Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

A creepy island. A spooky mansion. Ten strangers. A psychopath. A nursery rhyme. And then there were none…This, I think, perfectly describes the story of one of the best-selling novels by Agatha Christie.

 

According to the plot of the book, once there was an island named the ‘Indian Island’, located off the coast of Devon, England. The island was rumoured to be owned by an American millionaire named Mr. Owen. No one had really seen what went or happened on the island, but it was generally reported to be an isolated locale.
On one early autumn, unexpected invitations reach ten strangers in ten different locations; all are invited as weekend guests on the island. Stifled by their respective mortal coils, they accept the invitations and head towards the island.
In an eerie sea-facing mansion where they were invited, the ten characters meet - a judge with an obsession with justice, a schoolmistress, a soldier, a doctor, a police inspector, a religious spinster woman, a butler and his wife, a war general, and a handsome athlete. The arrangements inside the mansion seem to be flawless with rooms furnished with exotic linen, decorative ornaments and generously-provided delectable food. On the dining table, there are ten china figurines of Indian boys. The host, Mr. Owen has not arrived yet in the mansion.
In every room, there is a framed copy of the following nursery rhyme titled Ten Little Indians:
Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys travelling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
Things turn sinister when on their first dinner evening, the butler plays a gramophone record as he was ordered by the Mr. Owen he had never seen. The unknown voice in the record accuses each of the ten guests of murdering someone in their past. Soon enough, the guests start getting murdered one by one, and that too occurring just as in this rhyme. Correspondingly, the ten china figurines began to disappear one by one after each murder happening.
The murders occurred in the most suspicious ways that left the remaining guests guessing and guessing who the actual murderer was. They were simply dropping like flies. Driven by terror, the guests then started suspecting each other of the murders.
“From now on, it is our task to suspect each and everyone amongst us. Forewarned is forearmed. Take no risks and be alert to danger. That is all.” They went thinking.
But the murders kept happening, the mystery remaining unsolved till the end. Even when all the ten guests were dead and a police detective visited the island to inspect, he too was unable to decipher the source of all these murders, for the murders were too well-crafted. Each murder threw the suspicion on some or the other guest but nothing became clear.
A spine-chilling horror and classic thriller, this is a closed circle mystery with ‘whodunnit’ feeling lingering till the end. The book is also a chronicle of what a human being is capable of doing especially when their psyche is driven by extreme fear and guilt. The story is a doorway into the psychological world that is muddled up in venomous psychopathy, terrifying realities and enigmatic puzzlement. For me, the novel turned out to be a stem-winding, slightly unsettling but overall a captivating read!
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