# books / And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie

Christie opens with an author’s note:

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.

The concise note explains the amount of planning that went into this book, with a plot deceptively simple and masterfully woven.

clear, straightforward, baffling, and yet had a perfectly reasonable explanation

I need not try to put it any differently, except to add that this book pulled me in with a firm grip. I am a slow reader, but I finished this in one dark, mysterious evening. I sat in my living room, searching for the murderer as if among the plain faces of these acquaintances Christie had conjured in front of me. The book disappeared from between my hands. I was there, on the island, wretched with nerves as I waited eagerly for what was to come next.

This was one of the most visceral reading experiences I’ve had. The book would simply not put me down.

Christie switches perspectives so seamlessly that the large cast quickly becomes familiar. We come to think we know each person, making our fears and suspicions all the more acute. You and the murderer are both among this motley crew.

I shall say no more, for I wish not to rob you one inch of pleasure from this beguiling mystery.