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jlmb 's review for:
Cards on the Table
by Agatha Christie
I enjoyed the set up of this one. The victim invites 4 people he believes have gotten away with murder and 4 of Christie's detectives (Poirot, Battle, Colonel Race & Mrs Oliver) to a cocktail party. Murder, of course, ensues.
I also enjoyed the meta quality of this storyline; Mrs Oliver(a stand in for Christie herself?) discussing popular mystery tropes and the structures of conventional mysteries.
Since the book was written about 90 years ago, there are racist grandma comments that occasionally arise - mainly calling one character a Dago repeatedly.
I am re-reading all of Christie's books and I started to feel a sense of deja vu while reading this. Have I seen a tv show based on this story? Is it similar to another one of her books? Am I somehow recalling this plot from my first reading of it over 40 years ago? Who knows! It just all felt very familiar. That is fine by me because I turn to Christie when I want a comfort read, something I am accustomed to.
I also enjoyed the meta quality of this storyline; Mrs Oliver(a stand in for Christie herself?) discussing popular mystery tropes and the structures of conventional mysteries.
Since the book was written about 90 years ago, there are racist grandma comments that occasionally arise - mainly calling one character a Dago repeatedly.
I am re-reading all of Christie's books and I started to feel a sense of deja vu while reading this. Have I seen a tv show based on this story? Is it similar to another one of her books? Am I somehow recalling this plot from my first reading of it over 40 years ago? Who knows! It just all felt very familiar. That is fine by me because I turn to Christie when I want a comfort read, something I am accustomed to.