There are murderers aplenty, including Ted Bundy and Denis Rader snippets of police jargon like BINGO seat (I’ll leave you to find out what that is) poisons gun stats drugs info forensics information such as lividity details and even a lock-down entry (in reference to prison jargon). The detail and research that has gone into so many entries is unbelievably good.

This is an essential book for all writers and lovers of crime. But beware, there are spoilers there!Īnd now for one of my favourite crime books of the year, that no crime writer should be without.

If you’d like to read a little more about this book and it’s various adaptations, including the most recent Sarah Phelps’ version, there is a full article on the blog section here. It’s also based on my favourite place in the world, Burgh Island. This is not just one of Agatha Christie’s best, this is one of the greatest murder mysteries of all time. Abandoned on an isolated island, the claustrophobic atmosphere and nervous tension begin immediately. It is a ‘whodunnit’ but an examination of the nature of justice itself, an examination of the darker sides of humanity. This is the ultimate murder mystery and yet there is no detective. Each character is beautifully drawn and they form a unique structure, a hierarchy of sins. I will not give it away, but I’m yet to meet anyone who solved it. Agatha Christie pits herself against her audience and challenges them to solve the puzzle. It is a perfectly crafted book where the tension does not let up from page one. This is an excercise in not only testing the reader’s little grey cells this time, but also an examination of punishment and retribution. It says, ‘It was my ambition to invent a murder mystery that no one could solve.’ And that is exactly what Agatha Christie achieves with this book. Burgh Island which inspired And Then There Were NoneĪt the end of this novel, a message is found in a bottle.

The Christmas Top by Christi Snow