Quotes from Cards on the Table

“He played the part of the devil too successfully. But he was not the devil. Au fond, he was a stupid man. And so - he died."
"Because he was stupid?"
"It is the sin that is never forgiven and always punished, madame.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Do you believe in the value of truth, my dear, or don’t you?”

“Of course I believe in the truth,” said Rhoda, staring.

“Yes, you say that, but perhaps you haven’t thought about it. The truth hurts sometimes – and destroys one’s illusions.”

“I’d rather have it all the same.” said Rhoda.

“So would I. But I don’t know that we’re wise.”
Mrs. Oliver; Rhoda Dawes”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“You do not comprehend. It is not the victim who concerns me so much. It is the effect on the character of the slayer."
"What about war?"
"In war you do not exercise the right of private judgement. That is what is so dangerous. Once a man is imbued with the idea that he knows who ought to be allowed to live and who ought not - then he is halfway to becoming the most dangerous killer there is - the arrogant killer who kills not for profit - but for an idea. He has usurped the functions of le bon Dieu.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Hercule Poirot spread out his hands in his most foreign manner.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“There is the natural liar...Always says the thing that sounds best.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Oh, my dear friend, it is impossible not to give oneself away - unless one never opens one's mouth! Speech is the deadliest of revealers.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Speech is the deadliest of revealers.' - Hercule Poirot, Cards on the Table”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Man is an unoriginal animal," said Hercule Poirot”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“I'm not the head of Scotland Yard," said Mrs. Oliver, retreating from dangerous ground. "I'm a private individual -"

"Oh, you're not that," said Rhoda, confusedly complimentary.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“But I don't doubt it will be essentially the same type of crime. The details may be different, but the essentials underlying them will be the same. It's odd, but a criminal gives himself away every time by that. Man is an unoriginal animal," said Hercule Poirot.
"Women," said Mrs. Oliver, " are capable of infinite variation. I should never commit the same type of murder twice running."
"Don't you ever write the same plot twice running?" asked Battle.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Excuse me, Monsieur Poirot. If you'd like to ask any questions, I'm sure the doctor wouldn't mind.

Of course not. Of course not. Great admirer of yours, Monsieur Poirot. Little gray cells -- order and method. I know all about it.

Doctor Roberts”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“As a matter of fact I don’t care two pins about accuracy. Who is accurate? Nobody nowadays. If a reporter writes that a beautiful girl of twenty-two dies by turning on the gas after looking out over the sea and kissing her favourite Labrador, Bob, goodbye, does anybody make a fuss because the girl was twenty-six, the room faced inland, and the dog was a Sealyham terrier called Bonnie? If a journalist can do that sort of thing I don’t see that it matters if I mix up police ranks and say a revolver when I mean an automatic and a dictograph when I mean a phonograph, and use a poison that just allows you to gasp one dying sentence and no more. What really matters is plenty of bodies! If the thing’s getting a little dull, some more blood cheers it up. Somebody is going to tell something – and then they’re killed first! That always goes down well. It comes in all my books – camouflaged different ways of course. And people like untraceable poisons, and idiotic police inspectors and girls tied up in cellars with sewer gas or water pouring in (such a troublesome way of killing anyone really) and a hero who can dispose of anything from three to seven villains singlehanded.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Anne’s awfully sensitive,’ said Rhoda. ‘And she’s bad about—well, facing things. If anything’s upset her, she’d just rather not talk about it,”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Every one's got their own ways of working. I know that. I give my inspectors a free hand always. Every one's got to find out for themselves what method suits them best.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“He has neither what I call the outward vision (seeing details all around you what is called an observant person) nor the inner vision--concentration, the focusing of the mind on one object. He has a purposefully limited vision. He sees only what blends and harmonises with the bent of his mind.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“Anne e groaznic de sensibilă, continuă Rhoda. Şi nu se pricepe să iasă din situaţiile neplăcute. Dacă o supără ceva, preferă să nu vorbească despre asta, deşi nu-i foloseşte la nimic - cel puțin, nu cred. Lucrurile sunt la fel, indiferent că vorbeşti despre ele sau nu. Doar fugi de ele şi te prefaci că nu există.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

“He was a man of whom nearly everybody was a little afraid. Why this last was so can hardly be stated in definite words. There was a feeling, perhaps, that he knew a little too much about everybody. And there was a feeling, too, that his sense of humor was a curious one.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Cards on the Table

About the author

Popular quotes

“You ever pull a stunt like you did last night again and I will use your intestines to string your Les Paul.”
― Jay Crownover, quote from Jet

“‘If you want to know if a gentleman loves you,’ her mother said, ‘there is only one true way to be sure.’”

Lady Danbury leaned forward. Even Hyacinth leaned forward, and she was holding the book.

“‘It’s in his kiss,’ her mother whispered. ‘It’s all there, in his kiss.’”
― Julia Quinn, quote from It's in His Kiss

“Some things are better when it’s raining. Like reading. Or sleeping. Or this.”
“Lying in bed with me?”
― Lisa Kleypas, quote from Scandal in Spring

“...a kid, maybe eight years old, ran up and poked her in the ribs with a plastic laser weapon, making electric zinging noises as he repeatedly pulled the trigger. “You’re dead,” he said victoriously. His mother came hurrying up, looking harassed and helpless. “Damian, stop that!” She gave him a smile that was little more than a grimace. “Don’t bother the nice people.” “Shut up,” he said rudely. “Can’t you see they’re Terrons from Vaniot.”
The kid poked her in the ribs again. “Ouch!” He made those zinging noises again, taking great pleasure in her discomfort. She plastered a big smile on her face and leaned down closer to precious Damian, then cooed in her most alienlike voice, “Oh, look, a little earthling.” She straightened and gave Sam a commanding look. “Kill it.” Damian’s mouth fell open. His eyes went as round as quarters as he took in the big pistol on Sam’s belt. From his open mouth began to issue a series of shrill noises that sounded like a fire alarm. Sam cursed under his breath, grabbed Jaine by the arm, and began tugging her at a half-trot toward the front of the store. She managed to snag her purse from the buggy as she went past.
“Hey, my groceries!” she protested. “You can spend another three minutes in here tomorrow and get them,” he said with pent-up violence. “Right now I’m trying to keep you from getting arrested.”
“For what?” she asked indignantly as he dragged her out of the automatic doors. People were turning to look at them, but most were following the sounds of Damian’s shrieks to aisle seven. “How about threatening to kill that brat and causing a riot?”
“I didn’t threaten to loll him! I just ordered you to.”
― Linda Howard, quote from Mr. Perfect

“The most winning characteristic of the rather harsh Cetian temperament was curiosity, inopportune, and inexhaustible curiosity; Cetians died eagerly, curious as to what came next.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, quote from The Word for World is Forest

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.