And Then There Were None #1

Initially, I picked And Then There Were None because I was intrigued by the enticing mystery of it. And it turns out, I was right about the enticing mystery! I read this book while on a community service trip in Costa Rica and Belize through a camp program called Moondance; reading this book on the trip certainly didn't make sleeping somewhere foreign any easier. I'd like to thank Agatha Christie for the nightmares.  The best part of this book, the part that truly wrapped the story into an exciting, yet somewhat predictable one, was the poem that went with it. The poem, originally written back in the late 60's by a man named Frank Green, has a seriously dark and twisted scheme to it. The poem goes like this:


Ten Little Soldier Boys Went Out To Dine
One Choked His Little Self And Then There Were Nine

Nine Little Soldier Boys Sat Up Very Late
One Overslept Himself And Then There Were Eight

Eight Little Soldier Boys Traveling 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 Playing With A Hive
A Bumblebee Stung One And Then There Were Five

Five Little Soldier Boys Going In For Law
One Got In Chancery 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 Were One

One Little Soldier Boy Left All Alone
He Went And Hanged Himself And Then There Were None

Each murder that happened in the story, went right along with the poem, starting with the death of Anthony Marston who was poisoned and "choked" on his wine at dinner. Next came Mrs. Rogers, who was also poisoned and died in her sleep, another way to say she "overslept" herself. After Mrs. Rogers was the death of General Macarthur, then Mr. Rogers, and so on and so forth. I loved that each death followed that of a soldier boy in the Mr. Green's poem. And all though each death was anticipated, the author did a great job of creatively putting a twist on each murder. For example, the line, "Three little soldier boys walking in the zoo, a big bear hugged one and then there were two," corresponds with the death of William Blore, when a grandfather clock shaped like a bear was pushed out of the window and down onto Blore, but a literal bear did not kill him. I thought that the plot of the story was well done and I overall enjoyed the story.