A recording is played after dinner on the first night they arrive. The recording accuses each of the guests of a crime. Soon the people on the island begin to die, one by one. Each death is shocking. As the group gets smaller and smaller, the tension ratchets up.
The story pulled me in very quickly. I knew the general setup but had not watched any film adaptations, and was wondering how it all ends. Could it live up to the acclaim it has always gotten? It did for me. The writing is very suspenseful. I could not help trying to figure out not only who was the killer but how it was all managed. I did at one time suspect the actual culprit but Christie is very competent at making you second guess your deductions.
Also the characterizations are very good and slowly revealed. With so many characters there could not be a lot of depth, but still we are provided with backgrounds and sometimes surprised by the behavior of the characters.
"Perhaps the most famous of all Dame Agatha's novels, this is both a masterful cat-and-mouse thriller and a baffling exercise for armchair sleuths—a genuine tour de force. And like all of her best work, it has inspired countless variations—the ultimate compliment for any crime novel and crime-novel writer."
This was my book for the Classic Club Spin #23. I am glad I finally read it.
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Publisher: Harper, 2011 (orig. pub. 1939)
Length: 300 pages
Format: paperback
Setting: UK
Genre: Mystery
Source: On my TBR pile since 2013.
23 comments:
It’s terrific all right, no question. I’ve read it a couple of times and watched the 1945 version, the older of the films, and my favorite, for the cast and sets. Sadly, I only have it on VHS.
There was a recent version broadcast on PBS, which was good.
Rick, I am glad you liked the adaptation shown on PBS. We are going to watch that one soon, and then the 1945 version.
One of my favorite Christie's. And I never saw it coming.
Me too, Patti. Such a good read.
Tracy, I'd watch the two movies starting with the 1945, not the other way round.
It seems quite the rarity to read a review of this book from someone who has a) read it for the first time and b) not known who the killer was going into it, given the well-known solution. Glad you enjoyed it.
Rick, I would do that except that I have easy access to the newer one, and I don't have a copy of the 1945 movie.
This is one of my favorite Christie books. I think I saw a movie adaptation before I actually read the book - my memory says that it was while I was babysitting when I was a teenager. Ha! Seems like there was another adaptation, but the title might have been 'Ten Little Indians' for that one. I do remember that it had Hugh O'Brien in it. I also enjoy trying books that pay homage to this book - updated versions. Not all are great, but there are a few good ones out there that I've liked. Love me a 'locked room' mystery!
The solution wasn't known to me at all. I don't know many people who are interested in vintage mysteries, outside of online, and avoid reading about books I have not read. In my daily life I have known one person who has read Agatha Christie, one person who read books by Ed McBain, and one person who had read Rex Stout. All different people. Plus my grandmother read Rex Stout. A coworker and I read through all the Josephine Tey books together decades ago.
My husband has seen the 1945 film (years ago) but knows better than to talk about the ending to me.
The online community of people interested in vintage mysteries has been wonderful for me.
Kay, I wouldn't mind seeing the one with Hugh O'Brian also, although it seems it was more expensive than I wanted to pay to get a DVD or Bluray. That adaptation also has Wilfrid Hyde-White and Stanley Holloway (who were also in My Fair Lady). And while I was looking for the film under Ten Little Indians, I found several other versions I had never heard of. Amazing.
I've always thought that was one of her best, Tracy. So clever, and you're right that she doesn't give it all away, even if you do figure out who the killer is. And I think she does the psychological tension very well in this one.
Margot, I often like to ask, how is the author manipulating me, but I never guessed it this time.
Glad you liked the book and so glad to have found your excellent book blog. Agatha Christie is so talented. That said I was disturbed by And Then Tnere Were None. The vigilante aspect bothered me. Granted the guests had done bad things in their lives but the killer playing God bothered me. And yet I wasn't bothered by Murder on The Orient Express and liked that book a great deal even though it also deals with vigilantism. Possibly it was the presence of Hercule Poirot.
That is an interesting comparison, Kathy, which never occurred to me. I figured the person behind all of the murders in And Then There Were None was just crazy (or at least very disturbed) so that aspect did not bother me. In any case, taking justice into your own hands is not right, but both mysteries were very good. Some of my favorite Christie mysteries are her standalone books, even though I love both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
Thanks for responding TracyK and I must check out Miss Marple. Will start at the beginning. Murder at the Vicarage.
Kathy, Murder at the Vicarage is a very good mystery and probably my favorite Miss Marple (of the ones I have read). I hope you enjoy it.
A masterpiece which never fails to thrill how many times you might have read it.
Neeru, I do think I would enjoy rereading it but I will wait a bit. I will be watching two adaptations. I took Rick's advice and got a copy of the 1945 version and will probably watch that first. It will be interesting to see what they change. Films usually don't stay entirely true to the story.
This is one of the Chrisitie's I do have. Maybe I'll start with this one when I do eventually read something from Agatha. You make it sound worth my time!
It is such a clever book, so perfectly worked out. It is very grim, and is not typical of her books in fact, I think, except in being so clever. I can still read it and enjoy it though I know the plot backwards, and enjoy spotting how carefully she wrote it.
Sorry, Col, I missed your comment earlier. This is definitely a good one to try.
Moira, sorry I did not see your comment until now. This is a very different mystery by Christie and probably why I put it off for so long. It was very tense and I did not know what to expect with the ending. I have now watched the film version with Barry Fitzgerald and Walter Huston. I thought it was good too, even with a different ending.
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