And Then There Were None audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Ten strangers are lured to an island off the Devon coast, and one by one they start to die. It edges to print for its ten shifting viewpoints, but Dan Stevens’s praised reading keeps it close.
Read it on Kindle
Read And Then There Were None, but only just. SparkNotes says the point of view “constantly shifts back and forth between each of the ten characters”, and that is easier to keep hold of on the page when one reader voices all ten. Dan Stevens’s audiobook is a fair choice too: AudioFile says his “ability to inhabit each character’s full range of emotions” makes the book “grander still”.
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The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict | US edition |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Dan Stevens | Dan Stevens |
| Length | 6 hours 1 minute (6h 1m), unabridged | 6 hours 1 minute (6h 1m), unabridged |
| At 1.5x | about 4h 1m | about 4h 1m |
| At 2x | about 3h 1m | about 3h 1m |
| Audio publisher and date | HarperCollins, 10 April 2014 | William Morrow Paperbacks, 10 September 2013 |
| Audiobook price | £13.78 on Audible UK | $21.59 on Audible US |
| Kindle price | £5.99 on Amazon UK | Not listed |
| HarperCollins paperback, 250 to 320 pages (listings vary), 2025 reissue | Not checked | |
| Listener rating | Performance 4.78 from 2,341 ratings | Performance 4.74 from 18,991 ratings |
Dan Stevens and Hugh Fraser both read the full text alone, so the newer recording, Stevens’s from 2014, is the one scored. The US listing has the same narrator and length; we couldn’t confirm whether it is the same master recording.
Hugh Fraser’s 2006 reading (5h 36m) is on Audible UK; on Audible US it appears only in a two-book bundle. The BBC full-cast version (1h 26m) is a radio dramatisation, not the full text, so it isn’t scored, and a learners’ edition is abridged. Ratings and prices checked 6 November 2026. Prices change often. US Kindle prices are left out, as Amazon only shows them to US visitors.
Lengths checked 6 November 2026. Speed times are calculated.
And Then There Were None
Agatha Christie
- Genre
- Classic crime
- First published
- November 1939
- Length
- 250 to 320 pages (UK paperback)
- On audio
- 6 hrs 1 min, Dan Stevens
- On screen
- BBC One series, 2015; films from 1945
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Checked, not a factor here (11)
Praised narration (6) gives listening 6 points, while ten points of view read by one narrator (8) give reading 8. That puts it at 54%, a close call that edges to print.
Every book gets the same thirteen checks, set in advance. Verdicts are never paid for or influenced by affiliate links. Last edited 6 November 2026, and rechecked every year as editions and narrators change. Read the checks in full · Is listening the same as reading? See what the research says.
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Dan Stevens, HarperCollins, 2014, 6h 1m, unabridged
- Critic review
- AudioFile: “made grander still by Dan Stevens’s ability to inhabit each character’s full range of emotions”
- Alternatives
- Hugh Fraser, HarperCollins, 2006 (5h 36m); BBC full-cast dramatisation (1h 26m), not scored
- What you miss
- Nothing we found: no map, plan or PDF
What this book actually is
And Then There Were None is Agatha Christie’s 1939 mystery. Ten strangers are lured to an island off the Devon coast, each accused of having caused a death in the past, and they begin to die one by one, following the verses of a nursery rhyme, “Ten Little Soldier Boys”, that hangs in every room.
There is no detective: the guests are left to work it out for themselves, and an epilogue explains the solution. It first appeared in the UK under a different title, and BBC One adapted it as a three-part series in 2015. It includes a series of murders, poisoning among them.
The case for reading it
The narrator moves into one guest’s head after another, ten in all, and Dan Stevens voices every one of them. In print you can see at once whose thoughts you are reading and turn back to check what someone was thinking a chapter ago, which helps if you are trying to solve it yourself.
It is short, so it suits a sitting or two. Critics in 1939 praised the puzzle more than the prose, and on the page you can set your own pace through the clues.
The case for listening to it
Dan Stevens is the reason to listen. AudioFile says he “ratchets up the mutual suspicion and ensuing panic beautifully”, so you hear the fear spread from guest to guest as the deaths mount.
Listeners rate his performance 4.78 on Audible UK and 4.74 on Audible US, and at just over six hours it fits into an evening or two.
The audiobook in detail
Dan Stevens reads the whole book alone. The scored listing is HarperCollins on Audible UK, released on 10 April 2014 and running 6 hours 1 minute, unabridged. William Morrow sells the same reading at the same length on Audible US.
AudioFile reviewed this reading in October 2013 and praised his range across the ten characters. No award was found, and no PDF comes with it.
Who should ignore this verdict
If you like to solve a mystery as you go, read it: ten viewpoints are easier to keep apart on the page. If you would rather sit back and let the suspense build, Dan Stevens’s reading is a strong choice, and the gap between the formats is small.
Kindle
- 250 to 320 pages (UK paperback)
- See whose head you are in at a glance
- About 5½ hours to read (our estimate)
Related verdicts
Death on the Nile
Another Christie classic, from this batch.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Christie’s famous Poirot, with a full cast on audio.
Murder on the Orient Express
Christie’s other closed-circle classic, read by Kenneth Branagh.
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
A Christie country-house murder with a big cast.
Midwinter Murder
Christie stories read by Fenella Woolgar.
Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel
Guests cut off in one place.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the And Then There Were None audiobook?
Dan Stevens reads the main unabridged audiobook for HarperCollins. An older unabridged reading by Hugh Fraser and a BBC full-cast radio dramatisation are also on Audible.
How long is the And Then There Were None audiobook?
Dan Stevens’s recording runs 6 hours 1 minute: about 4 hours 1 minute at 1.5x and 3 hours 1 minute at 2x (calculated). Hugh Fraser’s runs 5 hours 36 minutes.
Is the And Then There Were None audiobook abridged?
No. The Stevens and Fraser recordings are unabridged. The 1 hour 26 minute BBC version is a radio dramatisation, not the full text.
How many pages is And Then There Were None?
The current UK HarperCollins paperback (ISBN 9780008123208) is listed at 250 to 320 pages, depending on the retailer.
Is there a TV series of And Then There Were None?
Yes. BBC One showed a three-part adaptation by Sarah Phelps from 26 December 2015.
Is there a film of And Then There Were None?
Yes, several, starting with René Clair’s 1945 film, with others in 1965, 1974 and 1989. No new adaptation had been announced as of November 2026.
Who is the detective in And Then There Were None?
There is no detective. The ten guests are left to work it out themselves, and the story moves between all ten of them.
What is the rhyme in And Then There Were None?
In current editions it is “Ten Little Soldier Boys”, and a copy hangs in every room on the island.
Was And Then There Were None published under another title?
Yes. It first appeared in the UK under a different title; current editions use And Then There Were None.
Should I read or listen to And Then There Were None?
Read, but only just. The story keeps shifting between all ten guests, which is easier to follow on the page when one reader voices them all. Listen if you want the suspense performed: AudioFile praises Dan Stevens’s reading, and the gap between the formats is small.
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