Never Coming Home

Ten social media influencers are invited from all over the world to spend a week of luxury and extravagance on the Unknown Island, away from the tiring world. A golden opportunity to gain more fame, right?
But when the lavish holiday turns into a sinister murder massacre, fame is the last thing on everybody’s mind.

Unknown island has gained a lot of popularity since its launch. A group of elite class philanthropist who want to bring great minds together and want to remain anonymous is behind this successful organization. The org promises a week of holiday on an island resort with clear beaches, blue skies and every luxury one could imagine. The best part? It’s completely free.

When ten, under twenty, social-media-super-stars are selected by the Unknown Island to enjoy a holiday, they deem this chance too good to miss and all ten of them head out to the Island.

However, they are surprised to find that there is no official welcome, no entourage even no workers at the resort. As of the resort, it is hardly a resort. The bedrooms have no furniture except beds and kitchen is sparsely furnished. The beach is teeming with wilderness and snakes. Previously a prison, the Island still seems more hostile than hospitable.
And when one by one they all begin to die mysteriously, the survivors need to figure out a way to leave the island before something… or someone gets them too.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

So many “And Then There Were None” retellings and I regret to inform you that they are seriously not that good. Dull and boring. The same story, different fonts.

If you are going to write this trope, at least bring a new twist!

Guess who dies first? The condescending girl who admits that she has already killed someone once.
Guess who’s next? The rich girl who wants to win at any rate, even if she has to kill everyone else.
Guess how the last two die? Of course, murder and suicide. That’s old and I’m so angry that it happened this way because it has already happened this way, way many times!

The girl who is allergic to bees dies because of bees and the rich cook is stabbed with his own knife and the girl who loved swimming is choked to death!

Boring!

I liked how the writer tried to keep the killer anonymous but everyone gets it. The story had the potential to be great if only it had run off in some other direction and not exactly copied Agatha Christie. Though I am yet to read a retelling that I’ll love as much as the original.
The only retelling which I enjoyed and which didn’t copy Christie word to word was Alice Feeney’s Daisy Darker. That book had a different and very, very much enjoyable ending. And honestly, this book has upset me so badly, I am going to need to read something better soon.