Review on ’’Cards on the Table’’ - a murder mystery by Agatha Christie
Unfortunately, due to cheap novels, TV serial and movies, a general idea about anything remotely connected with a detective means (Vyomkesh Bakshi, an Indian serial was an exception) a lot of suspicious looking characters, a routine background music trying to create great suspense, practically imbecile policemen who seem to know absolutely nothing, an eccentric (but good looking) detective with two assistants, one of them is a buffoon as good as a policeman and another a female, added for all obvious (and wrong) reasons. In short if there is one genre of literature, which has been thoroughly misused, it is this one. People have written stupid novels, made idiotic films and serials, and had the cheek to call it mystery-something just because a certain murder was involved.
As a die-hard fan of Agatha Christie, I wanted to write about a novel, which was having an excellent plot for its mystery content and was also representative of Agatha Christie’s style.The novel ’’Cards on the table’’ as first of the Christie’s novel which I read, and I rate it as one of the very best written by this great mystery writer.
Fortunately in the novels of Agatha Christie one gets to know what this genre of detective fiction actually involves. ’’Cards on the Table’’ is different in this respect that this novel is in real sense different from even conventional good detective stories. Infact this was one of the few novels, that Agatha Christie wrote a foreword warning her readers as to the different treatment of this novel.
Mr. Shaitana, a collector of different items, invites a strange group of people to the party. Four of them are murderers, (one an army man, one a doctor, one a widow, and another a young girl) each one of them had committed murder at least once, and each one is now living a life very different from their past. The second group of invitees include a police superintendent and a famous detective (the inimitable Hercule Poirot, Hero of the novel) and a detective story writer. The party begins, and subtle hints are dropped by Mr. Shaitana about each of the four persons. In presence of a great detective and a policeman, the murderer strikes again and Mr. Shaitana is killed. All this happens in first two chapters of the book.
What happens next is really a mastery of art of detective fiction personified. You have only four suspects. I repeat only four sure suspects. No chance of an outsider jumping. Well tried and tested Christie characters (who have appeared in other novels as well) play detective, policeman and mystery writer, and so there is no chance of a hidden fifth murderer. There are no coffee stains, no bullets, no poison, no broken bottles and no secret phone call. It is the detective story genre at its best. The reader is completely mesmerised by the ingenuity of Agatha Christie as she develops her masterpiece, which portrays the ’’Christie style’’
Here digressing from a topic a bit, I would like to remind the informed readers about Christie’s first novel ’’The mysterious affairs at Styles’’. An excellent novel no doubt and not to be missed, the novel actually shows the effect of Arthur Conan Doyle. A detective with supreme intelligence with a subordinate of mediocre one and the novel being narrated by the mediocre friend and collegue. In that novel, Hercule Poirot, her Belgian detective is seen, noting coffee stain, drawers, papers, etc. in line with Sherlock Holmes.
But this novel shows a Poirot, who appears in most of Christie’s novels. His friend and narrator, Hastings is not in the scene. There is no searching for clues here and there, no frantic movement. Poirot simply sits and reflects. His ’’little grey cells’’ are at work when he reviews situation with a cup of ’’hot chocolate’’. He is no Perry mason, he is not a man of action, he is a man of thoughts, logical, sensible and almost maniacally methodical. And does he succeed?? Well read the novel to find it!
Other suggestions:
(a) Murder on Orient express
(b) Lord Edgware dies
(c) And then there were none
(d) ABC murders
Almost all .........
Let me now summarise the pros and cons of the novel:
Pros
An extremely tight plot.
For an impatient reader like me , books of Christie are not thick.
No side tracks and no digressions
The ability to continue weaving the plots around the four suspects.
Hercule Poirot at his best
An excellent depiction, of England of Fifties, sixties, the environment almost takes you to that era
A brave attempt by the author by digressing from the accepted norm of too many men and too many murders.
Cons
None as far as I am concerned. However for the beginner let me indicate some factors in her novel
(a) No liberal doses of sex here
(b) Detective hero is not a youngster, he is awkward looking, more than sixty, has an egg shaped head tilted to one side
(c) No fast pace or actions involved. (Except in Tommy and Tuppence series By Agatha Christie, where pace is there, though the detective element of a Poirot Novel is missing)
(d) Will feel the urge to read the novel once again, to se where you missed the point!!
(e) Will feel the urge to read ’’another’’ Christie novel,