📚 Book Review 📚

Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island by an unknown person, each one of them believing their host to be someone different.

Each of the guests has a hidden past, a past dripping with guilt which has caused misery to others. Almost from the get go, each of these questionable guests are picked off, one by one and killed in a way that mirrors an old rhyme.

This is a brilliant classic from the legendary Agatha Christie, which has been brought to life in a brand new edition which omits the final chapter and invites readers to guess the identity of the murderer. I read the kindle edition which asked me to vote and then the final chapter was emailed to me. Fantastic marketing!

I loved it, classic sealed room (well, house!) mystery which keeps you guessing from start to finish.

I’d like to thank Harper Collins UK, NetGalley and the author for the arc and the fantastic opportunity, in exchange for my honest feedback 😊

Book released on 10th October 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for ARC.

Interesting premise for a reissue with the final solution 'sealed' at the back of the book. For the ARC this involved emailing for the final chapter after guessing the solution.

There will be few who will be unfamiliar with this most famous and bestselling of Golden Age mysteries - remote location, mysterious hosts, collection of strangers with secrets they would rather keep, fiendish plotting and mysterious, seemingly impossible deaths. If you haven't read it you'll have read a homage to it and/or seen a TV adaptation in thrall to it.

Despite it being 35 years since I last read it, it was a delight to get back into the swing of misdirection and dark deeds. The prose is straightforward, the attitudes and assumptions are of their time, but it's a true classic by a pioneer.

Wow, wow and wow again! What an incredible read this is.

10 seemingly random strangers are all summoned to Soldier Island by their host Mr/Mrs Owen. Upon arriving at the Island, the host is conspicuous by his absence. After dinner that night a voice booms out - each of the 10 has been charged with causing the death of someone. Each guest offers their defence, but soon the guests start dropping like flies and the living have to face the fact that there is a murderer loose among them...

If you are expecting Poirot you will be disappointed, there is no detective to tie this in a pretty bow for you - you have to do the work here yourself. Having the final part of the novel tucked away until the very end so you have to make your guess is a stroke of genius.

This is a twisty novel and I struggled to work out who the killer was - I even kept notes!

Christie at her very very best. Read it, you will not be disappointed!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The misdirection was masterful, as were the odd clues ... I haven't read many Agatha Christie books - still in the TBR pile - but this novel encapsulates what her admirers so enjoy. Some of the writing seemed a little dated, given how such a mystery thriller would be presented these days but the disparate characters were a puzzle in themselves. The final chapter revealing all was withheld from the ARC I enjoyed courtesy of the publishers and Netgalley; after submitting my suspicion of who the architect of the crimes was, I await the final chapter to know if I am right!
A good really, perfect for those dreary days when one just wants to nestle into a comfortable armchair and read. A genuine conundrum of who killed whom.

An excellent book, as though we'd expect anything else. I thoroughly enjoyed this new format of it and was quite glad to have forgotten whodunnit so I could enjoy the reveal again!

A whodunnit and nobody does it better than Agatha Christie, a web weaved through the pages, twists and turns full of misdirection.
An island where 10 are invited with no apparent connection and then the murders start

Who did it?

Agatha Christie’s 1939 novel And Then There Were None is widely acknowledged to be the bestselling crime novel of all time. And it’s easy to understand why. Eight seemingly unconnected guests travel to a remote island off the coast of Devon – upon which lies a solitary house – where they are met by a couple who have been employed as housekeepers. Their mysterious host – U N Owen – is nowhere to be seen, and the quests quicky realise that not one of them has actually met him (or here). On the first evening one of the guests dies quite suddenly, plunging the remaining characters into a nightmarish plot of murder and deceit. They are being executed, one by one, in a manner in tune with the childhood nursery rhyme that adorns the walls of their rooms.

