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KODAMA / MYSTERY 2026
Mystery · Psychology · Investigation

And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie

Ten strangers are lured to an isolated mansion on Soldier Island. One by one, they are accused of past crimes and executed according to a sinister nursery rhyme.

Author Agatha Christie
Publication 1939
Country United Kingdom
Original Publisher Collins Crime Club
Full Title And Then There Were None
Type Locked-room mystery novel
The best-selling mystery novel in history. Devon, England · 1939
KODAMA ARCHIVE MYSTERY
01
About the book

Ten strangers, an isolated island, and a game with no survivors.

Ten individuals, each hiding a dark secret from their past, receive invitations to a mansion on an isolated island off the Devon coast. Upon arrival, their mysterious host is nowhere to be found, leaving behind only a gramophone recording that accuses every guest of a murder that escaped legal justice.

As weather conditions cut off all communication with the mainland, the guests begin dying one after another in ways that mirror a framed nursery rhyme in their rooms. With no detective on site and paranoia taking over, they realize the killer is among them.

A desolate rocky island surrounded by stormy dark ocean waters under a moody overcast sky.
“
Ten Little Soldier Boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine.
KODAMA / EDITORIAL NOTE
The author 1890 — 1976

Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha Christie remains the most widely published novelist in human history. With over two billion books sold across the globe, she defined the mystery genre through her meticulous plotting, psychological tension, and unmatched knack for misdirection.

Christie herself noted that And Then There Were None was the most difficult book of her career to write. Constructing a believable murder mystery with ten deaths, no detective, and an inescapable setting required an unprecedented level of structural precision.

ABOUT AGATHA CHRISTIE

Also the author of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, and Death on the Nile.

Archive

A few things that make the book even more intriguing.

01

Top-selling mystery of all time.

With over 100 million copies sold worldwide, it holds the record as the best-selling mystery novel in history and one of the best-selling books of all time.

02

No detective to solve the case.

Unlike most of Christie's works featuring Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, this novel features no central investigator—leaving the characters to investigate one another.

03

The ultimate "Locked-Room" archetype.

It perfected the isolated setting archetype, where the killer is guaranteed to be one of the suspects trapped in an inescapable location.

04

Christie's hardest plot to construct.

Agatha Christie stated in her autobiography that the mathematical precision needed to kill ten characters without making the murderer obvious was her greatest writing challenge.

On screen & stage

When the island came to life.

The story has seen countless theatrical, cinematic, and television interpretations across the world over the decades.

1945

And Then There Were None (Film)

Directed by René Clair, this classic Hollywood film adaptation brought the mystery to the big screen with an altered theatrical ending.

2015

And Then There Were None (BBC Miniseries)

A critically acclaimed BBC drama starring Charles Dance, Sam Neill, and Maeve Dermody, noted for being the first live-action English adaptation to retain Christie's original dark ending.

Watch

The story behind the book.

A detailed review and analysis of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and why it remains the peak of mystery fiction.

ARCHIVE FILM Agatha Christie · Devon · 1939
Dark atmospheric imagery suggesting an old mansion and storm-swept sea.
Legacy

The blueprint for psychological horror & mystery.

And Then There Were None created the foundation for modern slasher and survival-thriller storytelling. By stripping away external help and turning every character into both suspect and victim, Christie created an atmosphere of paranoia that remains unmatched.

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