A structural analysis of Cards On The Table by Agatha Christie

Abstract

Detective stories captivate readers’ attention as they face dazzling surprises in the reading journey. This characteristic comes from the structure of the narrative and elements regarding the fair play of the game the story proposes as Todorov (1977) discusses. The aim of this study was to conduct an analysis of the narrative structure and the fair play in Cards on the Table (2016) by Agatha Christie through a review of literature about the topics. The research presented here identifies the story analysed as a masterpiece created by Christie. This structure differs from the common narrative structure of detective fiction the author is known for because the story is a narrative experiment that breaks not only its pre-elaborated structure, but also the rules of fair play. This study also encourages other approaches which can contribute to the understanding of the techniques applied by Hercule Poirot to solve the crime.