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A review by reesepective
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
2.0
Okay, so let’s talk about Cards on the Table. The premise starts off strong—Mr. Shaitana, a charming man with questionable motives, invites a bunch of intriguing folks (including our beloved Hercule Poirot) to his house for a game of bridge. A nice evening of cards, conversation, and... murder! Mr. Shaitana ends up dead, and it’s up to Hercule Poirot to figure out who’s holding the ace of murder.
So, kudos to Agatha Christie for a killer opening—everything about the first few chapters had me hooked. But then… ugh, it kinda went downhill, didn’t it? I mean, the execution was just meh. There was a whole lot of secret-revealing and suspect-building that left me more confused than intrigued. People had their theories, which felt like a massive game of “he said, she said”—and honestly? It got boring pretty quickly.
Let’s talk about that twist. Or should I say, “Let’s not talk about that twist,” because it made the whole ending feel like a silly anticlimax. Loose ends? Check. Unanswered questions? Check. Irritation level? Off the charts.
Oh, and here’s my confession: I don’t know how to play bridge. So when Hercule Poirot starts using the game to explain his deductions, I was just sitting there like, “What in the what?” I’m not sure if the book would’ve been better if I understood the game, but yeah, that whole part was a bit lost on me.
Overall, Cards on the Table didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It had potential, but the middle dragged, the twist fell flat, and well... I’d say skip it unless you’re a bridge expert or really into Hercule Poirot’s most bafflingly dull case.
So, kudos to Agatha Christie for a killer opening—everything about the first few chapters had me hooked. But then… ugh, it kinda went downhill, didn’t it? I mean, the execution was just meh. There was a whole lot of secret-revealing and suspect-building that left me more confused than intrigued. People had their theories, which felt like a massive game of “he said, she said”—and honestly? It got boring pretty quickly.
Let’s talk about that twist. Or should I say, “Let’s not talk about that twist,” because it made the whole ending feel like a silly anticlimax. Loose ends? Check. Unanswered questions? Check. Irritation level? Off the charts.
Oh, and here’s my confession: I don’t know how to play bridge. So when Hercule Poirot starts using the game to explain his deductions, I was just sitting there like, “What in the what?” I’m not sure if the book would’ve been better if I understood the game, but yeah, that whole part was a bit lost on me.
Overall, Cards on the Table didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It had potential, but the middle dragged, the twist fell flat, and well... I’d say skip it unless you’re a bridge expert or really into Hercule Poirot’s most bafflingly dull case.