This is a pretty popular Agatha Christie book, originally released as Ten Little Indians, so I'm not sure I can add an awful lot to the discourse, other than to say that overall, I loved it!

I haven't read Agatha since I was in high school, and I'd forgotten she has...a unique writing style (ellipses pun intended). It annoyed the heck out of me at first, but about a third in, I stopped noticing it.

Another small letdown for me was as much as I am a huge fan of the "howdunnit" part, I am definitely not a fan of the final expository chapter. What I would have given for a few extra chapters and a proper "figuring it out" (as opposed to "laying it out"). The "whydunnit" was pretty obvious once you knew "whodunnit", but the final howdunnit was a stroke of brilliance for the time.

Speaking of the "whodunnit" - I was so absorbed in the story, I honestly didn't know who did it. I had my suspicions about 3/4 of the way through, but then I convinced myself I had to be wrong. It turns out I was right, but by the end, I was completely flummoxed.

If I had been alive in 1939, this book would have been terrifying. 10 people trapped on an island being killed off to the tune of Ten Little Soldier Boys like it's a freakin' instruction manual? To be honest, even with the overexposure to this story archetype/plot device we've all had to suffer through for the last 70+ years, this really does stand up as the OG. Christie herself admits it was complicated to plot out and difficult to write, and I have no doubt she's telling the truth. There are a lot of threads running through this tapestry, and masking the villain would have been awfully tough.

None of that was spoilers, btw. You find out pretty quickly what's going on.

I very much appreciate her word count (although I still want those extra couple of chapters lol). It is clean and concise. At times it may be a little too clean, and the characters come across as a little stiff and sometimes a bit too similar in voice and mannerisms. I guess old Agatha Strunk & White'd it up a little too aggressively in some spots. All was not lost though, and there was still plenty to grab onto.

I read it in two nights, so that's pretty impressive. Not so much that it's short (but it does clock in at only 300 pages), but more so that it's compelling and keeps you reading. I was very tired and cranky the third day.

I wanted to see what one of the GOATs of mysteries was all about; she didn't disappoint...

Worth the read, if for no other reason than to see where this (now) trope is done very well.

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Created Feb 26, 2024 at 6:45pm • Submit your own review...