Published by: HarperCollins
Pages: 256
Date released: 03/12/2015
Date read: 17/01/2021
First, there were ten – a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal – and a secret that will seal their face. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion. When they realise that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.
As a child, I thought the only books my grandmother would read were murder mysteries, particularly Agatha Christie. In fact, I don’t ever remember her reading anything that wasn’t some kind of historical murder mystery. Personally, I enjoy watching television detective programmes such as Miss Marple, Midsummer Murders and Morse (clearly an M theme going on here), but I am going to put my hand up and admit I had never read an Agatha Christie book myself. But as I’ve mentioned in other reviews, murder mysteries generally are not for me.
It took me a while to get into this book, I wasn’t sure whether it was going to be my kind of thing. I feel I may have started with quite a complicated one though. It follows ten different characters on an island who all their meet their death one by one. To begin with, I struggled to keep on top of who was who and what they were doing and what was going on. I even spoke to someone who had a notebook next to them as they read it so they could keep on top of the characters (why didn’t I think of that?) But as I got on,, I became sucked in to the story, desperate to figure it out before the end.
However, even five pages from the end, it still wasn’t clear to me who the killer was (I won’t spoil it for you), which I suppose is what makes Christie out greatest murder mystery writer.
I am not in any desperate rush to read any more of her books as I still don’t think they’re my kind of book, but if one happens to fall into my lap, I will give her another go.
Books By Your Bedside 