Cards on the Table (Dramatised)

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: John Moffatt, Stephanie Cole, Donald Sinden

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot with Stephanie Cole and Donald Sinden.

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'.

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 past 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.

©1936 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)1936 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Poirot 'Deals' With A Host's Murder

This BBC production is well worth its price, especially when on sale! A detective-host invites detectives and killers to dinner and and an evening of bridge, and meets with death at someone's hand. Poirot outs not only the detective's killer, but the crimes of other invitees. The story features friends of Hercule who have aided him in the past.

Cards on the table.

A great cast bring this story to life. Very gripping and engrossing. Well worth the money and I loved it.

Great Listen

This story really was amazing. I never caught on to who the murder was and the further into the story it got the more I enjoyed it and felt the intensity to it. Great performance and wonderful book.

Best dramatizations ever!

I'm addicted to these BBC radio 4 dramatizations, I just wished Audible produced more AC, I have probably heard these a couple of dozen times and I always find new interesting bits I hadn't realized before.

Lovely performance

Lovely might not be the right word to describe murder mystery performance, but I personally think the casts are delightful and I could totally imagine the whole scene. John Moffat is wonderful as Poirot, I'mm a bit disappointed with Major Despard's voice as I thought it would be more charming.
Being one of my favorite Christie's novels, I remember exactly the story in this book to notice some alteration. But these minor changes don't affect the story and I guess they are necessary for radio production.

One murder, two spades, three diamonds

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good "cozy" mystery without any gore or intricate plotting. It's a nice, light read, perfect for a road trip.

What other book might you compare Cards on the Table (Dramatised) to and why?

The BBC adaptation of "Death in the Clouds" was similar in terms of strong performances and engaging plot.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The performances were all quite good and very well cast. Each fit well with the character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction, but it was nicely enjoyable.

Cards on the Table

Any dramatized program with John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot is wonderful to me and this was terrific! Appropriate period music and all!

a bridge game mystery

one of the card playing mysteries that were popular in the 1930s. probably more interesting to people who know about the game of bridge. the David Suchet Poirot episode changes quite a bit of the story for the TV show.

doesn't work as well as an audio drama

I usually greatly enjoy the BBC adaptations of Agatha Christie's works, especially the ones with John Moffat as Hercule Poirot, and I listen to them often. I will sometimes listen to one right before or after listening to their full length literary origins and find them great reprised, whether they hold true to the original story line or take liberties, so, after finding Cards on the Table to be quite a quite delightful tale, I bought the dramatization, as well,

To my surprise, this take on the story didn't live up to the dozen or so others I have in my library. The performance and production were just as good, but somehow, the story as a dramatization didn't work. Perhaps whittling down the story made it a bit too dry, or maybe the abridgment simply wasn't as skillful. Perhaps it was one of the stories the playwrights needed to take a few liberties with. I don't know. I just know that for the first time, I'm not impressed with a BBC dramatization of an Hercule Poirot story and will be returning it.