This novel is so famous it has pretty much become a touchstone of Western pop culture, at least in the crime genre. Agatha Christie herself described the novel as one of the most difficult to write, given that she had to account for all of the various twists in the storyline, whilst at the same time not just disguising the identity of the killer from the reader, but also by totally wrongfooting the reader so that the final solution comes as much a shock as it would have to the poor unfortunate victims of the killer. Like most of Christie’s work, there is little in the way of characterisation – she could never be accused of padding out her novels with unnecessary detail – but it seems churlish to criticise, when what makes Christie’s stories work so well is her masterful plotting. In fact, nearly fifty years since her death, I have yet to read a mystery writer more accomplished in their plotting than Agatha Christie.

This version of the novel – the Ultimate Mystery Edition – has the novelty of that its final chapter is delivered in a rather interesting manner – via a sealed document inside the printed book, and by email once an attempt to solve the crime has been made in the e-version. This novelty adds little to the book’s charm. If anything, its final chapter accentuates the very clumsiness that Christie herself fought against. It feels almost tacked on, even though it quite clearly isn’t, although it does come across as a bit awkward, similar to the exposition dump at the ending of Psycho.
And Then There Were None is a truly remarkable novel, and there have been many cinematic and television adaptations over the years – but most of these utilise Christie’s rewritten 1943 version which changed the rather bleak original ending into something more palatable for stage audiences (and the superb Rene Clair film from 1945). So to readers unfamiliar with the original story, the novel might come as something of a surprise. And it’s a very claustrophobic book, with an overriding sense of futility and the inevitability of death, possibly the effect of it being written during the Second World War. The spectre of death feels very close. I’ve read this several times over the years and it’s a novel that never fails to thrill. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publishers for an ARC of And Then There Were None.

There is a reason Agatha Christie is the Queen of mysteries. I flew through this book in a matter of hours, and it felt like minutes. This version of the book comes with the 'reveal' separate from the story.
Even still, I guessed wrong!
Highly recommend.

Ten strangers are invited to an isolated small island off the Devon coast.

In the grand house, in every bedroom, there is a framed nursery rhyme in which ten people die, one by one. In the dining room, ten figurines stand proudly on the table.

When the first guest dies on par with the nursery rhyme and ‘his’ figurine disappears from the dining room table, the assembled guests soon realise that there is a murderer in their midst…

What a book! It was first published in 1939, and in my opinion, it’s one of Christie’s best works.

This was the first book Agatha Christie book that I’ve read, aged twelve. This was also the moment where my eyes have opened to the ‘crime’ and ‘whodunnit’ stories. You can honestly say that my life was never the same again!

This book has left such a significant impact on my future reading choices, and it shaped my love for crime novels.

I loved that in this edition we received the book without its last chapter. We got a link where we had to vote on ‘whodunnit’. After that, we got the final chapter to discover whether we were correct.

As I knew ‘whodunnit’, it wasn’t a total surprise to me, but I remember that when I first read the book, I was shocked. An ending I certainly wasn’t expecting!

Many thanks to Harper Collins for approving my NetGalley request to experience this phenomenal book once more.

This was such a fun read, mostly because I was trying to figure out who was responsible as I was reading! I’m not the type of person to annotate or make notes while reading a book but I got INTO this. I made a list of the characters, noted down their deaths, their crimes, etc and it was so fun.

The characters weren’t exactly likeable because of how historical this is they had some pretty archaic views and behaviours. But they were interesting because of their crimes. I was very disappointed that I did not correctly guess the culprit at the end because I think my guess would’ve made a good ending too 👀😂 but it was fun, had an excellent location, and I would read another Agatha Christie now.

Classic Agatha Christie who dunnit, lots of twists and turns. This is one of her best novels and you can see why she is still widely read and published. Ten people on a island ono by one they die but who's the killer, keeps you guessing till the end. A must for any crime fan. Thanks to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for this review ARC

And this book demonstrates why Agatha Christie is still one of the best crime writers ever. A clever plot a twist that's not easy to detect and a great read.

I don’t have full feedback for this book as I really struggled to get into it. But saying that it is Agatha Christie and obviously it is good, I just don’t necessarily think it was for me at the moment. I definitely want to try it again in a few months as I think my views are likely to change when I’ve had more time to think on the mystery.

