Sign in with Facebook
James's Reviews > And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
by
by
5 stars to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. This is the book that started my absolute love of the mystery genre. I was addicted and must have read it 3 or 4 times over the course of the year. Between the poem, the deserted island, the plot twist, the count-down, the pure clandestine suspense... it couldn't get any better.
Story
Ten people receive a mystery letter from someone they don't know that indicates they should come to a remote island. Why would they go????? After arriving, they try to figure out the connection between all of them while waiting for their mysterious host. After coming across a cute little poem about how ten little indians die, they decide they will wait it out until the next morning when the ferry comes back to take them home. But it will never come! Each guest suddenly dies matching the line from the poem... resulting in alliances and mistrust. Pure fun.
In a masterful conclusion, the reader understands all the connections, learns why the killer chose them to die and develops a very distinct opinion on who was right and who was wrong in this story.
Amazing!
Strengths
1. Plot - can you get any better than telling the reader that 10 people will die and then guessing the order and the weapon?
2. Characters - All walks of life, all personalities. You'll love some and hate some!
Weaknesses
1. Only that there wasn't a follow-up...
Final Thoughts
If you are a mystery fan, you must read this. If you've never read Agatha Christie, this must be your first - before you tackle Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. You must understand the master before getting hooked on any specific protagonist in one of her other series.
Story
Ten people receive a mystery letter from someone they don't know that indicates they should come to a remote island. Why would they go????? After arriving, they try to figure out the connection between all of them while waiting for their mysterious host. After coming across a cute little poem about how ten little indians die, they decide they will wait it out until the next morning when the ferry comes back to take them home. But it will never come! Each guest suddenly dies matching the line from the poem... resulting in alliances and mistrust. Pure fun.
In a masterful conclusion, the reader understands all the connections, learns why the killer chose them to die and develops a very distinct opinion on who was right and who was wrong in this story.
Amazing!
Strengths
1. Plot - can you get any better than telling the reader that 10 people will die and then guessing the order and the weapon?
2. Characters - All walks of life, all personalities. You'll love some and hate some!
Weaknesses
1. Only that there wasn't a follow-up...
Final Thoughts
If you are a mystery fan, you must read this. If you've never read Agatha Christie, this must be your first - before you tackle Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. You must understand the master before getting hooked on any specific protagonist in one of her other series.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
And Then There Were None.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
January 1, 1999
–
Finished Reading
January 7, 2012
– Shelved
September 7, 2016
– Shelved as:
5-favorite-books
March 11, 2017
– Shelved as:
1-fiction
Comments Showing 1-50 of 52 (52 new)
message 1:
by
Gary
(new)
-
added it
Oct 19, 2016 12:37PM
Do not ask how I haven't read this Christie.
reply
|
flag
Ha! This is the best one. You must.
I'm sure I have it in paperback here somewhere. I got hooked on Poirot and Marple first.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! So very much. It has got to be my most favorite Christie book ever. We had to read it when I was in 10th grade and got extra credit if we knew WHO did it and why. There were only 2 of us that did. It was AWESOME. :-)
Tyler wrote: "Best whodunnit ever!"Totally agree
Dawn Michelle wrote: "I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! So very much. It has got to be my most favorite Christie book ever. We had to read it when I was in 10th grade and got extra credit if we knew WHO did it and why. There were onl..."That is so funny! Did you get the credit??? :)
I did. Much to the teacher's dismay [I was not her favorite; I was rather rebellious[?] at times and also could read the assigned book in a day and then was left to my own devices [see previously stated rebellion] which sometimes might or might not have affected her personally. :-D She was a dreadful teacher that treated everyone like they were 5 and so we got fed up and decided to act like we were five. The best prank was the whole class [25 of us] dropping our wooden pencils all at the same time. It was much louder than I had thought it would be and was the last straw for her. We all spent the rest of the period in the hallway. Our principal was not amused. :-D
This is such a great book. Great review James!
No better way to start loving the mystery genre than with this classic. Good Review, James.
This is one that's stayed with me, since childhood. Bolstered by various adaptations and homages on film.
Yes James this was one of her best even though I'm a huge Miss Marple fan.
I agree, read this many years ago and it remains the standard by which all mysteries are judged. This original mystery has never been topped.
Teresa wrote: "Yes James this was one of her best even though I'm a huge Miss Marple fan."so many to choose from
Katherine wrote: "This sounds interesting"definitely a good read
Craftnut wrote: "I agree, read this many years ago and it remains the standard by which all mysteries are judged. This original mystery has never been topped." that made me smile - thanks!
Great review and good advice. This is a good intro to Christie.
Awesome review, James!! :D This is a such a great book!
Jessica-❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ wrote: "Awesome review, James!! :D This is a such a great book!"thank you
Cyndi wrote: "Great review and good advice. This is a good intro to Christie." Thx!
great review. I read all of Christie's books back in my 20s and loved them all. She really is the grand Dame of mystery
JanB wrote: "great review. I read all of Christie's books back in my 20s and loved them all. She really is the grand Dame of mystery" I feel like I want to go teach an intro to mysteries class just to convey all the greats! It would be so much fun.
Great review, James! I will definitely be reading this.....hopefully sooner than later :)
My absolute favourite Agatha Christie, too, James. I've read it a number of times and will probably do so again some time in the future! :)
Deanna wrote: "Great review, James! I will definitely be reading this.....hopefully sooner than later :)"Can't wait to see your review.
Cheryl wrote: "My absolute favourite Agatha Christie, too, James. I've read it a number of times and will probably do so again some time in the future! :)"It is just so good. I watch every version of it to see the different adaptions.
Great review! Thank you, James!I've never read Agatha Christie, as some of the comments above. So, I will follow your suggestion and this will be my first. ;-)
It’s a great story, Clarice. I hope you enjoy!
fantastic review James!! this is one of those must-read-in-my-life books lol. And since I haven't yet read anything by Agatha Christie either, I should take your advice and start with this!
Great Review! I’m reading this book now : )
Loved your review, James....and loved the book too.
Love your final thoughts!
Svetlana wrote: "fantastic review James!! this is one of those must-read-in-my-life books lol. And since I haven't yet read anything by Agatha Christie either, I should take your advice and start with this!" It is one of the best. I'm probably doing an April Agatha Christie Read-a-thon where my blog followers will pick 4 out of 10 books, and we'll read/review 1 per week in April. Join us for 1 or more!
Banny wrote: "Great review, it will be indeed my first of her books :D" Hope you love it!
jendlo wrote: "Love your final thoughts!"Thanks! I can't wait to read more.
Jill wrote: "Loved your review, James....and loved the book too." so glad you enjoyed it too!
Skyler wrote: "Great Review! I’m reading this book now : )" Awesome, I can't wait to read your review or thoughts on it.
Started reading her at age 10 and 62 years later still re-reading her amazing stories.
great review. now I am in love with Agatha Christie and mystery novels
Patti: that’s wonderful to hear!
Definitely agree, Priyanka. :)
Love your review! I have never read one of her books 🤷♀️ Guess I need to!
Joy awaits you Kim if you do!
I started it James!! Loving it so far 🤓
Excellent review as I completely agree, this was an incredible novel, loved it!
Glad to share the same opinion!
