From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie

Start date: June 1, 2025

Finish date: June 30, 2025

Discussion: CLASSICS READS

Why we're reading this: June 2025 - Bookshelf Catch-Up
Group Pick for July '19 - Bookshelf Catchup
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CLASSICS READS

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What Members Thought

Jul 20, 2022 Amber Lea rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature-and-classics, fiction

lol, that was some Dexter shit.

Alright, I loved this, but there are definitely uncomfortable moments reading Christie where you're like, "WOW, that was painfully bigoted." But then her characters will have moments where they mention or think about how stupid or useless women are, so it seems like she's reflecting the culture of the time through her characters more than she's sharing her personal thoughts. (I hope.) I have to say, it's shocking every time. Like wow, people really thought like thi lol, that was some Dexter shit.

Alright, I loved this, but there are definitely uncomfortable moments reading Christie where you're like, "WOW, that was painfully bigoted." But then her characters will have moments where they mention or think about how stupid or useless women are, so it seems like she's reflecting the culture of the time through her characters more than she's sharing her personal thoughts. (I hope.) I have to say, it's shocking every time. Like wow, people really thought like this? Obviously her characters are stereotypes to a sometimes painful degree, so you have to take it with a grain of salt but it's just crazy to think that people looked at other people and had thoughts like this.

I'm far from an expert on Christie or the history of this book, and the version I have is the modern day version, but I think the original title (or two) might have been intended to subvert racism because you have this racist nursery rhyme juxtaposed against a story about 10 white people being murdered in a similar fashion. To me it almost seems like Christie was going for, "Oh, you think it's just a cute little song, but it's not so cute when it's happening to you!" Like it's hard for me to imagine she had racist intent because her victims are white and mostly very well to do. It seems like she's making a point about the difference between our perception of the world and ourselves and who we really are if we're being honest. To me it feels like she's mocking the upper class for their faults.

But besides the occasional slap in the face that would make me stop reading and go holy shit, this story is fun to read. I really appreciate how short her stories are because they don't drag out and give you time to get bored. This one is just like bang, bang, bang. The plot is always moving forward and if you don't care about what's happening something else will be happening soon.

There's just something about Christie's writing that's so good and she uses gimmicks I rarely see which creates this odd feeling that her writing is fresh and new despite being 80 years old. Like I love when we go around the table and read everyone's thoughts like you would see in a movie. If another author tried to do that it would probably be a total groaner, but when Christie does it works. (Of course, I don't read a lot of mystery so maybe these things aren't as uncommon as I think.)

Obviously, the story itself has been done to death because this is the most famous murder mystery of all time and it's been copied hundreds of times, but despite the "been there, done that" feel of the plot itself I thought it was great because you still don't know what's going to happen despite an abundance of hints.

I'm a littttttle disappointed the murder wasn't the character I thought. She dropped a few subtle hints it was him and I fell for it, but it would have been so good! ...more

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Mar 31, 2015 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, format-print, source-library, f-mystery, 2015

My memories of Agatha Christie books aren't very fond. Nor of Sherlock Holmes, for that matter. Much as I appreciate and respect their super smart and observant detectives, it does me little good to never be able to solve a mystery. And that's what I always feel like after reading either Christie's mysteries or the Sherlock Holmes books. Either the perpetrator is the person who was barely anywhere in the book and therefore feels like the least logical choice, or the crime itself is way too far-f My memories of Agatha Christie books aren't very fond. Nor of Sherlock Holmes, for that matter. Much as I appreciate and respect their super smart and observant detectives, it does me little good to never be able to solve a mystery. And that's what I always feel like after reading either Christie's mysteries or the Sherlock Holmes books. Either the perpetrator is the person who was barely anywhere in the book and therefore feels like the least logical choice, or the crime itself is way too far-fetched. But most of the time, the mystery itself feels unsolvable and that's when the crime solver comes along to point out all the hints that the reader missed and then solve the crime.

Thanks, that made me feel so good! #sarcasm.

And so, I have never wanted to read any Agatha Christie books, even though she is revered heavily in the book industry. I may be selfish but I do like to solve a mystery before the detective does. But, And Then There Were None refused to step away from my radar. I may have come across references to this book twice or thrice this year alone. This book is based on the premise that if there are ten people in a room and one of them is murdered, then the murderer has to be someone in the room. (Of course, that's not necessarily true - the murderer could have slipped a little something into a drink and then left the room, but if more people in the room are being murdered in a variety of different ways, then the murderer HAS to be someone in the room).

And Then There Were None also happens to be an old nursery rhyme:

Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little soldier boys sat 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 bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.

Five little soldier boys going in for law;
One got into chancery 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.

Ten people who appear to have committed murders are invited to a remote island, where they listen to a recording of their crimes, shortly followed by the murder of one person. Soon, more of them start dying in mysterious ways and the remaining folks try to determine who the killer is. I certainly enjoyed this one more than I expected to - it was exactly the sort of edge-of-the-seat thriller that I enjoy, but when all is revealed, the story does feel implausible. Still, one does not read mysteries for plausibility so I had my belief suitably suspended while I read this one.

I wasn't a huge fan of the writing - sometimes, it was very distracted and almost shorthanded, which isn't something I would expect in a full-length novel, but that didn't bother me too much. There is also not much of a character insight in this book - again not something you would expect in a mystery novel anyways.

Overall, I'm glad to have read this one. It was more enjoyable than I expected it to be, it has certainly added one Agatha Christie book to my favorite books list. I'm hoping to read more books by her that are not necessarily cliched. ...more

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Mar 04, 2016 Tammy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I haven't read a lot of Agatha Christie (although I've seen many TV adaptations) so I can't really compare this one to her others. That said, I thought it was a very good book. I didn't want to put it down.

I'm a little irritated because I thought I had it figured out and it turns out I was completely wrong, but I guess that's the mark of a good mystery. Not sure I completely buy the psychology of it, but maybe that's a function of finishing it so fast (I had to know what happens!), so I'll proba ...more

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Dec 04, 2016 Indira Giovany rated it liked it

I wonder if I had not read so many - too many - other books with poor attempt of copying this book's premise, will I enjoyed it more? ...more

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Oct 18, 2017 Kathleen rated it liked it

Shelves: utgc-book-club, mystery

Of the eleven characters I liked Soldier Island best.

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Mar 17, 2013 Loretta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I pride myself in being able to solve movie mysteries before the movie is half way over; however, with novels, especially by Agatha Christie, you are left guessing until the end. The beginning did throw a lot of names and occupations at you, but, once the mystery became apparent to the characters, I could not tear my attention a way. A very good read although the ending is just morbidly far fetched.

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Feb 10, 2014 Paula S rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Classic Christie. I've read this a number of times, but I still enjoy following along as the story unfolds. I would hate to be stuck on that island though. ...more

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