The set-up: An Agatha Christie novel, specifically And Then There Were None. This does not blow a surprise, it is referenced several times in the text. Ten strangers are mysteriously deposited into a house, doors bolted, windows shuttered and nailed down, very little light, and no reason given for why they are there. After dinner, a woman rushes in to say that a serial killer has dispensed with several young women by drugging, brutalizing and burying them alive. There is still one alive but her air will deplete in 12 hours-find the killer and the woman and you might be freed from the house. The "game" is played through the eyes of the ten strangers who must figure out how to save the captive without losing their own lives. The eleventh character comments on the action and promises a twist at the end that will rock your world.
Promises made, promises kept. There is a twist that sheds a new light on the whole novel, but I'm on the fence about whether the end is justified by the action of the rest of the book...and I've read some other doozies of twistiness. In the author's favor, it has bothered me a lot since I finished the book but I keep coming up with no, this doesn't flow. It's worth a read though to see if you agree or disagree with my conclusions...possible fodder for a lively mystery discussion.
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