Tangled Web UK Review June 1999
And Then There Were None by
Agatha Christie
pbk out March 03
(HarperCollins)
at £5.99
Opinions vary as to Christie's masterpiece. Some would give the palm to
The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, others to The ABC Murders and several less
well known books have their supporters. My own vote goes to And Then There
Were None, for its extraordinary blend of suspense and ingenuity. The
set-up is memorable: ten people are invited to an island off the Devon
coast, but when they arrive, their supposed host is absent. It soon becomes
clear that they have been told a variety of lies in order to induce them to
attend, and tension begins to rise. After dinner on the first night, a
mysterious voice reads out a list of indictments, accusing each of those
present of murder. The startled guests soon discover that they have been
listening to a gramophone record and assume that they have been victims of
a heartless practical joke. But events take a more sinister turn when one
of their number, a brash young man with a taste for fast cars, suddenly
dies as a result of cyanide poisoning. It is to be the first of many deaths
as, one by one, the guests succumb to a ruthless killer. Their isolation
is increased when the boat expected from the mainland fails to come to the
rescue and, as the weather turns against them, the survivors become
increasingly desperate as they strive to stay one step ahead of their
pursuer.
One character predicts: When the sea goes down, there will come from the
mainland boats and men. And they will find ten dead bodies and an unsolved
problem on the island. The prophecy is borne out by events, but Christie
can be relied upon not to let her readers down and she provides a stunning
solution to the puzzle. This is a simply written yet evocative book; no
wonder it has been filmed four times. There is no orthodox detective;
neither Poirot nor Marple make an appearance. Yet this unforgettable novel
ranks, without doubt, as one of the finest traditional mysteries ever
written.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
New Books by Agatha Christie at Amazon.co.uk
Secondhand and Out of Print Books by Agatha Christie at Alibris.com
