The book that topped the international online poll held in Agatha Christie's 125th birthday year to discover which of her 80 crime books was the world's favourite.

1939. Europe teeters on the brink of war. Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated rock near the Devon coast. Cut off from the mainland, with their generous hosts Mr and Mrs U.N. Owen mysteriously absent, they are each accused of a terrible crime. When one of the party dies suddenly they realise they may be harbouring a murderer among their number.

The 10 strangers include a reckless playboy, a troubled Harley Street doctor, a formidable judge, an uncouth detective, an unscrupulous mercenary, a God-fearing spinster, two restless servants, a highly decorated general and an anxious secretary. One by one they are picked off. Who will survive? And who is the killer? Copies of an ominous nursery rhyme hang in each room, the murders mimicking the awful fates of its 'Ten Little Soldier Boys'.

The clear winner in an international online poll held to discover the world's favourite Agatha Christie book, this new paperback also coincides with a new 3-part BBC TV adaptation featuring a stellar ensemble cast: Douglas Booth, Charles Dance, Maeve Dermody, Burn Gorman, Anna Maxwell Martin, Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Toby Stephens, Noah Taylor and Aidan Turner.

The best-selling murder mystery of all time

About the Author

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, the most popular detective since Sherlock Holmes. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime and her works have sold over two billion copies - 80 crime books, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Reviews

'One of the very best, most genuinely bewildering Christies.'
Observer

'The most astonishingly impudent, ingenious and altogether successful mystery story since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.'
Daily Herald

'One of the most ingenious thrillers in many a day.'
Time Magazine

'There is no doubt that this is a highly ingenious jigsaw by a master of puzzling.'
Books

'There is no cheating; the reader is just bamboozled in a straightforward way from first to last... The most colossal achievement of a colossal career. The book must rank with Mrs Christie's previous best - on the top notch of detection.'
New Statesman

'The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery Agatha Christie has ever written.'
New York Times

Book Information
ISBN 9780008123208
Author Agatha Christie
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint HarperCollins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 16mm