AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie

From Amazon.com:

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear.  On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives.  One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts.  And one by one, they die...

Many years ago, when I was in 7th or 8th grade, the senior class of my high school presented "Ten Little Indians" as their class play.  The play, of course, was taken from this novel.  I remember sitting there enthralled by the mystery and not being able to figure out who the murderer could be.  When the ending revealed the identity of the guilty party, I was shocked.  And I couldn't wait until the next night so I could see the play again, this time watching closely for hidden clues.

I had never read this book.  I saw it mentioned on some blog during the past week or so and decided it was high time I read it.  I knew that the killer was one of the guests on the island, but the name escaped me.  Remember, it had been many, many years since I had seen the play.  As I read the book, I kept in mind that things were not as they seemed, but I still did not figure out "whodunnit."

I've read quite a few books by Ms. Christie, but this one tops the list for me.