Book info

• Title And Then There Were None
• Author Agatha Christie
• Year 1939
• Genre Mystery

1939. Europe teeters on the brink of war. Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated rock near the Devon coast. Cut off from the mainland, with their generous hosts Mr and Mrs U.N. Owen mysteriously absent, they are each accused of a terrible crime. When one of the party dies suddenly they realise they may be harbouring a murderer among their number. The 10 strangers include a reckless playboy, a troubled Harley Street doctor, a formidable judge, an uncouth detective, an unscrupulous mercenary, a God-fearing spinster, two restless servants, a highly decorated general and an anxious secretary. One by one they are picked off. Who will survive? And who is the killer? Copies of an ominous nursery rhyme hang in each room, the murders mimicking the awful fates of its ‘Ten Little Soldier Boys’.

Thoughts

Now, I have read this one before. In fact, I read a copy of it that had artwork on the cover that would not be acceptable anymore, and was printed under the original title.

It didn’t put me off though, the idea behind the story is brilliant. Ten people turn up at an island and gradually they are killed. The ultimate whodunit, because at the end, whoever is left must be the murderer, right?

Reading it a second time was just as good as the first… to start with. It’s been a long time since I read it and we know my memory isn’t great, but halfway through the book, I suddenly remembered who the murderer was, which spoiled it a little. I wasn’t 100% on the details though, so I kept on reading, and enjoyed it anyway.

Once again, I recommend this book, although the way some of the dialogue is written makes it a bit hard to digest at time. I think it may be oversimplified slightly, to compensate for the number of characters in the book, but naturally, it soon whittles down!

Rating: 5 / 5