Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (audiobook)

And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie (Compact Disc Christie)

For the September meeting of the libraries’ Just Desserts mystery book discussion group, participants were assigned to talk about a memorable “stand-alone” mystery novel they’d read recently or in the past. I looked through my reading history list on LibraryThing to see what “stand-alones” jumped out at me — it was surprising how many books I have read (and loved) that are parts of ongoing series. But then I remembered Agatha Christie — in addition to her Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot series (among others), she had several significant “stand-alone” novels, including And Then There Were None, which has the distinction of being the top-selling mystery novel of all time, at over 100 million copies sold!

I originally read this back in high school, mumble-di-mumble years ago. I decided to revisit it for Just Desserts and took the opportunity to listen to the Book-on-CD audio adaptation, narrated by actor Hugh Fraser (who co-starred as Hastings in the Poirot television series opposite David Suchet). Fraser is a superb audio narrator, and gives each of the ten characters in this book a different audio personality. This story is legendary, and to say too much about it is to spoil the enjoyment of experiencing it (if you’ve never read it before). The book has evolved a little over the years, originally having been released in 1939 under a title that would be considered offensive today. Later American editions used the title “Ten Little Indians”, tied into a plot point of the story, but in the past 50 years, all editions have been titled And Then There Were None.

The plot, in a nutshell: Ten strangers find themselves lured to an estate on an island off the coast of Devon, England — either hired as employees or invited by distant and not-well-remembered associates. Once on the island, they are shocked by the playing of a recorded message, accusing each and every one of them of having committed murders for which they were never punished. Trapped on the island, with no way off, tensions rise as some of the ten die — first in what could be accidents, but later obviously by someone’s hand. And the fact that ten little carved Indian figures in the dining room begin disappearing to match the body count, means that the killer must be one of the remaining survivors. But who is it, and can anyone be trusted?

In true Christie fashion, the murders generally occur “off stage”, and are not overly gruesome. Which means this is a true psychological suspense novel. The story is told from the point of view of nearly every character, at one time or the other, and the reader gets to explore the psychology of each of them as the situation becomes more and more dire.

Christie said she felt And Then There Were None was the most complicated novel for her to write, with having to make sure so many characters’ stories matched up so effectively. In retrospect, having listened to it again, I can see a few flaws in the storytelling. But it is still an enthralling read, and Fraser’s audio version is marvelously entertaining!

[This novel has been adapted for film and TV several times (1945, 1965, 1974, etc.) — almost always with major changes made to the plot. I particularly enjoyed the TV mini-series version of it done in 2015, featuring Charles Dance and Aiden Turner (among others). The novel was also adapted (by Christie herself) into a stage play, which is a staple of community theaters around the US and UK. The play features two potential endings, one of which differs significantly from the novel.]

[ official And Then There Were None page on the official Agatha Christie web site ]

Read Elizabeth J.’s review of the print edition of And Then There Were None, from August 2005

Read Kristen A.’s review of the audiobook of And Then There Were None, from December 2017

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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