And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None ~ Agatha Christie
Ten strangers (8 invited guests and 2 staff) find themselves stranded in a mansion on an island off the coast of Devon, England without a boat. They do not appear to have anything in common, but the first evening they listen to a recording accusing them all of being instrumental in the deaths of others. The guest rooms all have a copy of an old rhyme, ‘10 Little Soldier Boys’.
“Ten Little Soldier Boys went out to Dine, one choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine Little Soldier Boys stayed up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight Little Soldier Boys traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven Little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six Little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five Little Soldier Boys going through a door; One stubbed his toe and then there were four.
Four Little Soldier Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three Little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One.
One Little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.”
The first night, one guest promptly dies of cyanide poisoning. You can tell what is going to happen next, I am sure.
I have never read any Agatha Christie before, but my mom was a huge fan, so when I saw a copy of this book in a Little Free Library, I brought it home and read it. It was interesting in that it was a mystery without a detective (at least not until the end). The paranoia and fear that the guests felt, stranded on the island, not knowing who would die next, was palpable.
I’m not big into mysteries, and I don’t think I would seek out more Agatha Christie, so I can’t say I would recommend it. But if you like mysteries, you might very well enjoy this one, she’s a master for a reason.
16 Comments
DB Stewart
I read this book in junior high, my first Agatha Christie novel. Especially good for that age. Think of how many readers she created.
J
Agreed. Good for that age group, just not sure she’s for 59 year old me.
Margaret
Her books can be very convoluted and formulaic but I still like them, especially Poirot and Miss Marple.
J
I think maybe I would like one with a detective a bit more…
NGS
I don’t think I’m a Christie fan. Her characters are so flat. It’s all plot. And that’s fine for a certain type of reader, but I don’t think I am that kind of reader.
J
Preach. This was my feeling.
StephLove
I went through a big Agatha Christie phase in 8th and 9th grade, so I have dozens of her paperbacks. Every now and then I will re-read one. Unless it has a really memorable twist, I generally don’t remember the solution as I read. But this one is pretty memorable. I used to teach it in a class on genre fiction. But the commenter who said the characters are flat is right. They’re fun, but not great literature is my take.
J
I love rereading books from when I was young, they are so comforting. Yeah, flat characters is a thing here.
nance
I read this book when I was very young, perhaps about 8. I was reading Nancy Drew like it was my job, and my sister had this book in paperback. I thought it was The Best Book Ever.
It’s highly likely that much of that came from my age and the fact that I seriously idolized my older (by 7 years) sister.
For fun, though, I think I’ll put it on my TBR pile.
J
Oh, I hope it brings back all of the good associations that you had with it the first time! I think I would have loved it if I had read it as a child.
Ernie
I’ve never read an Agatha Christie book and I don’t know that I will. My parents read her books too. My dad brought one along when he came with my family to Glacier. He was supposed to sit and read it while we went white water rafting. After we got our wet suits on, he was not in his chair. The receptionist was like Oh, he’s decided to join you. I about died. Coach made him sit right next to him, fearful anything would happen. So much for Agatha keeping him out of trouble. He was like 76 at the time.
J
LOL, thank you for sharing that story, hilarious. Funny the things that trigger memories, right? Like someone mentioning a book on their blog.
Diane
I do like Agatha Christie – they’re kind of a comfort read for me. I’ve lately gotten into radio plays of her novels – much shorter and to the point and it’s all plot and the actors really make the characters come alive.
I did a play version of this book once. Did you know not everyone dies in the play???
J
WHAT? Not everyone dies? What’s the point of that???
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I dont think I have ever read an Agatha Cristie novel. One day I will.
There have beena. few movies lately with Daniel Craig and I think they are based on her novels. I did enjoy those.
J
She’s SO popular, and wrote a ton of books. And there are lots of movies that are based on her work. A fun read.