一個都不留 And Then There Were None 讀後感-每個人都有秘密

阿嘉莎 克莉絲蒂當屬推理小說天后級人物，但在過去，我也只閱讀過「東方快車謀殺案」與「畸屋」兩部小說罷了。這兩部小說只有一個共通點：我都沒猜到那令人出乎意料的結局，今年回到台灣，將許多閱讀的能量找回來，這個月的書單中，也加了一本「一個都不留」，這本克嬸嬸的經典之作。

與東方快車相似之處，故事一開始用少數簡單篇幅讓多位主角現身，並以不同的理由被邀請到了「戰士島」這個無人島。無人島的故事在很多推理劇中都會出現，而本書是我目前讀過，處理最精彩的。

介紹完諸位主角後，故事的主軸開始，第一天的晚餐後，壁櫥後的留聲機卻告白，說明每個人到這裡，是因為都曾經謀殺過他人。這個詭異的惡作劇，頓時讓在座的賓客驚訝不已。

故事的劇情自此開始，主要有三個重點：

1. 每個人的房間都有一首童謠(請見文末)，是關於10個小黑人如何一個一個失去生命，而故事的每個主角，幾乎以與童謠相似的方式，離開人世。
2. 隨著故事的走向，各人的犯罪與自白，都以各種不同的形式，呈現在讀者眼前。
3. 因為人人都可能是犯人，使得每個參與的人彼此猜忌，讀者也同時會陷入解謎的趣味中。

有些時候，故事內容會讓讀者覺得驚嘆，這種詭計是可能成功的嗎？但推理天后著實厲害，憑藉著周全的詭計安排，硬生生完成了這部精彩的本格小說，再想一次，仍然覺得犯人的佈局頗是厲害。

另一個我喜歡的點，在於最後犯人出現的方式，以一種極為特別而有趣的「表達」方式，讓讀者得以周知本案全貌，這種做法，想必在當時，應屬相當前衛。但要達成兇手的詭計，以這種方式出現，似乎也是沒有辦法的辦法了！

最後，附上該童謠原文版(摘自網路)：

Ten Little Niggers

Ten little nigger boys went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little nigger boys sat up very late;

One overslept himself and then there were Eight.

Eight little nigger boys travelling in Devon;

One said he'd stay there and then there were Seven.

Seven little nigger boys chopping up sticks;

One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.

Six little nigger boys playing with a hive;

A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.

Five little nigger boys going in for law;

One got into Chancery and then there were Four.

Four little nigger boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.

Three little nigger boys walking in the Zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.

Two little nigger boys sitting in the sun;

One got frizzled up and then there was One.

One little nigger boy left all alone;

He went out and hanged himself and then there were None.