And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

PLOT

Eight people receive a letter by a wealthy Mr. U.N. Owen inviting them for holidays at Indian island. The invited people, neither have met each other before this trip, nor do they know Mr. Owen, nevertheless accept the offer. On reaching the island, they are greeted by two housekeepers who inform them that Mr. Owen has not come yet to the island. After going inside the house, a voice over a gramophone tells them that they all have committed murder for which they all are guilty. The rooms in the house have the poem “Ten Little Indians” on the walls. The poem tells the story of ten people who were killed in ten different ways.

lireshelf, agatha Christie, and then there were none
Murders of the occupants of the house, i.e. the people invited to the island start and they are killed one by one. I am not going to depict the killings in this post but they make for a short, intense murder mystery. The last person left, Vera Claythorne hung herself to death  after the murder she committed and the recent events dawned upon her. The identity of Mr. Owen is still unknown and all the 10 guests have been murdered. The police officials despite their efforts could not come to  conclusion as to who the killer was. Then one day, a fishing ship catches a bottle that contained a paper. On this paper was written a letter of self confession of the murders by one of the guests, Justice Wargrave. He confessed that he planned and committed these murders because they had been guilty in his sense of justice but had been let go by the court.


 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 traveling 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.


Agatha Christie and mystery novels are two names that go hand in hand. And Then There Were None is a classic murder mystery which revolves around the poem, “Ten Little Indians”. It is the shortest and one of the finest murder mysteries I have read. The book introduces the characters and then the plot till the end is utterly baffling. The plot of this novel and the ending does justice to Agatha’s title of “The Queen Of Mystery”. Published in 1939, And Then There Were None is still counted amongst the best mystery novels.


Links to previous posts:
I Talk To The Universe About You
The Surgeon
The Devotion Of Suspect X 

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