And Then There Were None
Agatha Christie, 1939
Mystery, thriller & crime HistoryContemporary fictionLiterary fiction
Ten strangers are invited to an island where a nursery rhyme starts coming true; Christie's most airtight trap, and her most human. A bright, modern island house turns steadily suffocating as a nursery rhyme ticks onward, and curiosity pulls you through the dread.
Feels like dread and curiosity.
Who it’s for
You may enjoy this if you like closed-circle puzzles, uneasy island settings, and watching suspicion spread among strangers. The tone is grim and the deaths are patterned on a nursery rhyme, so it may feel bleak if you want warmth or comfort.
Why read it
It shows Christie tightening the screw with unusual humanity: clever clues, mounting dread, and a house that feels menacing precisely because it is so new and bright.
A page from the book
A house with no shadows at all, and every guest locking a door.
The others went upstairs, a slow unwilling procession. If this had been an old house, with creaking wood, and dark shadows, and heavily panelled walls, there might have been an eerie feeling. But this house was the essence of modernity. There were no dark corners - no possible sliding panels - it was flooded with electric light - everything was new and bright and shining. There was nothing hidden in this house, nothing concealed. It had no atmosphere about it. Somehow, that was the most frightening thing of all. They exchanged good-nights on the upper landing. Each of them went into his or her own room, and each of them automatically, almost without conscious thought, locked the door.... Agatha Christie.Christie worked in a hospital dispensary during the First World War and drew on that knowledge of poisons for decades.
Books that feel like this
More by Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie, 1934
One murdered passenger, a compartment locked from the inside, and a small Belgian who reads lies better than anyone. A closed-circle puzzle at its purest.
Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie, 1937
A Nile cruise, a honeymoon, and a murder among strangers who all have a reason. Poirot, on holiday, must untangle a knot of jealousy before the boat docks.
Curtain
Agatha Christie, 1975
An ageing Poirot returns to Styles, the scene of his first case, to hunt a murderer who leaves no trace and seems always one step ahead.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is And Then There Were None for me?
- You may enjoy this if you like closed-circle puzzles, uneasy island settings, and watching suspicion spread among strangers. The tone is grim and the deaths are patterned on a nursery rhyme, so it may feel bleak if you want warmth or comfort.
- What is And Then There Were None like?
- A bright, modern island house turns steadily suffocating as a nursery rhyme ticks onward, and curiosity pulls you through the dread. Feels like dread and curiosity.
- What should I read after And Then There Were None?
- If you liked And Then There Were None, try Verity (Colleen Hoover), The Perfect Marriage (Jeneva Rose) and The Outsider (Stephen King).
A taste of the feed
Some people keep a darker world on hand so the real one stays bearable.
I needed for the imaginary version of my world to be darker than my real world. Otherwise, I would have wanted to leave them both.
Verity · Colleen Hoover
What it costs to make yourself unnoticeable in a crowded room.
She was trying to make herself as small as possible, blending into the background, going unnoticed. But to me, she was the only person in that room.
The Perfect Marriage · Jeneva Rose
How one photograph can make a man look guilty before he speaks.
Terry frowned at Ramage. He understood the words, they were simple English words forming a simple declarative sentence, he knew who Frankie Peterson was and what had happened to him, but the meaning of the words eluded him. All he could say was “What? Are you kidding?” and that was when the sports photographer from the Flint City Call snapped his picture, the one that appeared on the front page the next day. His mouth was open, his eyes were wide, his hair was sticking out around the edges of his Golden Dragons cap. In that photo he looked both enfeebled and guilty.
The Outsider · Stephen King
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