And Then There Were None

[And Then There Were None] aka [Ten Little Indians] by Agatha Christie
5★’s

This is a new one for me!! I have often said I was the only breathing human on the planet that didn’t like Agatha Christie..so where in the world did those 5 stars come from? I will have to reevaluate my statement to I am the only breathing human on the planet that doesn’t like Agatha Christie…EXCEPT for [And Then There Was None]

A group of ten strangers is invited or hired for a long weekend on Indian Island, a mile off the Devon coast. It is somewhat improbable that these ten would all accept such a vague invitation from a host they do not know to a place they have never seen before, but each for his or her own reasons accepts. They include a doctor, a show more games mistress, a soldier of fortune, a rich playboy, a retired policeman, a judge, a spinster, a retired general and a married couple who are to be the servants. They arrive on a bleak rocky island to a completely modern house with all the amenities. The fires are welcoming, there is an ample supply of food, the servants are impeccable, but their host is absent. In each of the bedrooms, the Ten Little Indians nursery rhyme is posted on a prominent wall. It begins:

"Ten Little Indian boys went out to dine…
One choked his little self, and then there were nine.---

Drinks are served, and one guest chokes, turns blue and falls over dead. Now the tension begins to build. Fright runs in the hearts of the stranded people as one by one they are picked off…each in accordance with that cursed nursery rhyme. As the number of victims increase, the survivors' suspicions of each other also increase. When the police arrive and find them all dead….the question remains “Who is the murderer? It has to be one of the survivors…but which one?

[And Then There Were None] is told in short choppy chapters. The strange thing is that none of the characters are even likable. Christie toys with the idea of a serial killer long before such an animal was even heard of. This is an excellent story, and the author is so far ahead of the reader’s reasoning that you will never guess who the guilty party is. If you do manage to figure out the “who" and the "how" then you have my highest respects. show less

Regge anche sapendo chi è l'assassino

Anche questo libro l'ho dovuto (ri)leggere causa compiti di scuola di mio figlio. A questo punto, sapendo già come la storia finisce, ho fatto molto più caso ai dettagli e a come Agatha Christie è riuscita a nascondere il colpevole davanti agli occhi di tutti. La traduzione di Beata della Frattina rende il testo in maniera ottima: verificatelo con l'inizio del primo capitolo, dove il lettore è portato a pensare che la frase "Constance Culmington era proprio il tipo di donna capace di comprare un’isola, circondandosi di mistero" sia dovuta al chiedersi perché Constance avesse scritto. Ciò detto, l'impianto è perfetto, e doveva sembrarlo ancor di più quando il libro uscì, perché la show more modernità della casa elimina tutte le allora classiche ipotesi di fantasmi o altro, e ci costringe a cercare una soluzione razionale. Insomma, la lettura è godibile anche sapendo già come va a finire. show less

This was the first novel by Christie that I read. And though it has been many years since I did, the story still sticks with me. A group of eight people is lured to an island, through an offer tailored specifically to him or her, with an unknown host. There, they are all accused of having committed murder and escaping justice - and then they begin to die one by one. Who is the killer?

Most well done mysteries have some kind of "twist" or misdirection to keep a reader from guessing the ending. Christie's other novel, Murder on the Orient Express, is probably more famous for doing so because of the film adaptations. However, this is her best selling novel - and for good reason. Orient Express is flashier, but the suspects are all very one show more dimensional and Poirot's deduction has less impact. Here, readers become more involved with, and get to know, the characters. It matters when they die, which provides greater impact for the final resolution.

