Review: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
5 stars


Reasons for reading: Mystery for the Genre Challenge; have always meant to read it

From the publisher: "First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

First line: "In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in the Times."

My thoughts: I was so taken with this book!! It's so very ingenious. Of course, the plot is a bit of a cliche nowadays, but that's because Agatha Christie did such an amazing job of it the first time! I loved how it stuck to the 10 Little Indians poem laid out at the beginning and how that added to the creepiness.

I believe this is the second Christie book I've read - I read Murder on the Orient Express when I was a teenager and remember liking it. I obviously should read some more! Sometimes I find older books dated, but the 30's-40's charm of Christie's books really works for me.

There's not much else I can say - if you've read it (and you probably have) you know what happens and if you haven't (you should!), I won't spoil it. I, as usual, had no idea whodunnit but I've decided that, rather than making me a lazy and non-perceptive reader, it just means life holds lots of surprises for me, which is great! My husband read it when he was like 10 and had it all figured out, of course. He's incredibly smart and is the opposite of me, life holds no suprises for him. :-)

The verdict: Read it!