And Then There Were None is the first Agatha Christie novel I’ve read, and I was not disappointed. This intense mystery follows ten strangers who have been invited to stay on an island by an unknown host. Trying to figure out which of the guests lured the rest to this remote location, and then committed murder, is what keeps the reader engaged. As I am often disappointed when I can foresee the conclusion of a book, I was delighted that Christie’s writing style kept me on my toes, and didn’t make any one suspect stand out consistently. Each flawed characters’ flashbacks show possible malice, which adds to the potential of any one of them being the murderer. As they talk with one another, the reader follows their logic and none of the guests can really be proven innocent. While the dialogue is somewhat dated, the story itself holds up, and is compelling.
The story continues, even past the epilogue, so if a reader stops there, And Then There Were None appears to be a cliffhanger. The letter following the epilogue reveals the identity of the murderer, as well as the methods employed by that character to be certain that the police would not be able to solve the crime. I was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion, as it ties up the loose ends and gave me a sense of closure I feared I wouldn’t get.