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ifollowedthatrabbit's review against another edition
5.0
Another book read in one day! It could have been in one sitting, but you know, life.
I can see why this book is the world's number 1 best-selling mystery. Agatha Christie herself said she was very pleased with her work, because she "knew better than any critic how difficult it had been".
The whole idea is quite original. Ten people are invited to "Soldier Island" by some mysterious host. We have quite a diverse group of people: Vera Clayton who is hired as the personal secretary of Mrs. Owen; Philip Lombard who was paid a considerable amount of money by someone to work for Mr. Owen for one week; William Blove, a former police inspector; Emily Brent, an elderly spinster who was invited by a friend she can't remember very well, though she accepts the invitation to enjoy a free vacation; Anthony Marston, a young man who thinks he might meet a rich family on the island; General John MacArthur; Lawrence Wargrave, a former criminal judge; Ethel Rogers, the cook, housekeeper and Mr. Roger's wife; Thomas Rogers, the butler and Mrs. Roger's husband; Edward Armstrong, a famous doctor who was invited by Mr. Owen to see his ill wife without revealing he's a doctor.
They all have something in common, and they'll figure it out after their first dinner at the mysterious Mr. Owen's house.
After the first death, the old rhyme they saw in their rooms will make more sense to all of them, as well as the ten little porcelain figurines they saw in the dining room.
Who's killing these people? Who else is on the island? And who is this mysterious Mr. Owen? Distrust, fear, remorse, and self-survival appear in the group.
I can see why this book is the world's number 1 best-selling mystery. Agatha Christie herself said she was very pleased with her work, because she "knew better than any critic how difficult it had been".
The whole idea is quite original. Ten people are invited to "Soldier Island" by some mysterious host. We have quite a diverse group of people: Vera Clayton who is hired as the personal secretary of Mrs. Owen; Philip Lombard who was paid a considerable amount of money by someone to work for Mr. Owen for one week; William Blove, a former police inspector; Emily Brent, an elderly spinster who was invited by a friend she can't remember very well, though she accepts the invitation to enjoy a free vacation; Anthony Marston, a young man who thinks he might meet a rich family on the island; General John MacArthur; Lawrence Wargrave, a former criminal judge; Ethel Rogers, the cook, housekeeper and Mr. Roger's wife; Thomas Rogers, the butler and Mrs. Roger's husband; Edward Armstrong, a famous doctor who was invited by Mr. Owen to see his ill wife without revealing he's a doctor.
They all have something in common, and they'll figure it out after their first dinner at the mysterious Mr. Owen's house.
After the first death, the old rhyme they saw in their rooms will make more sense to all of them, as well as the ten little porcelain figurines they saw in the dining room.
Who's killing these people? Who else is on the island? And who is this mysterious Mr. Owen? Distrust, fear, remorse, and self-survival appear in the group.
bookdevouringmisfit's review against another edition
4.0
Finally lost my Agatha Christie virginity and damn was it a good one.
alisonrk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ravenclawkate's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Technically, this novel was executed extremely well. Christie masterfully made use of tone, atmosphere, foreshadowing, themes, motifs, and point of view to keep the reader interested in what would happen next. The idea of a central rhyme mirroring the events is brilliant and makes the events very creepy. Additionally, Christie succeeds at making many of the characters extremely unlikeable, but still adds a some backstory and depth. However, I couldn't help but feel the ending reveal didn't quite hit for me. I felt like the explanation, though kind of expected, I had a general idea of. For me, there had been many clues to point to the final answer, and I felt the explanation seemed that the murderer's job was too easy (see*). Finally, this being my second Christie book, I can't help but notice that she tends towards a couple common themes that she gravitates towards a lot, which made the premise a little less interesting for me. In both this novel and Murder on the Orient Express, Christie discusses the idea of evaded justice being served and questions how people justify their crimes. However, I still found the ideas that Christie discussed extremely fascinating, with the added theme of human desperation when threatened.
SPOILER*Once I knew that all the people on the island were going to die, I guessed that one of the people on the island must be the murderer, posed as U.N. Owens, but would somehow die themself. Also, Wargrave had been high on my suspicious list from the beginning. First, the idea of judgment, both in the terms of religion and law, was repeatedly discussed and for me, point to Justice Wargrave as suspicious. Second, as soon as people started dying, Wargrave immediately took the lead and treated the investigation like hearing testament in court, pointing out to me that he was up to something
SPOILER*
midici's review against another edition
3.0
Ten people are invited to visit an island for a wide variety of purposes: for work, for pleasure, for reunions, for fun, etc. All of them have been lured here under false pretenses. There is no boat with which to get back to the mainland. There is more than enough food and water but one of the guests is murdering the others, as a form of justice for their own hidden, murderous sins. As more and more guests die, the remaining characters become more and more frantic to save themselves, turning on each other.
Who survives?
As you may guess from the title, none but the murderer makes it off the island. The story was very interesting, because even with all the clues you're still left guessing exactly who is responsible. Also as the book goes on you get more and more details about the so called crimes of the people who have been lured here; some are already terribly sorry for their crimes, others are indifferent or consider themselves blameless. A great, quick read.
Who survives?
As you may guess from the title, none but the murderer makes it off the island. The story was very interesting, because even with all the clues you're still left guessing exactly who is responsible. Also as the book goes on you get more and more details about the so called crimes of the people who have been lured here; some are already terribly sorry for their crimes, others are indifferent or consider themselves blameless. A great, quick read.
143_liv7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
zuzikzk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
I don't know why but i didn't like the ending. But except for the ending this book was absolutly amazing. I read it in a one day it was such a page turner for me. I havent read such a good book in a long time ,it kept me hooked from the begining. There were plenty of plot twists And it was very clever and mysterious. Overall i would definitely recommed this book.
lurker_stalker's review against another edition
3.0
I was okay - mostly - with the whole thing until the message in the bottle. I mean, mostly okay with it except for the racism, sexism, and classism.