2nd March 2025 - And Then There Were None
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My latest book through a period of not reading very much is 'And Then 
There Were None' by Agatha Christie. This was in fact my first Agatha 
Christie book. I had avoided her work as it felt so twee and seemed to 
lack excitement. Kindle deals of 99p made me consider a couple of her 
work and I am sort of glad they did. 

A group of strangers are invited to a strange island just off the 
coast of Devon for a weekend. As they meet one another, they realise 
they have no connection and know very little about their host. Even 
the staff are unaware of what is going on, hired just for the event. 
Strange events occur and you are plunged into a mystery. Well, what 
did you expect, eh? 

This strange island, referred to in the book as Soldier Island, is 
clearly Burgh Island. It is well known for Agatha Christie's links and 
is one of many locations in Devon which she used as inspiration. I 
know the area thanks to being a great location for walking the dogs 
after the summer. A huge tidal beach which is sandy and so perfect for 
dogs to go wild. Burgh Island sits off the coast, reachable during low 
tides by a strange huge wheeled tractor and trailer. There is an art 
deco hotel on the island and I occasionaly wonder about visiting. It 
was a pleasant surprise to stumble across a location I know in this 
book. 

The writing style is engaging and fairly to the point. You have to 
expect this. The characters are all stereotypes. There are the humble 
serving folk, dodgy chap from the empire, grumpy and senile elderly 
general, overly formal spinster and so on. We end up with a judge, 
policeman, spiv and a doctor too. Everyone seems defined by their job 
and station in life. This is a great example of the British class 
system. There is a little bit of racism thrown in when the general 
discusses a group of soldiers from the old British Empire. Expected 
from a book written in the 1930s really. 

The mystery unfolds in an interesting manner and it is hard to work 
out. There are crumbs left which rely on your being aware of a nursery 
rhyme which is of the archaic and probably never to be told to a child 
again sort. I certainly didn't know it. Who knows, it might even have 
been made up for the book. We find the members of the group dropping 
like flies and Christie does well in getting the reader to feel some 
drama. There is a sense of inevitability though. Of course, this will 
end with everyone dead. It is in the title! 

The end of the book felt a bit like a slap in the face. We hear a 
discussion between some members of the police. They confirm the 
reader's knowledge and essentially are just as baffled. The mystery is 
only resolved through a message in a bottle. Yes.. a bloody message in 
a bottle. The killer apparently has taken to confessing thoughts 
through messages in a bottle through out their life and so we get a 
rather long confession. I think this is where we see how mystery 
writing has progressed. The evidence is laid out and clues are written 
up in this final chapter, almost as a guide for how to ruin the book 
for others. Odd, odd, odd. It almost feels like the author is saying 
to the reader that they are too stupid to work this all out and so 
here are the notes. 

It is a fun read and I feel I will probably read some more Agatha 
Christie. It helps knowing what you are letting yourself in for but it 
should be a fun ride. 

Next book is Seicho Matsumoto's Tokyo Express.