characters voicing them.

New Christie fans beware: this book reveals hints about two other Christie mysteries, The ABC Murders and Murder on the Orient Express. So don''t read Cards on the Table before these books if you like to be surprised!

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