Agatha Christie Playing Cards

Product Information

Games night just became a whole lot more mysterious with the introduction of these Agatha Christie playing cards. The jigsaw is 48.5 x 68 cm (19 x 27 in.) when completed and comes in a sturdy and attractive box, making it the perfect gift for a Christie fan.

I have been quite fond of the Hercule Poirot experience undertaking for the past few months. Each story is not only exciting, but also full of wonderful mystery writing that is no longer the norm in today’s publications. Agatha Christie knows what she’s doing and keeps the reader entertained with many reveals they could not have seen coming. Brilliant work and it keeps me wanting to read more. I don't want to ruin anything, so I'll just say this one is another great cozy mystery that any fan of Agatha Christie will probably love. Mr. Shaitana is throwing a party. There will be drinks, bridge and a bit of murder. You see, Shaitana is a collector and one of things he’s collected is murderers. Not just any murderers, but the ones who have gotten away with it; the ones you can’t quite prove are murderers. Upon a chance meeting with Hercule Poirot, he comes with a funny (to him at least) idea. He will invite some guests over, eight people in total and four of them murders. The other four? Hercule Poirot of course, Superintendent Battle if Scotland Yard, Colonel Race of the Secret Service and Mrs. Oliver a writer of mystery novels. Four murderers and four sleuths. It’s a great little joke on his part, until one of them realizes this little game and murders him. With little in terms of clues, the only way to solve this crime, is to solve the crimes of the past and find out which, if any of the guests, really did commit them. I’m so torn on this book. On the one hand, how often can you say that you have four — yes, four! —of Dame Agatha Christie’s sleuths in one book? On the other hand, the task they take on turns out to be a bit thin — at least at first. This is, in my opinion, one of the best Poirot novels. Even the title is a riddle, with a double meaning. Superintendent Battle says that Cards on the Table was to be their motto, but the entire plot of novel is based on the theme of playing cards. All the potential murderers played the card game, contract bridge, as the main murder was actually committed. A third interpretation of the title is another metaphor. To play contract bridge demands a certain level of skill, and ability to take risks. This also forms part of Poirot’s method: a close analysis, and study of the psychology of each individual.The player with the You’re The Murderer!! secret card wins the game if the draw pile is exhausted and The Murderer Escapes! card is revealed, or if all of the Poirot and Colonel Race see that the flamboyant Mr. Shaitana has been silenced for ever: stabbed in the chest, with a weapon from his own collection. Mr. Shaitana had tempted Providence, and he had lost. The Publisher Says: It was the match-up of the century: four sleuths--Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard; Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, famed writer of detective stories; Col. Race of His Majesty's Secret Service; and the incomparable Hercule Poirot - invited to play bridge with four specially invited guests, each of whom had gotten away with murder! But before the first rubber was completed, the host was dead. My Review: This review is of Christie's novel and the tenth-season film adaptation for Agatha Christie's Poirot. They earn the same rating.

Well, how have I missed this one. I don't remember the book or the David Suchet TV version, and yet this was or should I say is, one of my all time favourite Poirot novels. Christie has a way with words and setting the scene that leaves the mystery fan begging for more. A strong narrative leads this story along quote well, pacing things as needed to ensure that it will be a stellar reading experience. Great characters and strong development of each allows the reader to formulate their own views through tough process of determining the murderer. A few plot twists allows the reader to wonder if they could have predict future things from the get-go, I have really come to enjoy many of these stories, which are usually so different from one another. I am eager to see what else Poirot will discover as he proves himself to be one of the masters! Please be aware that the delivery time frame may vary according to the area of delivery - the approximate delivery time is usually between 1-2 business days. In this classic mystery, Poirot is invited to a dinner party with a difference by the slightly unsavoury Mr Shaitana; a rich man addicted to parties and gossip. He wants Poirot to come to dinner to meet his exhibits - murderers who he claims have "got away with it." Although Poirot finds his hobby dangerous he agrees, leading to a dinner party with four sleuths (Poirot himself, Colonel Race, who works for the Secret Service, Superintendent Battle from Scotland Yard and our old friend the detective writer Ariadne Oliver) and four possible murderers (the cheerful Dr Roberts, the explorer Major Despard, serious bridge player Mrs Lorrimer and the young and nervous Miss Anne Meredith). After dinner the guests play bridge, while Mr Shaitana dozes by the fire and, during the evening, he is murdered.When slimy collector, Mr. Shaitana, invites Poirot to his home to see a collection of murderers, our little Belgian detective can't resist. Colonel Race (secret service), Ariadne Oliver (mystery writer), and Superintendent Battle (police detective) are also all there as unwitting observers of Shaitana's impressive assembly. So this evening we watched two of the movies. First up was this very entertaining adaptation of Christie's novel of psychology. Ariadne Oliver, an author surrogate character for Mrs. Christie herself, makes her first filmed and literary appearance here. Zoë Wanamaker is a wonderful choice to play Mrs. Oliver, being husky-voiced and of a distinctive and memorable appearance. It's one of the pleasures of the films that the actors cast in Christie's roles are uniformly excellent craftspeople, and Wanamaker is no exception.

Amateur sleuths among Agatha Christie’s readers will have realised that we already have four detectives in the novel, which is surely curious. In fact they form part of a carefully chosen set of guests, invited by the mysterious Mr. Shaitana, who is hosting an unusual dinner party. Mr. Shaitana seems to be a bit of a dandy: Surely the host would not have expected himself to be a victim? Suicide whilst putting the blame on another, also seems to be precluded, by the vicious method of the crime. It is an intriguing murder puzzle in itself – and then the many layered complexity of this case hits us. We realise that we also have four other possible murders to solve, and that these are reverse murders, where we know the identity of the murderer, but not necessarily the victim, or the crime.To help his own part of the investigation, Poirot decides to take the score sheets which each of the guests made in their bridge game, in case it should reveal something untoward. His approach, as he says, is always from the psychological angle; looking for the motive and psychology behind the murder, to ascertain the truth. Yet he knows others might think some of the details he focuses on to be foolish: