REVIEW: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were Many

Let’s just start with the title: this has to be one of the coolest book titles ever. So here already Agatha Christie wins some points! This is, of course, subjective. You may not find the title that good, but I think it’s quite unique and memorable. Although, the original title was quite different…

You know what’s not subjective? The number of sold copies of this book – there are a lot of them. And Then There Were None sold over 100 million copies, making it the world’s best selling mystery, and one of the best selling books of all time! I assumed people connect Agatha Christie first with Poirot and Murder on the Orient Express, but the numbers seem to indicate this is her most popular work. To put it into perspective: at the time of writing, Wikipedia listed And Then There Were None as one of only seven individual books that sold over 100 million copies. Impressive!

What is it About?

Here I will not say much more than what is in the description, as it is a mystery novel, and we don’t want any spoilers. Basically, it’s your classic whodunit type of story. Ten strangers find themselves on a small island, cut off from the mainland, with their host not showing up. When unexpected events start to happen, they realize that one of them may have some sinister intentions. With no one outside to contact, and no way of checking each others backgrounds, they need to decide whom to trust and how to handle this situation until some help can arrive…

What happens in the story is perhaps not as amazing as how it happens. The way it was executed really keeps you on your toes, and you just want to read the next chapter right away. At the beginning of the book you have a short author’s note, where Agatha Christie even somewhat spoils the story (only the general story idea), so maybe skip it if you’re really sensitive about spoilers. She explains that the story was written as a kind of challenge, and in my opinion, the result is a success.

The Murder Mystery

This was the first Agatha Christie novel I read, and it really makes me want to read more. I think most people enjoy a good murder mystery, and that is why stories with characters like Sherlock Holmes and Poirot are so successful. Recently we also had the movie Knives Out, which I personally really enjoyed (the sequel not so much). The format of the murder mystery has established itself in popular media, so when reading And Then There Were None, you might not be too impressed with the general story format, as you’ve probably seen it before. Even so, I don’t think that takes away much from the story at hand, because there is a big difference between a murder mystery, and a good murder mystery. If it’s good, cleverly written, and makes sense at the end, I think it can be enjoyed even if the overall setting feels familiar.

My Reading Experience & Thoughts

This one was a really fun read. The book is not that long and the chapters are quite short, which means you can read them fast, giving you a nice feeling of progression. I enjoyed the writing style and the pacing, I don’t remember once being bored or wishing to skip a part. The cliffhangers were placed at the right moments for me, and it made me want to just keep on reading.

A small problem I had was at the beginning, where a lot of characters were introduced in a very short time. Characters did not get much background, so when they were again mentioned in the next chapter, I had to turn a few pages back to remind myself which is which. You do get used to them later on, but not all of them are equally distinguishable in my opinion.

The mystery was there for me the whole time. I had some guesses who the culprit was, but those guesses have proven to be wrong, which I really liked, as it was fun to read till the end. I felt the ending was satisfying and worth the read.

Conclusion & Verdict

And Then There Were None is one of the best selling books of all time, and I think it deserves this high spot on the list. It is a relatively short read, and has nicely divided chapters so reading feels easy and fast. It places cliffhangers at the right spots so it keeps you engaged and guessing what will happen next. I think the overall structure of the mystery is well planned and executed, it had me guessing until the very end.

The only real problem I had was the hasty and brief introduction of all the characters, but given the novels idea and structure, this was not a big issue for me. It’s not really a character study so for some of them, those brief introduction could be considered sufficient. Other than that, as a murder mystery published in the 1930s, the novel stands really strong.

This is one I would really recommend to everyone. There are no real downsides in picking this one up, as you will read it fast, so even you end up not liking it, it won’t waste much of your time. I think this is one of those books that is perfect to choose if you are in a reading slump. It’s easy to pick up, the story is clever, and you can entertain yourself by trying to guess the outcome as you go. What’s not to like?

Rating: 5/5