And Then There Were None

by Peter Foreman (Adapter), Agatha Christie

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime

64 pages, Paperback

About the author

Born and educated in London, I attended a College of Education for teachers and obtained a teaching diploma, but decided to travel. I liked teaching English to foreign students, so I took a year's course in Christchurch College, Canterbury. Then I went abroad again to teach EFL. In Rapallo a scholastic publisher published several books of short fiction for students and activity books, which sold well. De Agostini took over the publisher, and more recently Mondadori has taken over from De Agostini in turn. I also had a story in book form published by OUP, "The Mystery of Allegra."

I married an Italian and we have a daughter.

I started to write novels and found agents, but had no luck, so decided to self-publish on Amazon Kindle. My novels include "Pisuktuk of the Arctic," the story of an ancient shaman who has wandered the Arctic for generations, which was shortlisted and received a commendation in this year's Marlowe and Christie novel prize; "Aurelie," a romance with a supernatural element set on the island of Alderney during the Nazi Occupation, its second part, "Jacquine," narrated by Aurelie's daughter, continuing the story to the present day; "Count Calabresi," concerning the discovery of two ancient Greek bronze statues off the coast of Calabria; "England No More," a dystopian tale of a future England under totalitarian rule; "Corinna Please Come Home," the story of a kidnapped young woman's tragic fate; and "One Fond Kiss." My memoir, "Battersea Boy: A Journey from Backstreet Boy to Writer," blends straight autobiographical narrative with letters written to my late father.

I am semi-retired and continuing to write and publish short stories, essays and poems, including "The Battle Goes On," a collection of essays and poems casting a critical eye on literature, culture and modern society, and "Tarantella," a collection of strange short stories.

I live in Bradford-on-Avon in the west of England, and enjoy travelling, reading widely, walking, and the cinema.

Reviews

[Juliii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó pero no me enganchó hasta más allá de la mitad

[Saurabh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know she had a great mind , but writing kinda lacks something for me. Maybe I'll analyse it more so I can put a finger on what it is
But otherwise greeeaaaaaatttttt climax

[Francesco Gruosso · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Shivik · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a good fast read but, for me, fails to hit the mark when it comes to tickling the suspense bone. Might just mean that whodunits might not be my cup of tea given the back-to-back dropping of characters - a characteristic typical of this genre - is the one place where this book fails to grip me.

[Ines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten strangers are invited to a lonely island called “Soldier island” which is totally cut off from the mainland. They are invited by a person they think they know, but it turns out that they have been invited by a person who uses different names and knows their past very well.

They discover a child’s rhyme about 10 little soldier boys who die one by one. This poem is in the dining room and in each of their bedrooms.

During their first dinner they suddenly hear a voice from a hidden record player, announcing a list of indictments for various murders committed by each person in the room:
Mr. Armstrong, a doctor from London, accused of being drunk and causing a death during surgery. Emily Brent, who loves reading the Bible, responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor. William Blore, falsifying testimony in court which led to the death of innocent James Landor. Vera Claythorne, a games mistress in a third-class school, because of her, Cyril Hamilton drowned. Philip Lombard, guilty of the death of twenty-one men of an East African tribe. John Macarthur, a retired World War I General, murdered his wife’s lover. Mr. Anthony Marston, a rich playboy, of having a hit-and-run accident and killing 2 children. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, cook and butler in the house, killing their former employer, an elderly woman. Lawrence Wargrave, a retired judge, sentenced an innocent man to death.

All of them were very shocked by the announcement. Shortly afterwards the first person dies, by the next morning already two are dead. Mr. Rogers finds out that of the 10 little china figures, 2 are missing. That’s when they realize that their systematic execution has already begun, following the theme of the rhyme. They make plans to leave the island with the boat which usually arrives in the morning, but no boat arrives. They come to the conclusion that there must be a murderer on the island, so they split and search the island but there is no person besides them, the murderer is among them. They also realize that their host’s name, Mr. or Mrs. U.N. Owen, means UNKNOWN and that he/she must be one of them.

Vera said sharply: “What are you waiting for?” He said gently: “The end. But I think you know that, don’t you? It’s true, isn’t it? We’re all waiting for the end.”
A thrilling novel about fair “justice system”. In my opinion, the novel is a criminal mastermind. The illustrations are bursting with details about the character’s growing anxiety after each murder. Curiosity is aroused by the smart use of foreshading that there will be a next victim.
The characters are all hiding a dark secret and none of them seems to be innocent. Even though you see the character’s thoughts and actions, you cannot guess who is the murderer. I found it really fascinating and there is also a constant flow of actions.

I can highly recommend “AND THEN THERE WERE NONE” if you like mystery books. It’s widely regarded as Agatha Christie’s masterpiece. I really enjoyed reading the book. The plot was masterfully written until the last sentence, keeping up the tension until the end.

If you enjoy murder mystery books and/or Agatha Christie books a further recommendation is: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

[Shivani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book defines MYSTERY.

The story is about ten people invited on an island by some unknown Owens. All of them completely stranger to one another. None of them has any idea about the host. Maybe there is no host. Maybe the host is the ghost. Maybe one of them is host. Everyone is under suspicion.

Things start to sound crazy when they realise that the murder takes place exactly as described in the rhyme frame on the wall in their rooms, in the same order too. And every single time, one of the ten chinese figures placed in the common room goes missing. They left no stone unturned to investigate the mole amongst them.


Agatha Christie….

She’s truly The Master of Mysteries. It LITERALLY came down to the last words of the book. Every guess is wrong. Every possible explanation is wrong. There is no way anyone could have guessed it right. The mystery that could only be solved by Christie.


