Search - Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot, Bk 13)

You can always count on Dame Agatha for a great mystery that you won't be able to figure out before she reveals all!! This one is no different. If you like Christie mysteries, you'll enjoy this one, too!

Christie mentioned the premise of this novel in a couple of her earlier works, setting up her public for it, I assume. It certainly does not disappoint. Even on rereading, when I could remember most of the how of the murder, I was taken in by a really well laid out diversion. There is a great deal of humor in this novel as well, making it delightful to revisit as some mysteries are not. It features mystery writer Ariadne Oliver's first appearance in a full-length work, and the reappearance of Superintendent Battle and Colonel Race, and all get to contribute their part to Poirot's ultimate solution. The bridge play (which is discussed quite a bit) is accessible to the novice and should not put you off. The characters are a shade underdeveloped compared to some of Christie's other mysteries, but all in all Cards on the Table is in the upper half of her cannon.