Agatha Christie Lovers discussion
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Cards on the Table
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CLOSED November 2012 - Cards on the Table
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I've been looking forward to this, because it's one of my favorites! Any book with Mrs. Oliver is a special treat, and I think this is the first novel she appears in. Of course, she was also in Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective, Superintendant Battle was in The Secret of Chimneys and The Seven Dials Mystery, and Colonel Race was in The Man in the Brown Suit. And all of them will appear in various novels after this one.I started reading last night, and am through the murder and initial interviews with the suspects. The game of bridge and its scores plays an important role in this one. I used to play bridge all the time in college, but I haven't played in years now, and I wish I remembered more about it! I could still play, although I don't remember all the bidding conventions, and I'm struggling to remember the scoring.
You may note that Mrs. Oliver has written a novel called The Body in the Library, which is the title of one of Christie's own, although she didn't write it until years later. I've also noted references to The Man in the Brown Suit and The A.B.C. Murders.
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For anyone who's interested, I posted some essays I wrote a few years ago about Mrs. Oliver. I thought I was posting in the top folder, but it ended up in the bottom folder. I think I got confused because one is labeled "General" and the other is "general"!
I have not read this one yet. Is it important to the story to understand the rules and scoring of bridge because I've never played bridge.
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Renee, no, it's not necessary, but I keep thinking that if I understood the scores better, I'd figure out some special clues! I'm not sure if all editions have it, but at the beginning of mine there are illustrations of the score sheets.
Carolyn F. wrote: "I read it Denise, to everyone else it's really worth a read."Thanks, Carolyn! I had a lot of fun reading all the books and then putting them together.
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I did notice that, Denise!
I remember this one vaguely. I'm glad to have a chance to read it again!
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Something I really liked was how Superintendent Battle treated Poirot. I'm used to reading books where Inspector Japp is Poirot's Scotland Yard companion, and Japp has a habit of mocking Poirot for his efforts. Battle didn't argue against Poirot's methods, in fact, I found that Battle was very respectful and admirable of Poirot. This was a great change. I liked seeing Poirot being respected for the genius he is! ;) Also, I LOVED the last line of the book (view spoiler)
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Denise wrote: "I've been looking forward to this, because it's one of my favorites! Any book with Mrs. Oliver is a special treat, and I think this is the first novel she appears in. Of course, she was also in M..."I"m with you about the bridge. I played a lot with my cousin and grand-parents as a teenager, and I remember something about the bidding, but much less about the scoring. The bridge, in this novel, and the different character's methods of playing is fascinating in this tale.
I seem to recall not liking this one when I read it before, but re-read it and absolutely loved it. Glad I gave it another chance, as I agree it is one of the best Poirot novels and a really original plot.
I really enjoyed it as well, what an interesting approach!
I finished this over the weekend. Maybe if I understood bridge, I would have enjoyed this one better. I certainly don't think this is one of Christie's best. And I know for sure after reading this, that I would be TERRIBLE at bridge, lol!
But which 'team' would you have liked to be with Elizabeth - the investigators or the suspects?!
It has been a long time since I read this one, but I am in agreement with Elizabeth- it made me wish I even remotely understood how the game of bridge works.
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(view spoiler)I spoilerized that, because if you haven't finished the book, it could eliminate one of the suspects.
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I enjoyed this, but since I know nothing about bridge, I always felt like I was missing out on some important clues. I liked the premise of investigators vs suspects. It was fun to contrast Poirot to the other investigators as they all worked on the same case.
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I spoilerized that, because if you haven't finished the book, it could eliminate one of the suspects."
AWESOME! ;)
Denise, I haven't read that - thanks :)
Trevor wrote: "Here is my review: I love re-reading Christie's! I knew who did it, but kept changing my mind throughout the book, thinking I 'might have remembered wrong'. That's how powerful the misleading and r..."I read Trevor's review and realized I could not have summarized this book any better. Loved the book!
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ha! Thanks Sharla. :)
This was my first time reading this one. I really enjoyed it.
Just finished it last night. I don't play bridge and don't know the rules, so I may have missed some important clues, but I loved this book! It just kept twisting and turning from one suspect to the other, and just when I thought I knew who did it someone else was the actual killer! Keeping notes didn't help much :) Great book! Can't wait to start the next one!
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Just finished and have already started Dumb Witness Not one of my favourites as I found it dragged in the middle section but I do like the ending
I've just finished this one, having fallen behind as there are several in a row that I don't own. I happened to find this one in one of my big anthologies. I liked it a lot, though I also wonder if I would have gotten more out of it if I knew anything about bridge. But the investigators vs. suspects was a fun twist and I didn't figure out the real killer but-
***SPOILER***
I did realize that he had killed Mr Craddock when it was mentioned that he asked to wash his hands in the man's bathroom. Still, that wasn't the murder they were attempting to solve at the moment.
I loved how justice was served in the end to the murderers. Very satisfying.
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It was the match-up of the century: four sleuths--Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard; Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, famed writer of detective stories; Col. Race of His Majesty's Secret Service; and the incomparable Hercule Poirot - invited to play bridge with four specially invited guests, each of whom had gotten away with murder! But before the first rubber was completed, the host was dead.