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Summary and Reviews of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie Mysteries Collection

by Agatha Christie
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • First Published:
  • Nov 6, 1939, 264 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2011, 247 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

An exclusive authorized edition of the most famous and beloved stories from the Queen of Mystery.

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…

Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

One

I


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.

He laid the paper down and glanced out of the window. They were running now through Somerset. He glanced at his watch—another two hours to go.

He went over in his mind all that had appeared in the papers about Soldier Island. There had been its original purchase by an American millionaire who was crazy about yachting—and an account of the luxurious modern house he had built on this little island off the Devon coast. The unfortunate fact that the new third wife of the American millionaire was a bad sailor had led to the subsequent putting up of the house and island for sale. Various glowing advertisements of it had appeared in the papers. Then came the first bald statement that it had been bought—by a Mr. Owen. After that the rumours of the gossip writers had started. ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Judge Wargrave has a long history of considering crime and those who commit crime. He also calls himself "a man with a strong sense of justice." As result, he seems to feel that he has the expertise and right to single-handedly identify and punish those who have committed crime but have escaped conviction by law. Do you think that any man or woman has the knowledge and the right to single-handedly deal out punishment to others? If so, when is it appropriate for him or her to do so? If not, why not? Explore these questions in a Socratic Seminar.
  2. Justice Wargrave feels that some of the guests on Soldier Island are more guilty of murder than others because of the degrees to which they were responsible for the deaths that took place in their ...
Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

See what our members are saying about this book in our Community Forum.

Throwback issue of The BookBrowse Review - 1/29/2025
Definitely want to read The Bluest Eye. Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None also got added to my list.
-Jill_Mercier


What are you reading this week? (2024-10-31)
I just finished Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. This was my first Alice Feeney book I read. Well, it blew my mind. I absolutely was astonished at the end . I totally did not see the ending coming. I highly recommend it It reminded me of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, only a lot better....
-Brenda_Wychock


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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

And Then There Were None is an enjoyable crime novel in a way that makes it stand out among many imitators, a story that invites readers to participate in an exciting, dangerous world from the comfort of home. Christie is one of the forerunners of the so-called "cozy mystery," a booming genre characterized by idyllic locations and limited overt violence, which involve the reader in solving the mystery alongside an endearing detective like Christie's creations Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. Although And Then There Were None does not feature these famous characters, it is perhaps one of Christie's best works. It's a perfect choice for readers to enter, or return to, the Golden Age of Detective Fiction with one of its most celebrated authors...continued

Full Review Members Only (677 words)

(Reviewed by Alicia Calvo Hernández).

Media Reviews

The New York Times
The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery Agatha Christie has ever written.

Time Magazine
One of the most ingenious thrillers in many a day.

Daily Herald (UK)
The most astonishingly impudent, ingenious and altogether successful mystery story since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

New Statesman (UK)
There is no cheating; the reader is just bamboozled in a straightforward way from first to lastu2026.The most colossal achievement of a colossal career. The book must rank with Mrs. Christie's previous best - on the top notch of detection.

The Observer
One of the very best, most genuinely bewildering Christies

Author Blurb Elizabeth George, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Lynley novels
What Agatha Christie taught me was all about the delicate placement of the red herring. She was the ultimate genius behind 'by indirections shall we find directions out.

Author Blurb Val Mcdermid, Internationally Bestselling Author
Agatha Christie is the gateway drug to crime fiction both for readers and for writers... .  Just one book is never enough.

Reader Reviews

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Beyond the Book



The Golden Age of Detective Fiction & Agatha Christie's Legacy

Four Agatha Christie book jacketsIn the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s, people sought comfort and escapism in a world marked by chaos and uncertainty. Detective fiction offered a perfect outlet, with meticulously plotted mysteries that allowed the reader to regain a sense of control. After all, aren't detectives in these stories trying to restore the status quo, bringing order to disorder? As priest, critic, and detective fiction author Ronald Knox wrote in 1929: "The detective story is a game between two players, the author on one part and the reader on the other."

This period is now known as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and it concurred with a time when women were beginning to gain rights, enter the job market, and establish themselves as celebrated ...

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Read-Alikes

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