Sandra Day O'Connor: Paving the Way

This was good - Christie does a marvelous job of drawing each character distinctly. I had no trouble keeping straight who was who - a problem I sometimes encounter in mysteries!

The premise is of course a seminal one. Long before reading this, I've enjoyed the movies Clue and Murder by Death, and clearly they owe so much to this single novel. Christie carefully sets and orchestrates the story so her characters are trapped, and they know beyond a reasonable doubt that they're the only people on the island. Then - let the mistrust and paranoia begin!

And I think she plays pretty fair - I didn't figure out the mystery, but when it's explained (hang in there, it gets done), it does track without any authorial shenanigans.

There were two things I didn't care for - the final death seems too convenient, and planned much less meticulously than the others. The second thing is to do with the title - I'll put a spoiler in case you don't already know - I'd say read it without researching this! You can't help but cringe every time you read the word "soldier," knowing it originally said "n****r." Just - HOW, how did society not blink at that?! Well, I'm glad we've made some progress at least.