5/20/1939 And Then There Were None...

May 20, 1939.  Agatha Christie seemed determined to try every possible variation of the murderer-suspects-victim-detective combination.  This date saw the publication in the Saturday Evening Post of the first episode of the American edition of And Then There Were None, one of her most audacious explorations of her chosen field.

Ten people, all with shady pasts, are guests on an island.  There is no way off.  And somebody is killing them all, one by one...  The climax is breathtaking.

The New York Times Book Review: "The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery that Agatha Christie has ever written, and if any other writer has ever surpassed it for sheer puzzlement the name escapes our memory. We are referring, of course, to mysteries that have logical explanations, as this one has. It is a tall story, to be sure, but it could have happened."