Another great Christie book, where any 1 of 4 people could have been the killer. It's up to Poirot and the other 3 detectives at the scene to determine which one actually did it

[In this book] "There are only four starters [suspects] and any one of them, given the right circumstances, might have committed the crime. That knocks out forcibly the element of surprise. Nevertheless there should be, I think, an equal interest attached to four persons, each of whom has committed murder and is capable of committing further murders. They are four widely 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, but it is none the less interesting for that, because when all is said and done it is the mind of the murderer that is of supreme interest. I may say, as an additional argument in favour of this story, that it was one of Hercule Poirot’s favourite cases. His friend, Captain Hastings, however, when Poirot described it to him, considered it very dull! I wonder with which of them my readers will agree.

Christie, Agatha. Cards on the Table: Hercule Poirot Investigates . HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Well, I can't lay claim to the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot, but neither do I have to claim Hastings'. I'm apparently to be something of a middle ground. I failed to deduct the murderer but I did enjoy the investigation to get there.

So, a party of eight are invited to dine with Mr Shaitana, four of whom he considers to be murderers and four of whom represent law enforcement. The law enforcement side is made up of Hercule Poirot, Ariadne Oliver (a mystery writer and sometimes amateur sleuth), Superintendent Battle (a police officer from Scotland Yard) and Colonel Race (a government spy of sorts). Although I'm aware of who they are, I haven't actually read any of their books - but I'm certainly looking forward to it now! Although I didn't really get a feel for Colonel Race - he doesn't really play much of a part - I would've been more interested to see Mr Satterthwaite (from Harley Quin) make up the fourth member of the party. Or even Miss Marple - that would've been pretty amusing.

They dine, they talk and they play bridge - and when they go to leave they find that their host, Mr Shaitana has been murdered - and only four people were in the room at the time - all of the suspected murderers. This was rather funny. I liked how the law enforcement side agree to lay their cards on the table and to share all facts. It was interesting seeing how they all worked the problem from their own strengths.

On the other hand, I found the ending somewhat rather bizarre. Okay so it was Doctor Roberts. I only clued to the bruise on her arm and actually thought maybe him and Anne Meredith were in on it together. But that's fine it was him. What I didn't get - was if it was him, why the hell did Anne try to kill her friend Rhoda Dawes? I mean jealousy seemed kind of weak when Rhoda is her meal ticket and she's not actually panicking about being found out.

Overall it was an interesting read. I wouldn't say it was quite as good as some of her other works, but it was definitely a solid mystery. 3.5 stars, rounded to 3. ( )

I always enjoy a good Agatha Christie novel. I am usually rather OCD about reading mystery series in order but I just pick and choose Christie haphazardly but I feel they stand on their own all well enough that this isn't an issue. This was classic Christie and I enjoyed the multiple red herrings until the "big reveal" although I think if I understood anything about bridge, it would have been helpful. ( )

Dame Agatha wrote some brilliant things, but this wasn't one of them, by a long shot. ( )

I hadn't read any Christie in years, though I've kept my ancient paperback copies of her books through many household moves. Picking up [b:Cards on the Table|6473183|Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot, #15)|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458406267l/6473183._SY75_.jpg|894955] as part of a group read reminded me why I haven't let them go.

In a word, reading this was fun , pure and simple. Christie isn't brilliant at any one aspect of writing, but she's decent at all of them. And I love the pace. The plot moves along briskly without feeling rushed, and the various misdirections at the end are deliciously entertaining.

The fictional detective Poirot's friend, the fictional author of mysteries Ariadne Oliver, makes an appearance in this book and as always, she's an entertaining addition. Her idiosyncrasies, along with Poirot's, balance nicely against the two more staid "sleuths" making up the crime-solving foursome in the book (four other characters are the potential murderers).

I suppose that if I knew more about the game of bridge the book would have been even more entertaining, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. Definitely rates 5 stars when compared with other golden age mysteries. ( )