A Spine Chilling Crime Thriller : Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None touches all benchmarks of a Masterpiece

Adapted into a number of films and television series, Agatha Christie’s crime novel And Then There Were None has received a lot of critical acclaim and praises from readers, and the book is well deserving of it all. I cannot even imagine the amount of brainstorming that went into devising such a clever yet neat plot. While reading crime thrillers, the only thing I dread is being left with loose ends. But I was so relieved on finishing this roller coaster ride of a book as everything took shape so beautifully on the big reveal.

The plot revolves around ten people, who have received letters containing references, asking them to come to a house in the isolated Soldier Island. When they all arrive, they release that their stay there has proven fatal as one by one they die, following a certain pattern as stated in a nursery rhyme hanging in each of their rooms, after each being accused of a crime via a gramophone record. The island is deserted and it’s inhabitants are helpless. They know one of them is the murderer but they don’t know who. They can do nothing except try and connect the dots and wait for their own turn…

I was a bit confused while reading the first chapter as eight different characters are introduced and a blurred and broken picture of their personalities and pasts are upheld. But slowly and steadily everything starts taking shape. The story progresses a lot in a conversational way, making it all the more engaging. Short crisp sentences intensify the suspense even further. Every chapter brings a new surprise and you are forced to rethink everything you had thought previously, as you slowly head towards the big reveal. But something that didn’t appeal to me was the lack of connection I felt with the book. The story progresses in a rather mechanical way as I follow along with it. I failed to feel one with the story, or connect with it’s characters at a deeper level. But the adrenaline rush on reaching the final chapter and a look at the bigger picture compensated for it all.

The story has a major psychological side to it. It explores the state of mind of different people in the same dire situation and how everyone has a different reaction to offer to his or her forthcoming death. Someone is hopeful while the other is overconfident. Someone is scared while the other is vigilant. You also learn about the criminal mind and what influences one to commit a crime (Anything more than this would be a spoiler!).

This book is definitely going on my best crime thrillers list!

My Rating – 4/5

Happy Reading!😇