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msand3 's review for:
Cards on the Table
by Agatha Christie
3.5 stars. What began as a stellar premise soon turned into a slight slog, but then recovered for a fast-paced ending. The inclusion of four Christie regulars -- Poirot, Superintendent Battle, Colonel Race, and Mrs. Oliver -- is a classic example of too much of a good thing. Like those superhero movies that attempt to bridge “universes” by throwing together all these disparate characters, it works more to bog down the narrative than to add flavor to the work. Colonel Race disappears about halfway through the novel (and he didn't really do much before that), and I didn’t even really notice.
And that’s all a shame because the premise is great: four murderers in a single room and one dead body. No possibility for red herrings. But perhaps to a fault? Christie seems to sense that, so she throws in a couple red herrings in the final chapters just for kicks, which is really where this novel is the strongest. Poirot is not my favorite Christie character, but he does redeem this one in his cat-and-mouse game among the suspects in the final chapters.
And that’s all a shame because the premise is great: four murderers in a single room and one dead body. No possibility for red herrings. But perhaps to a fault? Christie seems to sense that, so she throws in a couple red herrings in the final chapters just for kicks, which is really where this novel is the strongest. Poirot is not my favorite Christie character, but he does redeem this one in his cat-and-mouse game among the suspects in the final chapters.