Ten people are sent an invitation to a secluded island by someone none of them seem to remember knowing. Isolated from the world, they soon realize that this is no ordinary excursion. They are all trapped. And no one is coming to their rescue!

As the guests arrive at the island enclave, they discover that there is no obvious link between them and that nobody is quite sure who lured them there. They resolve to enjoy themselves regardless of their missing host's whereabouts. But when past crimes are brought to light, it becomes clear that their host's intentions are not benevolent.

And Then There Were None has a story and art by Aya Nikaidō. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Lettering by Joanna Estep. English adaptation by Molly Tanzer. Published by Viz Media (September 15, 2026). Rated OT.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Agatha Christie has been and still is so popular that her books are not only legendary; they created many of the tropes we still see in mysteries written today. Among her iconic series, of which there are too many to count, is the novel And Then There Were None. In this manga adaptation by Aya Nikaidō, we have a faithful and entertainingly tropey version of the famous novel.

10 complete strangers are brought to a mysterious island and accused of horrific crimes in their pasts. What it is that connects them and their missing hosts will make for a tense thriller that is also somehow kind of predictable. As a modern reader, even if you're not a fan of Christie's work, you may find yourself guessing some of the beats almost immediately. This is because this is the novel that created those particular tropes.

Nikaido's art is fantastic, with that specifically pleasant mix of open British landscape and claustrophobic society, and a focus on reaction shots to create a very cinematic feel. What works best here is the ability to have a moment in the present, overlayed with a moment in the past, or an inner thought, a technique for which manga is very well-suited. This gives the story more depth than the somewhat expository way Christie novels and the media based upon them tend to rely on. One has a sense of people dealing with personal trauma, as well as those reprobates who simply forgive their own sins, while punishing others' for theirs.

The characters are a mix of people designed to rub each other's last nerve, and the secrets which are revealed will hide more secrets below. We are immediately meant to like or dislike certain people instantly, and so we do, which will blind us to other clues, a classic Christie twist.

Locked mansion mysteries are a huge trope, in part because of the successes of writers like Christie, Ngaio Marsh and others, who set us up for a century of reading about rich and privileged people being killed off for sometimes poignant, often petty, reasons.

If reading a Christie novel has seemed overwhelming, or you've never really known where to start (do not start with Murder on the Orient Express), the manga adaptation of And Then There Were None is a terrific entry point into this oeuvre.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Of the three books I consistently name as my favorite, the one I enjoy in the most forms is Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. (Mansfield Park has yet to get an adequate adaptation and I'd never want anyone to try with The Shadow of the Wind.) This may be down to the fact that Christie herself created the first adaptation; in 1943 she adapted the 1939 novel into a stage play – which, I might add, has a different ending than the novel. (Which are they using to adapt the manga? You'll have to read through volume three to find out.) Over the years there have been numerous films, novels (including The Decagon House Murders, which also has a manga version), and games based on Christie's book, and while they aren't all equal (Ten by Gretchen McNeil sure is a thing), they all work at least to a degree because the source is so good.

Aya Nikaidō is no stranger to illustrating Christie; she's done interior illustrations and covers for numerous Japanese translations. Although this doesn't often quote directly from the book – there are a few lines – it's close enough to the original to feel natural, and the translation only slips up a couple of times, such as when Vera Claythorne anachronistically exclaims, “Wow!” upon entering the Owens' home. Nikaido's art instead ably enhances the narrative in a variety of ways. My personal favorite is the way she turns panel borders into art deco showpieces, particularly when Emily Brent is the focus character. The artwork shows us just how religiously self-righteous Emily is through the use of beams of light and crosses. Similarly, both Philip Lombard and Vera Claythorne are perfectly depicted; Vera has the sweet innocence her role demands while Lombard is sexily sinister – which he absolutely needs to be. Justice Wargrave and Dr. Armstrong also look exactly right, particularly in their usual facial expressions of “disapproval” and “anxiety” respectively. I don't love that General MacArthur and Mr. Blore look so mangafied – the general's scar and Blore's facial features speak more to manga tropes than Christie characters – but the writing allows for us to move past that.

Lest anyone be leery, this manga is based on the most recent linguistic updates to Christie's novel. That means that there are “ten little soldier boys” instead of “ten little racial slurs” (they've gone through two over the years), although racist attitudes are present among the characters, both because 1939 and because it's important to at least one backstory and it is reviled by others. Almost all of the clues Christie presented in the original novel are present, with a few bonuses, although a change demanded by the format means that a major one is somewhat delayed. You can still figure it out, though. And Then There Were None is simply an excellent adaptation of a great mystery novel. I've already read the entire manga in the French edition and am thrilled that now I can shove it at English readers as well.

Lauren Orsini
Rating:

I'll always be on board with new adaptations of And Then There Were None in hopes that this increased accessibility encourages new readers to pick up Agatha Christie's masterpiece of the murder mystery genre. For the unfamiliar, Agatha Christie is the first, and often still the best, to ever do it when it comes to some of the most timeless mystery tropes. And Then There Were None is a standout because the title gives the whole game away. By the end of the story, there really is nobody left—but you'll still be on the edge of your seat wondering how it happened. It would be difficult to screw up Agatha Christie's classic thriller, but this adaptation does more than simply preserve it. It elevates the source material with a dynamic manga style and striking visuals that bring emotional weight to character's flashbacks while emphasizing the story's most dramatic scenes in the present. Even though I've read the book more than once, this quick-paced manga style breathed new life into the story, pulling me in instantly.

Ten strangers have each received a mysterious letter to arrive at the remote island home of a certain Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen. Each person has their own reasons for wanting to escape their troubles for the summer, and the Owens' home on Soldier Island feels like the perfect place to turn over a new leaf. But something strange is afoot: nobody has actually met the Owens, not even their butler and maid! When the phonograph plays a record accusing each of the ten people of murder, they quickly realize they've all fallen into a trap. After that come the deaths. Stranger still, the deaths seem to mirror the verses of a popular children's rhyme. Are these ten people doomed, or is there still a possibility that any of them can escape judgment? It's an engrossing premise, so it's no surprise it's the bestselling murder mystery of all time. What makes the manga stand out among its many adaptations is its expressiveness. From the stodgy Lawrence Wargrave to the reproachful Emily Brent, the characters look exactly like I pictured them. Artist Aya Nikaidō, who has previously illustrated covers for many Japanese editions of Christie novels, really has a feel for these characters, endearing us to their quirky personality traits before revealing the dark secret each person is holding within. The visuals instantly raise the stakes, making it impossible to look away from both the current predicament and the gravity of their crimes in the past.

I read this review copy twice because I was so excited for more to come out. I can't emphasize enough that I have read this novel often enough that I know exactly what's going to happen—and it drew me in even so. The manga is a fresh way to experience this 1939 classic, and I have already pre-ordered the next volume, which is scheduled to come out in January 2027.