And Then There Were None // Week 3

Thank you, Thank you!

Thank you all for waiting patiently for the final installment of this month’s book club selection! This first attempt at the club was not only an amazing book, but gave me a lot of good insight on how to structure it more effectively moving forward.

For example, I realized announcing the book right before starting reading wasn’t optimal. A lot of people reached out letting me know they were falling behind because they hadn’t been able to secure a copy from the library right away! Which actually was the fate that befell me too- I ended up buying one because I was nervous I wouldn’t get my reserved copy in time. 😅

So, for all of our sakes, I will do my best to announce a Book Club selection as soon as I know it (and a few weeks before I intend to start)! The other issue I found myself having was that this darn book was SO compelling I was flying through it too quickly! I was eager to find out who the killer was, so it was difficult to stick to my intended pacing. 😂

In conclusion, this was an AWESOME pick for my first stab (pun intended) at the Book Club. I learned a lot on how to make it work better, while also enjoying the book along the way. An extra big ‘thank you’ is in order to all my Instagram followers that helped me narrow down the book options and responded to the polls I posted!

***Spoilers Ahead!

If you’ve gotten this far, I assume you’ve read the whole book. If not, proceed with caution. 😎

This final section of the story popped off quickly and ruthlessly, with the rest of our main characters ending up dead in less than a hundred pages! The pacing really stuck out because it felt as if a clock was ticking for the reader as well as the men and women trapped on the island.

The tension continued to escalate after Emily Brent’s death- which surprised me as being done with a hypodermic needle to replicate the bee sting! This was probably the first moment I felt sure there was no supernatural presence on the island, only a human or humans with an increasingly sinister plan.

“That was what murder was- as easy as that!

But afterwards you went on remembering…”

And Then There Were None

The remaining characters decided to stick together at this point (which honestly should have been the plan from night one). I did enjoy the classic choices of raising the level of stress with the gun appearing in different places and the lights going out to force them to rely on candles.

Vera’s storyline was perhaps the most interesting to me, as it is finally revealed that she let the child in her care die on purpose. The cold, callousness of this act is never truly resolved or forgotten, and ultimately leads her to take her own life. This, as far as I knew, was the finale and everyone lay dead.

And Then There Were None…?

Andddd PLOT TWIST. Thank the lord our Queen of Mystery didn’t actually leave us hanging like that!

After an epilogue where we witness the Scotland Yard Inspectors attempt to solve this baffling case (and come up short), we find one last chapter. A manuscript document sent to Scotland Yard that was found at sea…which was AWESOME. I truly was not sure if that was even part of the story or just like an Editor’s Note/Afterword at the end! Did this baffle anyone else or just me??

We come to find out that Justice Wargrave was a bloodthirsty loon the WHOLE TIME. 🤯. A man with a plan, indeed. I actually was suspicious in Week 2’s post that he seemed like he was in control of the narrative (!), but brushed it off as a storytelling tool to show off different clues and options to the audience. Him faking his own death with the assistance of Armstrong also very much misdirected me…definitely a great red herring that I did not see coming!

Storytelling done right 👏

This book was told with stellar planning and an epic twist, which I think is the marker of a great mystery novel! But, what really has set it apart and allowed it to stand the test of time is Christie’s understanding of humanity. Not one of these characters was flat; each had quirks and attributes that we discovered more of as the story unfolded. All of their actions felt justified given the circumstances. Even the ruthless madman terrorizing them had a backstory that tracked with his character.

It was also an interesting choice to have every single main character murder someone (or cause a death in some way). I’m not sure if this was the case for everyone, but it allowed me to stay more focused on the story. I was less emotionally attached to their individual journeys and more invested in the story trajectory as a whole! Typically, if a main character is brutally killed in the book I’m enjoying, I feel a bit more devastated. 😂

Body Count– (+7) ALL TEN and then some!

1. Mr. Justice Wargrave (shoots himself to replicate his faked death- 10)
2. Vera Claythorne (hangs herself- 9)
3. Philip Lombard (shot by Vera- 8)
4. Emily Brent (stabbed with a hypodermic syringe- 5)
5. General Macarthur (hit with a blunt object on the back of the head- 3)
6. Dr. Armstrong (drowned at sea- 6)
7. Tony Marston (chokes on cyanide- 1)
8. Mr. Blore (crushed to death with a block of marble- 7)
9. Rogers (ax to the back of the head- 4)
10. Mrs. Rogers (dies in her sleep from an overdose- 2)
11. ***Isaac Morris (drinks a poisoned cocktail, overdose)

Final Thoughts

Finished: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars)

This was the first time in recent memory I have ever intentionally slowed down to savor a book and not miss anything! Hats off to my first Agatha Christie experience- a WILD ride ya’ll. I would absolutely recommend this book and fully intend to read more from this author in the future.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Ms. Christie herself (one that was in the Author’s Note of my copy). I love that she is able to reflect fondly on her art and take pride in what she has created!

“It was well received and reviewed, but the person who was really pleased with it was myself, for I knew better than any critic how difficult it had been.”

Agatha Christie

What did you think of this book?

What should we read next?

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