Book review: And Then There Were None

It has been a hot minute since I posted a review (almost a month!!!! I’m so sorry!!!). I have a bunch written, I just got excited about other posts. I guess having too many posts you’re excited about is a good thing? Anyway here is my review for the classic Christie novel…

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

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Ten people are summoned or invited to spend a week on the island owned by the mysterious U.N. Owen for various reasons (employment, summer vacation, etc). The first night they are all there, a record is played that accuses them all of killing someone. They then start to die in a fashion very similar to the nursery rhyme “Ten Little Soldier Boys,” which is a common theme throughout the book. Panic obviously ensues as the rest try to figure out who the murderer is or where they are hiding.

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5/5 stars

And Then There Were None is by far my favourite mystery novel of all time (granted I haven’t read that many, but still!). It’s one of the most well thought out plots ever and it is so perfectly executed. This was one of those books where I read the synopsis and bought it immediately. Then I read it non-stop. I literally brought it to a restaurant when we were having dinner, something I hadn’t done in maybe 10 years. Agatha Christie really is the greatest mystery author.

Trying to figure out who UN Owen is is one of the best parts of this book. Every time you think you have it figured out, that person dies. Then the next person you were accusing dies. The some of the characters search the island and find nothing and then when they get back to the house, someone dies. Is it one of them??? Is it someone who stayed behind and they just want to frame the others??? You’ll have to read to find out!

If you pay really close attention, you’ll probably be able to figure out who the killer is before the end, but you’d have to pay very very close attention. Reading it back after I knew who it was, I definitely noticed some details, but they were fairly minuscule for the most part. I know, you’re probably thinking that obviously the killer is just the last person alive, duh. But, it’s not. **vague spoilers** The last person hangs themselves (not really a spoiler as it says in the nursery rhyme) due to guilt but we can read their thought process and they are not the killer (sorry). **spoilers end** Don’t worry, luckily for us there’s an epilogue that explains everything. The killer says who they are and why they did it and how and everything you’d want to know.

The characters aren’t super deep or well-developed or anything, but they’re not really the point of the book. It’s a very plot- and mystery-driven book, so the characters tend to take a bit of a back seat. They’re not totally one-dimensional, they’re just not as developed as they could be. However, I was too distracted by the plot to be bothered by it.

I recommend this book to everyone who is like “hey I need a book to read” and doesn’t give me a specific genre. It’s also the book I give to everyone as a gift if I don’t know what to get them, because even though not everyone likes mystery, this book doesn’t read as a mystery novel. I find a lot of mysteries written during the same time period as Christie all read in the same way and are pretty boring. But this one is very well written and I think anyone would enjoy it (not that people always listen to me tbh. I got it for my boyfriend FOUR CHRISTMASES AGO and he still hasn’t read it. not that I’m bitter about that or anything).

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I hope you enjoy the book if you read it, and are enjoying Blogmas! Only 13 days till Christmas! Less than two weeks!!!!!!!

Let me know what you think if you’ve read this book! Thanks for reading 🙂

xx