And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None is one of my favorite Agatha Christie books.  It's certainly one of her better known books.  I have read it multiple times and listened to it as well.  When I heard that Dan Stevens (yes, that Dan Stevens - Matthew from Downton Abbey) was narrating a new version of this book, I decided it was time to give it another listen.  And I totally enjoyed it.  Dan Stevens has a lovely voice, by the way, and he did a good job with multiple characters.

In case you don't know the story, And Then There Were None tells of 10 people who come to an island off the coast of Cornwall, I think.  Anyway, they had all been invited as a guest or hired by a couple, the Owens.  When it becomes clear the first evening that their host and hostess are delayed, the guests begin asking questions and it turns out that none of them have ever met the Owens, even the staff.  Later in the evening, everyone is startled to hear a voice, a recording, that accuses each person in the room of murder.  Naturally, everyone denies the charges, but before the evening is out, at least one person will die.  And there are more deaths to come.  Are the accusations true?  How does the rhyme framed above each of their bedroom fireplaces relate?  And how will they all get off the island when an awful storm comes up?  A lovely locked room mystery.  Such fun.

Ten little soldiers went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were nine....

This version has been updated a bit to be more suitable for today's audiences.  In this one, the island is known as Soldier Island and the rhyme references and little figurines that keep going missing are also soldiers.  I can go along with that.  The previous versions had words that were in the vernacular at that time, but not so much now.

And in case you're not familiar with a "locked room" mystery, it is one where the crime seems to have been impossible for someone to commit and get away or the pool of suspects is completely limited, like on an island or in a locked room.  Therefore, the murderer has to be among the characters...or does he or she?  That's the puzzle.


There have been at least two film adaptations of this book, one in 1945 called And Then There Were None, and one in 1965, entitled Ten Little Indians.  Each may or may not have changed the ending of the story.  I'm not telling.  I liked both films.  The second one was set in the winter in a mansion in the Alps and the characters had to get to the house by a sort of ski lift thing instead of by boat.

I also have read at least two books that are homages to Agatha Christie's tale.  One was a Young Adult book entitled Ten by Gretchen McNeil.  Teens at an island house party with a DVD that has a message:  vengeance is mine.  Also, Katherine Hall Page sets her 16th Faith Fairchild book, The Body in the Ivy, on an island with a college reunion.  Faith is catering and she finds her job is more dangerous than she thought since the guests are dying one by one.

One last movie I'll mention that isn't exactly like And Then There Were None, but it does include a group of famous literary sleuths who are invited to a mansion to solve a very strange mystery.  One of them will be murdered by midnight.  It's a comedy and one of my favorites - Murder By Death - featuring a much younger Maggie Smith as half of a detective couple, Dick and Dora Charleston.  See, another Downton Abbey connection.  If you've never seen this movie, you really should hunt it up.  It also include many other wonderful actors and Truman Capote as Lionel Twain, their host.

So, I've given you a look at where my mind runs when I'm rereading an old favorite and a classic.  Hope you find something you like.