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A Genteel Black Hole

Tag: crime thriller

  • Bookish Ramble: Cards on the Table

    Ally

    Title: Cards on the Table
    (Poirot #13)
    Author: Agatha Christie
    Year: 1936
    Country: UK

    Format: E-book
    Pages: 259
    Read: 1 – 9 February 2026
    Reread

    Mr Shaitana, a renowned collector of morbid curiosities, invites Hercule Poirot to an evening of dinner and bridge. Poirot is joined by three more sleuths: Superintendent Battle, Colonel Race, and mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver. There are four more guests; each one is, according to Shaitana, a murderer—each having successfully evaded detection. The party was intended merely to show off his “collection” of killers, his way of celebrating the Art of Murder. But when Shaitana himself is found dead, stabbed with a stiletto from his own collection, it’s up to Poirot and his fellow sleuths to figure out which of the four suspects is the culprit. Each of them had both motive and opportunity, but which of them actually did it?

    Cards on the Table is Christie at her streamlined best. On the surface all four suspects seem like unlikely killers, yet each one apparently got away with murder once before. Poirot’s approach is to build a psychological profile of each suspect, aided in part by a study of their bridge scores. (Side note: I’ve never played bridge and don’t know the rules, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story.) With such a small ensemble of suspects, Christie still manages to spin a gripping story full of red herrings and surprises. And there’s a pleasingly metafictional element in Christie’s self-caricature, Ariadne Oliver, providing intuitive “insights” into who would’ve dunnit if she were writing the book. Overall I’d say this is top tier Christie.

  • Bookish Ramble: A Quiet Place

    Ally

    Title: A Quiet Place
    Author: Seicho Matsumoto
    (Translated by Louise Heal Kawai)
    Year: 1971
    Country: Japan

    Format: Paperback
    Pages: 231
    Read: 31 December 2025 – 4 January 2026
    First reading

    A Quiet Place is a crime thriller by prolific Japanese author Seicho Matsumoto. While away on a business trip, middle-aged bureaucrat Tsuneo Asai receives the devastating news that his younger wife Eiko has died of a heart attack. When he visits the small boutique where she collapsed, Asai is puzzled that his wife never once mentioned visiting the area. Nearby he notices several seedy couples’ hotels—quiet places. Was Eiko leading a double life? And was her death more suspicious than it first seemed?

    ~ Warning: The following contains significant plot spoilers. ~

    The cover of this book describes Seicho Matsumoto as Japan’s Agatha Christie. While that’s true for the other Matsumoto stuff I’ve read, I’d argue A Quiet Place is really more like a psychological thriller by Patricia Highsmith. Asai’s investigations reveal that his wife was having an affair—he’d been too devoted to his job to notice. Eventually he confronts Eiko’s lover and, provoked by the man’s apparent lack of remorse, impulsively murders him. From there, what started as a typical investigation plot pivots into Highsmithian paranoia. It’s an interesting development, and a genre I enjoy, so I’m not disappointed by it. But I do think it’s somewhat misleading to sell it as a Christiesque murder mystery. It’s not so much a whodunit as a howgetawaywithit.

    This is a quick and enjoyable read. Matsumoto’s social commentary is interesting—Asai is forced into impossible situations by Japanese social customs and his all-consuming dedication to work. And as a fan (and writer) of haiku, I love that a haiku plays a vital role in the investigation. But it’s not as evocative or as gripping as the other Matsumoto books I’ve read. In fact it’s probably my least favourite Matsumoto book so far. I’d recommend Inspector Imanishi Investigates or Tokyo Express as better starting places.

    (Just one more thing: The final scene unexpectedly made me laugh. Asai comes face to face with the very witnesses he’s been trying to avoid, and gives himself away by shrieking and running away. At that moment I couldn’t help but picture him as Homer Simpson!)