And Then There Were None // Week 1

Book Club baybay!!!

I’ve waited 87 years for this day. But it is HERE. I am finally doing the Book Club thing. 😌

As most of you who follow me on Instagram know, we selected the Agatha Christie classic And Then There Were None as the first foray into this idea. I somehow have gone my entire life as a reader without even dabbling in her work, but am blown away by the amount of support I had for this one. Christie is known as the “Queen of Mystery” for a reason afterall.

What’s the game plan?

I am going to separate this book into three parts, as the copy I selected (and linked above!) is around 300 pages. This week I blazed on through the first 6 chapters, which takes us to page 106. SO, if you haven’t gotten to page 106 yet…STOP READING THIS POST! Or live dangerously and keep going I suppose, but proceed with caution because there will be spoilers ahead!

SPOILER ALERT!

Okay, so it’s not spoiler time yet (just want to be extra cautious 😉). I started this book midday yesterday and cruised through the whole first section in what felt like minutes! I literally had to force myself to pause tonight and write this post because I couldn’t tear myself away! But, I am a sucker for a good suspense novel so I don’t know why I’m so surprised.

My initial fear was that Agatha Christie wrote this back in 1939. Would it even hold up at this point? It’s been over 80 years; would the writing style be too stilted and classic for me to enjoy? I am happy to report that so far I was wrong to worry! Not only is this an exciting story, but the writing is well done and incredibly accessible.

The Queen of Mystery

The story starts with a group of strangers coming together to congregate in a mysterious mansion. They are introduced one at a time as they make their journeys across the countryside towards Soldier Island. Right out the gate, I was jotting down names as they came, fearing I would be overwhelmed and unable to recall exactly who is who. I needn’t have worried about that either!

Christie does an incredible job of keeping the characters distinct. Name repetition and the specific characteristics reflected in those names made it easy to remember each person. In fact, I only had to consult my little cheat sheet a couple of times near the beginning!

Her writing style is completely engaging and did not feel unnatural or aged in the slightest. There are a few “old-timey” phrases and words used, but they are easy to understand contextually. I love that Christie makes a point to separate the chapters by other subsections as well! For me, this made the story move by incredibly quickly because I was feeding my brain information in such short bursts.

Our Cast of Characters

1. Mr. Justice Wargrave
   • 1st class train compartment, oldest, takes control
2. Vera Claythorne
   • 3rd class train compartment, teacher/secretary
3. Philip Lombard
   • 3rd class train compartment, Captain, out of funds
4. Emily Brent
   • 3rd class train compartment, older lady, judgmental
5. General Macarthur
   • separate train arriving later, served in the war over 30 years ago, worried about gossip
6. Dr. Armstrong
   • arriving by car, wealthy, scheming and slightly shady
7. Tony Marston
   • arriving by car, good-looking young man, risk-taking, down for a good time
8. Davis (aka Mr. Blore)
   • arrives by separate train, knows which guests are coming, uses Davis alias, former detective
9. Rogers
   • the mansion’s butler, arrived for work earlier that week
10. Mrs. Rogers
    • Roger’s wife, ghostly maid vibes, arrived for work earlier that week

Island Livin’

Upon arrival, their hosts are missing and the guests are greeted instead by the butler and his wife. Everyone settles in and we start to get the sense of foreboding that something isn’t right. There is very little access to the outside world and the tension of their shared isolation is palpable. Christie peppers in little intrusive thoughts for each character from the get go, which makes the reader unsure of who to trust. Who is a bad person, and who is just a victim of circumstance? Or do we all fall somewhere in the grey area?

So far, I’m definitely hooked! I don’t know about y’all, but I’m totally flummoxed as to who is running the show here. Obviously, the mysterious voice condemning them for their crimes, the disappearing figurines, and the “Ten Little Soldiers” poem are big plot points that we don’t quite understand yet. I am eager to keep reading and unearth more clues along the way…

Body Count– 2

1. Mr. Justice Wargrave
2. Vera Claythorne
3. Philip Lombard
4. Emily Brent
5. General Macarthur
6. Dr. Armstrong
7. Tony Marston (chokes on cyanide- 1)
8. Mr. Blore
9. Rogers
10. Mrs. Rogers (dies in her sleep- 2)

Questions to Ponder…

• Who is U.N. Owen?
  • Is s/he the person behind all this, or perhaps someone we have already been introduced to…?
• What is Mr. Blore’s endgame?
  • Is s/he working for U.N. Owen or is s/he placed as a red herring?
• How does U.N. Owen know all of these people?
  • How is s/he causing their deaths without attracting attention? Or are they causing their own demise?
• Who are you rooting for to survive (or do you think anyone will)?

Share your thoughts so far in the comment section or reach me on Instagram!

Need a Copy?

Grab one here to financially support local, independent book stores!