An excellent mystery and strong evidence for Christie's nickname "Queen of Crime." show less

how do i give this book 1000 stars because it is honest to god the best book i've ever read and agatha christie is my favourite author now. she's just. an absolute genius. and this book is the epitome of mindfuckery. now i understand why this is her most popular work. i don't even have words. i read this the way i read every agatha christie book: suspicions changing every 3 seconds all the while waiting to see how wrong i was. and boy was i wrong. i've never been this wrong.
it was quite morbid in my opinion but for some reason i didn't really mind, and it was also beautiful in a really twisted way. she just has this unique way of writing that i haven't encountered before, it's what makes me love her books so much. and also the emotions show more she manages to make me feel?? which really shouldn't be a thing because this is mystery. but still it made me emotional. and then it left me speechless.
now my only question is: is every mystery book like this or is this just her? and also do people ever correctly guess the ending. is that a thing. i mean there must be hints in the book?? i think?? but i just can't imagine how smart you have to be in order to guess it.
in conclusion, this is my favourite book and i don't think anything will ever top this. and i would urge everyone to read agatha christie like. right now. show less

Ten strangers are lured to a small island by various means and an unknown host, their secret past crimes are revealed, and then they are killed off, one by one. Who is this maniacal, justice-seeking host? Is it some eleventh person, somehow hiding on the island, or is it…one of them?

Ooooh, this is now my second favorite Christie ever (after Murder on the Orient Express), and one of a few of hers that actually packs a bit of a scary atmosphere. Think Clue, but without the hilarity and with a lot more spookiness. I adored it.

I’ve watched the TV shows Poirot and Miss Marple, but I never did read any Agatha Christie before. Her books have always just been on the periphery of my mind. But I was just getting restless because I couldn’t decide what to read and so I thought, let’s pick up an interesting murder mystery. It’ll be a nice change of pace from my usual books. And it was definitely a great decision, because this was an impressive read.

The author is so successful at creating an eerie atmosphere throughout the novel. An isolated island cutoff from the world, stormy seas and howling winds just adding to the dread factor, ten people who are feeling the weight of the guilt of their past actions, and each murder making them even more suspicious of the show more others - all of this just keeps the reader on their toes, turning each page frantically on our own quest to find the culprit before the truth is revealed. The writing is sharp and clear, with short chapters somehow accentuating the drama. The author is also so awesome at keeping us guessing throughout, we keep changing our suspicions from one person to the other pretty quickly but can never decide on one. Even the way each character’s past action is revealed is masterful, and the way the guilt creeps up on them and they handle each murder is pretty nightmarish to read about. And the nursery rhyme which forms the basis for the whole story is damn terrifying in itself. I’m already quite bad at guessing the bad guy, so it was no surprise that I could get no handle on the murderer who planned this whole clever plot, but I think this will be the case for most readers as well. Christie just doesn’t give us many chances to unravel the mystery.

I’m sure many already know about the marvels of Agatha Christie’s writings, so I don’t need to do any recommending. But if you are a newbie, then this would be a great book from the author’s canon to start with. It is atmospheric, has an eclectic group of characters and an almost perfect unsolvable murder mystery. I can’t wait to jump into some of Poirot’s books which my friends have duly suggested and vouched for. show less

A dark cozy mystery, maybe. (Or is that an oxymoron?)

The story is a wickedly clever interpretation of an old minstrel song. I regularly referred back to the lyrics hoping I could predict how the murders would play out, one by one. And to whom. I'm not ashamed to say I didn't guess very well, and did not guess the culprit. You see, Christie was not writing a story here for us to solve. This story was written to immerse ourselves in the predicament.

We have much to keep us busy in the story beyond the question of whodunnit, like "Has anyone been unjustly accused?" or "What is he/she hiding?" or "Who is most monstrous? The most empathetic? The most self-deluded?" As the novel progresses, we are privileged to the characters' inner thoughts, show more and thus form unfavorable judgements in spite of their justifications. I wouldn't say the characters were fully "round," but round enough, distinct enough. At each death, my general empathy had waxed and waned. There were no angels.

Without the epilogue, few readers would have solved it. If And Then There Were None were written today, the epilogue might be done away with, making it more modernly bleak. It would change from a book you read once to one that would readily invite a re-read, and interpretations would abound. But who am I to critique the Agatha Christie?! This was my first of her books and it happily lived up to its classic status.

Now where is that Miss Marple? I'm primed for some old village busybody sleuthing and some more very good Christie storytelling.. show less