Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - And Then There Were None

I've watched the tv adaptations of this book but have never actually read it and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I genuinely found it so ominous and creepy that I had to stop reading it before bed because I knew it would keep me awake. It left me guessing right up until the end and I really enjoyed the in depth explanation at the end rather than leaving it on a cliffhanger.

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urfriendash's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book is about a group of people who are sent to a mysterious island under the request of an unknown man named Owen. One by one, they all are murdered.

I thought the story was predictable, the characters uninteresting, the writing alright, and the ending a bit unsatisfying. I don’t believe this is a terrible story, I just don’t understand how it is as popular as it is. To be honest, I just don’t really get the hype.

All of the characters were unremarkable. None of them were likable; I didn’t find myself caring if any of them would die.

The plot was pretty predictable. Ten people heading to an island, the person who invited them doesn’t arrive, suddenly they are all accused of something horrible, and they all die. It doesn’t sound totally outlandish, but considering this book was written decades ago, this was probably the original island murder mystery, so that’s pretty impressive. Other than that though, it was easy to guess how everyone would die. From the beginning, I thought for sure they would all die the way the characters from the nursery rhyme would, especially after the first person died and the little Indian figure in the dining room was taken. I didn’t totally hate this idea, it was entertaining but it definitely wasn’t surprising if that’s what you’re looking for.

I liked some of the writing, there were a lot of passages I thought were excellent; but a lot of words were very repetitive. Imagine if you counted how many times the word “queer” was used.

The ending didn’t satisfy me very much. I think open endings can be done super well, but this felt lazy. Like, obviously I want to know who was behind all this. In the epilogue, two people detail a bunch of evidence that shows no one on the island were responsible for the murders, and you THINK you may get your answer on who was the murderer, but you never do! There is no explanation or hints whatsoever and it feels unfinished, as if the author didn’t know how to end the story and show who the murderer was, so they just didn’t.

Wasn’t a horrible book, but it wasn’t the terrific masterpiece many say it is. Considering it may of been the first island mystery though, that gives it a lot of credit in my opinion.

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alleahwebb's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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devirtualized's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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verpissdich's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Essentially no details extraneous to the plot are included in the book. This allows for extremely rapid and tense plot progression at the expense of any meaningful character development. The book therefore reads more as a series of facts in a logic puzzle than an emotional journey. Nonetheless the book is short enough that the plot and mystery are enough to retain the reader's attention.

I would have preferred not to have the "message in the bottle" at the end. Now if I reread it won't be quite as interesting, although it will have a new perspective

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haileyeh's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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ed_moore's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ten Little Soldier Boys went out to Dine, one choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine Little Soldier Boys stayed up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight Little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven Little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six Little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five Little Soldier Boys going through a door; One stubbed his toe and then there were four.
Four Little Soldier Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three Little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One.
One Little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

The initial title of Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ was perhaps the only fault of this story. The characters could have had a little further development too to engage a greater reader connection but for the premise of the story I would argue it wasn't overly necessary. It was a murder mystery so well crafted to the verses of the old nursery rhyme ‘ten little soldier boys’ that each of the ten people invited to Soldier Island off the coast of Devon died as the soldiers did in the verses of the rhyme. Those ten were the only people on the island, meaning the murderer must be among the cast of victims. Each had committed a murder in their past that was unpublishable by the written law hence the enactment of the deaths was a passing of justice, where in paranoia people are turned against one another in a bestial manner in effort to not be killed like all those around them. It was such an excellent tale of human instinct and morality so cleverly tuned by the rhyme and concluding almost poetically, fate playing its cards. The lack of a detective also enhanced the intensity of the mystery, for the reader became the detective because the murders were ongoing, and to oneself the next victim was always assured but unknown. The red herrings are even plainly spelled out but just slip under ones nose. I cannot doubt the genius of Christie’s mystery and the role it placed I as the reader in perhaps made it the most engaging, well thought out and intense murder mystery stories I have ever read, I absolutely loved it.

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