And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
Like several other Agatha Christie novels, And Then There
Were None opens with a nursery rhyme - in this case Ten Little
Soldier Boys, but after that, the story that follows is unique
in character.
For comparision, the best match would be the ABC Murders
with it's mocking assassin and murders occuring with the
regularity and predictability of a metronome.
The difference here is in the scale of the killing and the
setting. In the ABC Murders the murderer could strike anywhere,
at anytime. In And Then There Were None, the killer herds the
prey onto an island - Soldier Island. Ten Little Soldier Boys.
And makes his or her intentions known to the intended victims
without too much delay.
U N Owen
And what a killer! First, acquiring the playboy mansion on
Soldier Island and the island itself, then carefully ensaring
each of the intended victims with diligently worked forms of
invitation. Unrefusable offers. Cunning bait. U N Owen. Mr
Unknown. The unknown killer.
Then there is the morality - a repulsive, sadistic urge to
punish each of the victims for miscellaneous alleged crimes.
Crimes that went unpunished. 'Justice' arriving late, and in
the form of a cold, harsh, unforgiving assassin. A devil. A mad
person who must play with each victim before finally...
Needless to say this is a story that could descend into the
banal axe-man-in-the-middle-of-the-night type of trash novel.
Christie deftly avoids that. The nursery rhyme after all
requires that the killings are done to pattern - the killer
chooses the method of killing with as much care as he or she
has chosen the victims.
What raises the novel to the level of brilliance is the
motivation of the various parties involved. As usual Christie
knows her characters well. They behave (or misbehave) in a
manner consistent with their natures. However frequently the
story flits from one point-of-view to another, the reality of
each character's viewpoint is easy to grasp. From the blunt and
callous retired police officer, Blore, to the enigmatic school
mistress, Vera Claythorne who seems already on the verge of a
nervous breakdown when she first arrives on the island.
The Killer With a Face
From the point that it becomes evident that the murderer
must be one of the Ten Little Soldier Boys, And Then There Were
None is hard to beat for suspense.
The final revelation of the murderer and the unmasking of
motivation shows Christie at her best in bringing together
character and plot.
