Book Review: Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie

Book:Ten Little Indians
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery

Julia Rating: 10 out of 10

Comments: Grahame commented ages ago, asking me to do a review of one of Agatha Christie's brilliant works Ten Little Indians aka And Then There Were None. I've named this post Ten Little Indians because that's the title I read it under several years ago. It was my first Agatha Christie book and it got me hooked on her fantastic writing.
Ten Little Indians is about ten people being invited to a home on an island. All of these people have a few skeletons in the closet. They are all invited by someone they know, and are surprised to see each other. Once they are seated around the dining room table, their host begins speaking through a gramophone. Not one person - not even the reader - knows who the host is until the surprise twist at the very end.

The novel has a little nursery rhyme in it that might intrigue you enough to pick the book up:

Ten Little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red hearing swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

Creepy, huh? Can you believe that's a nursery rhyme? Anyway, that rhyme is what the story is based off of and it's a really fabulous read. The ending is a total surprise and I adore it.

Book Review: The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

The Book: The Secret of Chimneys
The Author: Agatha Christie

Julia Rating: 8 out of 10

My Comments:
I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, and I love that this one isn't a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot book - I like to shake things up every once in a while. This book was fantastic. I don't really like the info on the back of the book, so I'll do my own blurb:
In a strange set of coincidences the mysterious Anthony Cade is commissioned by his friend to return to Jolly Old England to deliver a package of letters and a scandalous manuscript. Once there, he runs into all sorts of trouble with the manuscript and finds out that everything is connected to the elusive King Victor - a master criminal that the English Scotland Yard and French Surete are trying to catch. Becoming a suspect himself, Anthony becomes embroiled in the police search for King Victor. His only way out is to prove his innocence by finding the real King Victor.
I really enjoyed the book. It was compelling, with many twists and turns. The only reason I give it an eight is that the chain of coincidences Agatha Christie depicts are too good to be true for any fiction writer. It makes the story rather unbelievable, which is a shame, because I'd really like to believe it.