Unsolvable!

Alright, this is going to be a bit of a rush job as I still have a pile of things to get done before work and I probably won't get a chance to do any internet related activities for a few days.

It turns out that I wasn't crazy. This one really was meant to be unsolvable. Everyone died, and the police were baffled. It turns out the Judge was the killer, and that was only revealed when his confession was found floating in a bottle out at sea. You see, Christie deliberately deprived us of key information, which isn't against the rules by any stretch of the imagination. It's just usual that eventually those things come to light. But the point is that it was absolutely an unsolvable crime until his confession was found.

It turns out that he had made an alliance with the Doctor. They faked his death, counting on the fact that the others would not want to approach another dead body, leaving the Doctor as the only person to examine him. They thought this would allow the Judge to sneak about and spy on everyone else and suss out the murder. It was untraceable since the short journal entries of the other guests all confirmed that the Judge was dead and, since Doctor Armstrong was the very next victim, there was no way to contradict that finding. So the Judge murdered them all, with two important exceptions.

Vera shot Lombard in, she believed, self defense. Then, in a haze of shock and depression, she went up to her room where the Judge had set up a noose ready for her use. She hung herself with barely a thought. The Judge explains in his confession that he wanted to deal with those who had the most guilt last, meaning he left her as the most heinous offender, which I completely agree with.

I do, however, take exception with his logic. He believes that he is dealing justice to untouchable criminals, but the fact is that only a handful of them thought they were actually responsible at all. For example, the Doctor knew he operated drunk, so he knew his guilt. Vera knew point blank that she had let that boy drown. The General knew he had sent his wife's lover to his death. But, let's take Miss Brent for example. Did she make some heartless choices in dismissing her maid after the girl got pregnant. Yes. But for the time period, not completely out of the norm. The girl took her own life after that. Was Miss Brent guilty of killing her? No, I don't think so. Not even a little. She was a bitch, to be sure, but she did not kill that girl. But even more to the point, not a single one of the guests seemed to feel any remorse for what they had done. I was just left with a lack of closure for their crimes I guess. But I guess that's the way of things. Murderers don't care what they've done. And even in death, they don't usually regret it.

I'm moving on to the Moving Finger next, but, as I said, it might be a while before I can comment on it.