Maggie Stiefvater's Reviews > And Then There Were None

This one's a classic; nearly everyone—reader or watcher—will have seen a piece of media inspired by it (in fact, we only recently rewatched Clue here in Stiefvaterland). Supposedly it is the world's best-selling mystery. I expected it to be dated (originally published in 1939 with an eye-buggingly problematic title), and the details were, of course, but the structure was as elegant and modern as anything you might hope to find today. It's a sparse, wicked thought exercise. With ten main characters, it's also a masterclass in juggling reader attention; Christie takes very little time in making sure we can easily tell them all apart.

Christie wrote: "I don't say it is the play or book of mine that I like best, or even that I think it is my best, but I do think in some ways that it is a better piece of craftsmanship than anything else I have written."

I don't know about that, but I do know it's effortlessly deserving of its classic status.