This book is perfect for anyone & everyone who loves mystery. Perfect for beginners. A must read book for fiction lovers.

[Sara Krivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Must read!

This book is simply amazing! I reckon this was the best thriller I've ever read. So suspenseful! Makes you picture just about every possible scenario in your mind when in truth it will end up giving you the "rasteira" you never saw coming. :P lol The third 'part' of this book got me on the edge of my seat, bitting my fingers off. Couldn't stop reading it. The end is so full of plot twists you can get dizzy. I'll just HAVE TO read the whole book again now that I know all that I know. I am CERTAIN it will be a completely new experience. :D

[Aashi Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our conscious is never forgotten because our mind doesn't permit it. Ten strangers who are not related to each other in any way, find their way to the same mansion by an invitation sent by the same person - anonymous. On reaching there they find out that each of them has a criminal background. Eventually they're all killed based on the intensity of their crime, with the most pardonable one being killed first. But each death is clearly a murder, so who is committing these crimes when they are the only ten people in that house?
An absolutely thrilling book that keeps you at the edge of your seat at all times. This plot not only plays with the mind of the characters but also with the mind of the readers, leading us to suspect each character. I think that this is one of Agatha Christie's best crime novels.

[Ma Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a classic is like challenging myself to see if a modern reader, already exposed to many of the tropes, devices and twists of the murder mystery genre, can still be surprised by its final solution. This is my very first Agatha Christie, and it whetted my appetite for more.

I can also see why this would translate well into film, although I've never seen it. The setting, the atmosphere (that storm!), the growing paranoia of the characters.

[Crl · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️
finally finished the book, it was very hard for me to read it so i skip some part when it was near the ending.
i prefer to watch the movie based on agatha christie novel rather than read her novel. i guess for me the novel is too much, too confusing, and too many characters. it’s a bit hard for me to keep up and remember which is which. But i love the movie that is based on her novel. I guess i’ll stay at the movie side 😅

[Mxrxtx03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know why this version is only 64 pages long, but I marked this book as "Reading" today and ended up finishing it on the same day. Caught me by surprise how fast the premise moved along, really. Got to say I'm left wanting more, so I'll make sure to get more Christie books. Good story, kept me guessing until the end. :)

[Polina · Rating 5 out of 5]

finished this and proceeded to read some reviews online — Christie seems to have deceived a good percentage of us, readers, into taking the same trail (it was wrong 😑) anyways, now I know I'm not gonna pass as a detective, BUT IT'S A MUST READ. I'm telling you, it's my first mystery/detective novel as well as the first Christie, and I had so much fun playing detective.

[Vincent Collet · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 5*

Un whodunnit super efficace, on voit facilement tout ce que ce livre a inspiré plus tard.

Je ne suis pas super fan de la résolution que je trouve improbable mais j'ai tout de même été captivé de bout en bout.

Ça m'a en tout cas bien motivé à lire plus de Agatha Christie, j'avais peur de ne pas aimer le style ou de trouver ça trop dépassé mais c'était vraiment une excellente surprise.

[Varun Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story started with quickly introducing the ten characters. Eventually, the author explores the characters and sticks with personal background. This murder mystery keeps one on edge. I highly recommend this book, avoid reading the last chapter if you wanted to bring the detective in you.🙃

[Daniela Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Único livro que li até hoje da Agatha Christie e achei bom.
Como li em inglês demorei a conectar me com os personagens mas não foi um problema do livro.
Achei o final surpreendente mas nada de especial.

[Grace Vickers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read, was enjoyable and as always by Agatha Christie very clever. I love reading these books and trying to sus out crimes. Really fun book, basic writing style but I think that’s the best for this genre of books

[Ben Philcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect Agatha Christie. Every character is well written, and even knowing the plot inside out the story is still a superb read.

Not sure why it says 64 pages - I have this edition and it is 240 pages!

[Private · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think the thing that personally annoys me is the thing most people actually like about her ... she doesn't give a realistic chance to solve the riddle in the end she bases the solution on details the reader couldn't know which i personally don't like.

[Khadijatou · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mystery , the characters and the atmosphere make this book one of the greats in the mystery genre .

[Lydia Elford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very intriguing, for me I couldn’t put it down. The ending was very clever, something I wouldn’t have expected. But it gave a clear story and all added up in the end.

[Sofie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the ending, also was very easy to get through. Go read it!!!!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whodunit is soooo much fun. 10/10 recommend for a fiction read to get you out of a slump, or just to feel satisfied

[Mr Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing and flow, impeccable. The mystery, more predictable than reviews make out but maybe that's due to more modern day copy cats, emulating the format.

[Barbara Brabiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Agatha Christie book

[Esther Malers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just think characters are too exaggerated and mysteries too drawn out to be fun for me to read. I'd watch a movie and be done with it, not sit down and read each small detail get drawn out.

[Ch · Rating 5 out of 5]

good novel

[Mahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is unpredictable and kept me engaged until the end. I suspect everyone, but I couldn't guess the killer.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this version instead of the full version by mistake, but it was still enjoyable. It was a quick little read, and I enjoyed re-hearing the story. As always, Agatha Christie is a wonder.

[Ellis Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Impossible to put down. Elaborate plot and extremely gripping. A brilliant murder mystery which deserves its popularity and reputation. There is also an excellent BBC three-part drama adaptation.

[Inma · Rating 4 out of 5]

El mejor libro que me he leído de Agatha Christie hasta ahora. Todo lo que se puede esperar (y un poco más) de un whodunnit. La novela perfecta para devorar un domingo, es
trepidante, está bien escrita y tiene crítica social. Me ha tenido en vilo hasta el final.