Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

These excerpts from Agatha Christie's novel Cards on the Table introduce an unusual mystery centered on Mr. Shaitana, an eccentric collector who hosts a dinner party featuring four famous detectives, including Hercule Poirot, and four guests whom he believes are unpunished murderers. When Shaitana is murdered with a stiletto during a bridge game, the investigation becomes one of psychological deduction, focusing on which of the four invited "tigers" took advantage of the opportunity. The detectives must meticulously research the pasts of Dr. Roberts, Mrs. Lorrimer, Major Despard, and Anne Meredith, each of whom has a potential history of successfully committed homicides, often disguised as accidents or natural deaths. Though Mrs. Lorrimer bravely attempts to take the blame to protect the youngest suspect, Poirot ultimately discovers the killer is the cheerful Dr. Roberts, who also murdered Lorrimer to orchestrate a false suicide and confession. This complex solution confirms the author’s premise that the killer ...