On November 7, Books on Tap met to discuss Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.  It is her most best-selling book and the world’s best-selling mystery with over 100 million copies sold. For some it was the first book by Christie that they had read. 

Overall the group agreed it was nice to have a shorter, lighter book to read.  But responses to the novel were mixed.  Some readers were frustrated that it seemed impossible to actually solve the puzzle; that the author withheld necessary information until the very end.  One reader said it made them feel like they were failing a test.  Others saw that as the point, that you don’t know what’s going to happen and that Christie made it impossibleto figure out who did it. 

Many in the group agreed that having 10 main characters made it difficult to keep track of everyone.  One reader kept a list of characters and the order in which they were killed. Another said they didn’t bother trying to track the details of all of the characters because they knew everyone was going to die.

The order of the deaths was deliberately chosen with those guilty of the most egregious crimes left until last to have time for their fear to grow.  There was some disagreement about the order chosen.  Several felt that the first to die, a man responsible for the deaths of two children while driving drunk and recklessly, was worse than others who were killed later.  Some readers pointed out that drunk and reckless driving has only recently become considered such an awful crime.  In the late 1930’s, those with cars were often wealthy and arrogant and such behavior was likely more common. 

The group discussed how different characters’ thoughts developed over time as they waited to see who would be the next to die.  The reader gets to see some of that in the General who was responsible for the death of his wife’s lover.  But it is most clear in Vera.  She is the last one and the only one who commits suicide – other than the mastermind of the murders.  Some speculated that she was last so her thoughts would have time to develop and she would begin to feel guilty enough to take her own life.

One of the appeals of the book for some readers was its historical context, the way it acts as a window on how society worked at the time.  It was interesting how the different characters with different backgrounds spoke to each other.  The group found it odd how after his wife’s death, Mr. Rogers kept serving them.  Others commented on how killing the cook early on meant they all ended up eating tinned food.  It was a sign of its time that only the women made the meals.  Earlier titles for this book reflected racist tropes of the time, attitudes that still appeared in references to “that little jew” and phrases from contemporary children’s nursery rhymes.

Opinions on the ending were mixed.  Some liked the way everything was wrapped up neatly.  Others thought it would have been interesting to have one of the characters figure it out but not get the chance to tell the others.  That would have also provided some clues to the readers.  One participant suggested it would be interesting to rewrite the story for the social media age with everyone winning a contest on Instagram or another platform, all organized by an evil genius.