Love her books or hate them you cannot argue that she created an incredibly legacy…
As always we begin with the Goodreads blurb…
First, there were ten – a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal – and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.
I picked this book up again several years after my first reading after watching a television adaptation, I confess it was in part because they had sexed it up a little and I needed to reassure myself that they had stuck with the basic facts and to be fair it was quite a good adaptation other than the liberty or two they had taken. I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie, there are those who argue the books are too alike, that it is writing to a formula for the masses at it’s simplest, and maybe it is but sometimes that is exactly what one needs, something that takes you on a ride where corners are taken at a leisurely pace rather than at breakneck speed. This is a really good stand alone book, and one I have recommended as a good place to start reading Christie, though it does not feature any of her regular cast of detectives it can be examined as a study in guilt, one thinks of murder as a deliberate act, yet as we see deliberately failing to act can have the same consequences.
The book was published originally under another title which is no longer appropriate and although I am not generally in favour of censoring in that respect and believe that context is the right criteria for making that type of decision in this case it is right the title should have been changed and plays no real role in the book.
I give the book 4.5 stars out of 5 and a place in my heart.
And for those who were wondering a bit of the adaptation…
Paula Acton 
You have good taste Paula. I’ve never been disappointed with an Agatha Christie and I read them all when I was very young at at various times since.
Though Margaret Rutherford will be remembered best for portraying Miss Marple I don’t think she was too much like the book and would say that for me Joan Hickson best brought the character to life.
xxx Humongous Hugs xxx
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Now I need to Wiki those names to remember who played the original Miss Marple and who took over when the original actress died. I liked them both, in their different ways 🙂
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My first experience with Christe was the film version of Death On The Nile, when I was quite young – so when I picked up And Then There Were None (I agree, the original title was inappropriate: even in the days where such a title was acceptable it didn’t describe the basis of the storyline at all) I was a little confused when Poirot didn’t turn up. But I loved it regardless, and have been wondering for a long time where my copy from when I was ten has gone – probably to a charity shop. Nevermind, I shall just buy it again.
I, too, love Agatha Christie, and I fervently hope that the Doctor Who episode The Unicorn And The Wasp awoke a curiosity about her books in younger fans who may never have read anything by her before.
I’m trying to remember what was different in the televisation. Something about a particularly good-looking actor wearing nothing but a towel for absolutely no reason is the first thing that comes to mind.
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In the BBC television version they go a lot further with the relationship between Vera and Philip than Agatha ever did, they also added the hint of another layer of betrayal with the older lady suggesting that her obsession with the maid/companion also had a sexual element.
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I’m so glad I just ordered the book again yesterday; I’ll read that and then atch the TV adaptation 🙂
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I have only just got into reading Agatha Christie I am ashamed to say! I have read this book though and I loved it and the t.v version that was on at Christmas. I felt the t.v version brought the story a bit more up to date for a new generation.
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I prefer the BBC’s 2015 version as the portrayal was better (in my opinion).
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Opps wrong video link, sorry
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I read my local library’s entire stock of Agatha Christies when I was about 12, then bought a whole lot more. These were the days when a paperback could be procured for 2s 6d! Strangely, the only one I have read in the last 10 years or so (though I’ve returned to them intermittently) is this one. I agree, they are compelling.
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