In Focus

This month’s book club book we read was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie—a thrilling murder mystery.

Reading the first few chapters, the premise sounded so familiar: Ten strangers are summoned to an island under false pretenses, believing an acquaintance had summoned them. The book was published in 1939, which makes it easy to dupe strangers into believing a friend had invited them out. 

The strangers gathered for dinner with 10 little statues on the table. They began to relax and get to know each other when a sinister-sounding recording played on a phonograph, revealing each person’s deep secret. Chaos quickly ensued, and the first of the group died. The following morning, another was discovered dead. After each death, a figurine disappeared from the table. 

The remaining people realized that the poem posted around the mansion and in their rooms was more than just a poem; it was also about how they would die. 

In the poem Ten Little Soldier Boys: Ten Little Soldier Boys Went Out to Dine, one choked his little self, and then there were nine. Nine Little Soldier Boys stayed up very late; One overslept himself, and then there were eight. Eight Little Soldier Boys traveling 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 were playing with a hive; a bumblebee stung one, and then there were five. Five Little Soldier Boys went through a door; One stubbed his toe, 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 are 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.

It was interesting to see how each person coped and how they were killed. Realizing they are the only ones on the island, and the killer is among them, it adds to the distrust among the characters.

You can tell the language used in 1939 has changed immensely. I haven’t heard the word “queer” so many times; queer means strange or odd, not like it is used with various meanings today. There is racism, which is not surprising due to the book’s age. Not much about the characters was flushed out, probably because it wasn’t that important. 

As expected of Agatha Christie, the “Queen of Crime and Mystery,” the book was excellent. Her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections are reportedly outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. And Then There Were None is one of the top-selling books of all time, with approximately 100 million copies sold. It’s that good! 

The familiarity I had with the story and its setting was the movie Knives Out and Glass Onion which paid homage to Christie and some of her work, including And Then There Were None. 

I honestly had no clue who the killer was, even though it was right before me. Only one person in the book club had the killer pegged. 

Also, if you read the book, read everything. 

The next book we will be reading is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.