Most murder mysteries examine justice, where a murder or series of murders take place and a detective or the police solve it by bringing the murderer to justice. ‘And then there were none’ by Agatha Christie breaks the “laws” that a typical murder mystery is supposed to follow. The book primarily talks about the effect of guilt on one’s conscience.
The book is about ten strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private Indian island. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a murderous past they’re unwilling to reveal – and a secret that will seal their fate. One by one they fall prey to the most well-planned murder plot and none of them can escape there inevitable death in accordance with a nursery rhyme, “10 little soldiers” that added to the enigma of the story. The characters raced against time to find the culprit suspecting every other person on the island and piecing together clues, red herrings and the creepy rhyme. I, as a reader, was stringing along to reach the end of the book to see if anyone makes it alive and find out who the killer is and the best part of the book for me was how elegantly each murder pans out. Throughout the books the “murder victims” are constantly reminded of the murders they committed and how that mistake led to their doom. When the police investigated the island they didn’t find any evidence pointing to the murderer and if it weren’t for the guilty conscience of the murderer the police would have never found out the truth behind the conspiracy.
If you’re one of those who prefer movies more than books because of the visualisation of movies being better then you’re missing out on what is an extremely scintillating book. Every sentence was riveting and all the murders are written poetically that displays the plot in a beautiful manner. I personally feel the book is a modern literary masterpiece in it’s field and I recommend everyone to read it, whether or not they are as crazy about murder mysteries as I am, because Agatha Christie is known for her unique writing style and this book highlights her essence.
RANDOM WRITER 