#42 [2022/CBR14] And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Everyone's heard of Agatha Christie, and I like mysteries, so I wasn't disappointed when our book club selected: And Then There Were None (1939). I'd read only one other Christie mystery, so I was googling it to figure out if I'd read it before when I came across some troubling information. The original British title of this book is horrendously offensive, and the original American title is only a little bit better. 

The premise of this murder mystery is that ten people are invited to a large home on a small, rugged island (Soldier Island) for a house party. They all come from different places and for different purposes, invited by the Owens's. Mr. and Mr. Rogers have been hired as the help for the party, although they haven't had any contact with the owners. Vera Claythorne was asked to be a temporary aide to Mrs. Owens at the house. And the rest have come as guests.

Christie does a good job of introducing us to the many characters in a pretty short time. Tony Marston is a young, spoiled man who cares about nothing but himself. Mr. Blore is an old police inspector. Miss Emily Brent is a bitter, judgmental old lady. Justice Wargrave, General Macarthur, Dr. Armstrong, and Philip Lombard finish off the rest of the party.

Immediately things get weird. The hosts of the party never show up, and then a voice after dinner accuses everyone at the party of doing something heinous. And then people start dying. One by one. The room's have a copy of a children's poem called "Ten Little Soldier Boys," and the people dying seem to correspond to this poem. In addition, there are ten little porcelain soldiers on the main dining room table, and one disappears as each person dies.

As people continue to die, the fear and paranoia grows. The island is searched and nothing is found. But because of the deaths and the porcelain soldiers disappearing, the killer must be among them somehow. By the end, everyone is dead. When the nearby town finally comes to the island, they have quite the mystery to figure out. It is not until the Epilogue that Christie explains the mystery to the reader. It was mostly satisfying--although I kept thinking the killer had to be hiding on the island somewhere, so I was a little disappointed. Maybe it would be more interesting on a second reading when you know who the killer is, and you can watch for clues.

Part of the problem with the offensive titles, is that the title is connected to the poem, which is repeatedly referenced throughout the book. I imagine that they are not traveling to "Soldier Island" in the original books. I guess it's good that it's been updated, but it still interfered with my interest in the novel.