This was my first Agatha Christie book, and it was fantastic. Very easy to read, and full of twists and turns, it had me keep changing my mind on “who dunnit”. I was hopelessly wrong as I fell for the murderer’s trap 😉

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. I also thought it was fun to vote on who I thought the murderer was, before getting the final chapter. I do wonder how many got it right…

I’m excited to read more Agatha Christie books

I was a bit reluctant to pick this one But then many ppl said that its too good and is their fav so I picked this up.
From the first chapter itself it keeps us on our toes. There is lot of thrill. Once in the end chapters I was also kind of terrified, like who is going to be killed and how will they kill. It's creepy, thrilling and mysterious.
I really liked it. I was really spellbound by the way it was written. All the characters, their crimes and their death. Each death in a different way. The creepiness starts when we first see the poem. I was wondering how creepy this nursery rhyme. (I guess the poem was 10 little negroes and was changed citing racism issues).

Of course the end was baffling.
Some mystery just fool the readers. Yeah I am sure you might heave guessed the killer but we all at some point doubted everyone. And those clue that were given in the end to make us realize that we didn't found the killer we just doubted everyone.

According to me a really thriller mystery challenge is when we have that person in front or our eyes yet we don't doubt him/her given the clues. That I feel is a challenge. Here we were so paranoid that we doubted everyone even without any clues 😂.
I wish I could say more about this book.
I really think that this is a must read.
Do read it and share your views.
Coz I am sure ppl will love it.
Even if they don't like the ending they will love the book overall. Coz it really is exceptional ❤️.

And the new edition of the book is out
"The Ultimate Mystery Edition"
And it's a collectible item
.
If you have not read the book yet then this is the sign for you

A must read for Thriller and Mystery enthusiast, consider this as challenge
.
And if you are new to the genre then let's get your standards hight shall we 🤌

I don’t think I’ve ever actually read an Agatha Christie novel since my early teens. I was intrigued by this new edition. Ten visitors lured to a remote island off the Devon coast. All guests have some kind of secret they’ve been hiding of the murderous type. One by one each of them is subject to a murder in line with the nursery rhyme of ten little soldiers. With all dead… who can the murderer be.
I failed to spot the murderer, however in truth it could have been any of the guests.

I actually really enjoyed this one. I picked it up a little while back thanks to Netgalley but swiftly put it back down as it didn't quite pique my interest at the time, I finally got round to picking it up and I am glad I did.

I love a whodunnit and the set up of this is so fun. By piecing together the clues, I was sent a link to select my suspect before being sent the final chapter - this inclusion just adds that extra little *chef's kiss* to reading a murder mystery.

If you're a fan of Agatha Christie, and you haven't read this one, defo pick it up! and for those of us with family who are fans of her work, the Ultimate Mystery Edition is currently available on Waterstones - just in time for Christmas!

I've read many Agatha Christie books over the years, but this is the first time I've wanted to use the phrase"un-put-downable." I'm not sure how I missed this book in the past, but it is definitely her best.
I was supposed to be able to access the final chapter from the publishers after I had guessed the murderer's identity. Unfortunately, I couldn't find this final chapter, but the book was so clever that I had no idea who had committed all the crimes anyway. This is the ultimate locked-room mystery, but it enacted an inaccessible island instead.
Despite a few hints of older social attitudes, the writing style is so modern that few would guess that it was first published in 1939. I would absolutely recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! It reminded me of the murder mysteries I used to watch on telly as a kid, and the uncertainty the characters experienced was very good.
I did not guess who the murderer was, and the secret letter in the back of the book (or sent by email after finishing the book) was such a good and fun idea to make this even more of a mystery.
Perfect read for anyone who likes a good hunt for the real killer and entertaining through all the diverse characters and their own experience of their stay at Soldier Island.
Agatha Christie is the unrivalled queen of murder mysteries 🖤

Well, well, well. Am I a good detective? Did I manage to guess the murderer?

No, I was totally outwitted by Agatha Christie, and loved it! I'm always disappointed if the story is too predictable, and this certainly wasn't. My first Agatha Christie noval and I thoroughly enjoyed it.