Cards on the Table

BBC Radio 4 Poirot

by Michael Bakewell (Adapter), Agatha Christie, John Moffatt (Narrator)

Hercule Poirot, along with three other luminaries from the world of crime detection, is invited to dinner by the renowned London socialite Dr Shaitana. Also on the guest list are four members of what Shaitana calls his Black Museum - a collection of murderers who have each succeeded in 'getting away with it'.

An elegant dinner is followed by a game of bridge, in which Shaitana himself does not participated. But just after midnight, when the guests prepare to leave, they make a terrible discovery. Their host is dead in his armchair, stabbed in the chest. The four sleuths are thus faced with one murder and a quartet of likely suspects. Working both together and independently, they investigate the pasts of the Black Museum's finest in order to determine the most likely killer.

Poirot finds that many hindrances and distractions are thrown in his way, as he attempts to read the meaning of the cards which each suspect has placed on the table. Agatha Christie's intriguing mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Stephanie Cole and Donald Sinden.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 - 4 May 2002

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Crime, Agatha Christie, Classics, Mystery Thriller

2 pages, Audio CD

First published May 7, 2002

About the author

Michael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.

His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.

He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.

Reviews

[Alyson Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The usual Poirot excellence, a perfect short listen full of intrigue

[Lara Maynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

These BBC Radio adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mystery series are well-suited for occasions when you'd like to listen to something short and engaging in full - bedtime, doing a bit of housework, running errands, commuting, or sitting in a waiting room. This is one of my favourites so far because of the particular method of questioning that Poirot puts to the potential murder suspects. And the cast is quite good, including John Moffatt as Poirot.

I listened to this one several times using my iPad and the Libby app from Overdrive Libraries - my valued go-to source of audiobooks courtesy of my local library system.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cards on the Table has easily joined the ranks as one of my favourite Agatha Christie stories. The limited pool of suspects allows for a deeper exploration of the psychology of the characters and, thus, more compelling characterisation. It's fun to try and solve the mystery along with our four detectives and the solution was well laid out and satisfying. (Also, John Moffatt's Poirot is growing on me.)

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Moffatt appropriately sly and charming as Poirot in this BBC full cast adaptation. Plot, although adapted, is easy enough to follow. Made all the more appealing by Donald Sinden's plummy Colonel Race and Stephanie Cole's only slightly giddy Ariadne Oliver. Lots of references to bridge games - of course, Mr. Shaitana met his doom during a rubber. But how? Ahh, sit back with your headphones on and follow Poirot on his investigation!

[Christy MacCallum · Rating 3 out of 5]

My bad because I did not realize I was getting an extremely abridged version of this book. It was well done, but not what I was expecting. Great if you were supposed to read this for a book club but didn’t. Not great if you want to appreciate Christie’s craft.

[Reading Fanatic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a Good Story!

I'm really enjoying these Agatha Christie short stories. They make for such a quick, enjoyable read--perfect for an afternoon tea-break. Hercule Poirot is back, employing his "little gray cells" to solve the mystery of a murder committed in a room where three other people are present. Who committed the murder? And how come none of the people who were present saw anything?? As usual, Poirot dazzles the reader with his brilliance! Happy reading!

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am listening to the audiobook. I also have the paperback.

I have to say I really enjoy the audioplays. I find that sometimes narrators can't get all the voices quite right and this way too there's little chance of mixing everybody up.

The story itself, I had forgotten who did it. I kept imaging another book and then was thrown for a loop especially with the scene at the river.

[Conina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed a lot this audiobook by the BBC Radio Drama. The plot was tricky, all the characters had a dark past with murder in it, so it was really nice to see them now and then. Of course, I had flashes of the mini series with David Suchet all along while listening, what a funny thing memory is, huh.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

as usual, another good Agatha Christie's book. Although, I found in the audio format, the story was developing much slower, and at times, I was getting a bit impatient. I rather read her books next time.
Overall the suspense was great.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-done radio adaptation of the Agatha Christie story. I had previously read the book on which the radio play was based. The various voice actors did a wonderful job, and I thought the story was well-condensed.

[Stephanie Ricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the BBC radio dramas, but I can't help thinking it might've been more enjoyable if I'd been more familiar with bridge. You'd think I'd know plenty about it by now after having it crop up in approximately half of British literature...

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the narrative is quite different this almost seems a carbon copy review of that for my recent completion of a Dorothy Sayers BBC radio play where I enjoyed listening so much that I almost lost the story. Fun for a diversion, but not so much a good way to internalize a story.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a BBC radio production so it's short but has good voice talent. Sometimes it's difficult to tell which character is speaking and there is little narration but it's fast paced and a nice commute listen.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good story, but I did not like this Poirot - an unconvincing accent and too much like Peter Ustinov.

[Feodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvellous audio presentation of this great piece of an Hercule story.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typical Christie! A full cast Radio 4 edition abridged. Entertaining whilst doing other things.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I like the voice play style, it loses a lot of the details and nuance of the full novel.

[Anais · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good dramatization, loved it.

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmm, I liked the TV addition batter

[Olivia Simmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, you can skip this Agatha Christie short story.