"Ten Little Soldier Boys went out to Dine, one choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine Little Soldier Boys stayed up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight Little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven Little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six Little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five Little Soldier Boys going through a door; One stubbed his toe and then there were four.
Four Little Soldier Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three Little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One. "
- This seems like a nursery poem,which was its original purpose but the events related to it in the book is horrific to state the least.
The poem itself has an eerie feeling about it and this is how we begin “the queen of crime” Agatha Christie’s masterpiece ‘And Then There Were None’. I plan to dedicate an entire article to the life and works of Christie in the future but for now what our readers need to know is that after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie is undisputedly the best in the field of crime and thrillers.
So without further wait let's jump into the setting of the story. We are presented with ten complete strangers who are stranded on an isolated island Mansion off the Devon Coast. They were lured here by some “UN. OWEN” and were completely unaware of the horror that was to follow. All of the ten gathered are accused of a deadly secret as dangerous as murder and to add on that, one by one the guests are killed off in the manner of the horrific poem which I provided in the starting of the article.
The characters in the story have been sketched in such a way that everyone brings something different to the story and the story is incomplete without any of them - imagine pieces of an incomplete puzzle.The story might be a little slow paced in the beginning but once you get the grip of it ,there's no going back from there. As the characters narrate their back stories ,the readers will understand everything is not what it seems and they will have to dwell deeper. I won't say anything else because I want you to find it out for yourselves.
With over hundred million copies sold, ‘and then there were none’ is the world’s best-selling mystery novel. Agatha Christie spins her web of mystery in a spectacular fashion leading upto a plot twist that’s gonna make you think for hours. She sets the pace perfectly for every crime that takes place and saves the big reveal for the end. As a lover of mystery and crime thriller my personal verdict will be that this is a must read and you wont regret after finishing it. Quoting from the ‘Spectator’, “Its Agatha Christie’s masterpiece” .