And Then There Were None
Not the cover from my version...but I liked this one better.
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins
E-Book from Public Library
[#24 in my 75 book challenge]
After reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I had to read the other Agatha Christie book that everyone is always saying has the best twist. In fact, many people believe this novel to be her best work. It’s listed as the #7 best selling book of all time. Crazy.
Previously titled as Ten Little Niggers and Ten Little Indians before both titles were declared racist and offensive, this is the story of ten strangers sent to an island to be murdered. Brought to the island under false pretenses, each of the ten people are murder in the order and manner that the soldiers are murdered in the rhyme Ten Little Soldier Boys.
I was told the twist in this was killer. And I will say that Christie was very clever in crafting a tight story that really worked. However, it wasn’t my favorite of her mysteries. I far preferred the twists in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, and The Mousetrap. Those are some great stories with genius twists at the end. This twist, though well crafted, was complicated to wrap my head around. I now see why people say they want to read it a second time to revisit the clues.
Final Grade: C It was okay. I always love a good mystery and trying to figure out whodunnit. I think I would have thought more of it if it were my first Agatha Christie novel. However, everyone else in the world seems to LOOOOVE it, so I guess it comes highly recommended! I would definitely watch a movie version of it, and even buy a copy for my middle school library — I think I have some kids that would enjoy the story and actually GET it. Christie’s books tend to be free of heavy sexual content, so they are good for sophisticated middle school readers (I read my first one in 8th grade and loved it — and my friend says she read this one the same year and also loved it!).
Have you read this story? What did you think? Do you like mysteries as much as I do?
Posted on March 28, 2012, in books, history, librarian and tagged 75 Books 2012, adult, Grade: C, mystery, retro. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
There is a movie based on this one. I believe it is titled Ten Little Indians.
PS: All you librarians might appreciate this recent post from me:
http://charleneoldham.com/2012/03/06/libraries-are-still-the-front-lines-of-the-information-revolution/
YES! That is an excellent post you’ve written there, and so true. I don’t think I realized how amazing librarians are or how important the human help is in the research process until I became a librarian myself. I know my skills will go to good use when I write my dissertation!
I shared this link on Twitter to all my Tweeps
Thanks for the share.
The film adaptation that I’ve seen of it was the Russian version, which was quite good. I loved the book and would definitely revisit it because I am fascinated when an author dives into their characters’ minds. I’ve read another book by her (Death on the Nile), which I wasn’t nearly as impressed with, but I might have to check out the ones you mentioned.
I think I started Death on the Nile and couldn’t get through it, either. Some of her books start out weird or confusing, but the ones I’ve listed are totally worth it at the end!
Glad you finished it! It does warrant a second read though, or as I found, constant flipping back (which may have been hard with an eBook).
I was so gripped by the seaweed hypnotic hanging death near the end; horrific. And the elaborate door/gun suicide at the end. So much detail, quite amazing.
I completely agree about the ending– I loved the elaborate gun suicide. Besides the killer twist though, I just love it when the chair is pushed back into the desk after the hanging death scene as if it was never used. It seems like such a small detail but really gave me the chills!
This is actually one of the few Agatha Christie mysteries I have NOT read–but have heard a lot about it. So glad to read your review here. For me, none of her mysteries can beat Murder on the Orient Express!
I never finished this one, but I do love mysteries!!
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