Somewhere in middle of this mystery novel; one character says to another- this(the situation they are in) looks to be an act of supernatural; the other character responds – this is queer enough for an act of man. And what an act it is!
Agatha writes in preface that this has been the most difficult Novel of her career- a career where she has written 66 novels all of them worthy enough to be atleast 4 stars by any comparison. This itself is the greatest yardstick.
The premise of Novel is 10 people are invited on an isolated island where their host is not present. There is a poem - 10 little Indians- framed in their rooms and one by one the visitors are murdered- exactly as per the poem. Christies plotting ability are extra ordinary. The story moves briskly; almost too briskly; leaving you gasping. The dialogues are short and to the point without revealing much, how you would expect with people stuck in a situation where everybody is suspecting each other and scared to the bone for life and how does that work? Brilliantly- short dialogue and rapid pace creates a tension like no other. The chapters have numbers, not names, hence not revealing the focus of the chapter like other Christie Novels. You are rushing with survivors with the clock ticking try to figure out who is murdering, why and how he is hiding. The story and the then survivors stay with you long after you complete the Novel.
Christie gives you only two clues- which you will figure out toward the end and frankly they are too difficult to make out when they appear in the passage. If you are able to figure that out- I salute you. As with any Christie Novel- the big surprise is revealed in last few pages, hence if you have a habit of skipping to the last page of the novel- do yourself a favour- staple or tape last few pages. Trust me you really don’t want to miss the feeling when the secret is revealed in the progressive manner.
If you like murder mystery- not reading this novel is a blasphemy. Beg, borrow, steal but do read this novel. It’s just too brilliant- almost supernatural!