Review by Booklist Review
Is this a parody of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (1939) or an homage? It's probably a little bit of both. Ten insects, all with something to hide, receive invitations to a weekend getaway on a mysterious island. The boat delivering them to the island has gone, the phones are dead, and none of the guests have any idea who their host is. As, one by one, the insects are found dead, the guests begin to turn on each other. Is there a killer among them? Or is this all just one big misunderstanding? The comic timing in this farce is perfect. The causes of death move from silly to sublime, pushing the envelope when it comes to suspension of disbelief. The artwork is simple but expressive. The insects flail their arms in anger and excitement, the colors are obvious and effective, and the ridiculous twist at the end is paced beautifully. Tweens and teens who have outgrown Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew will be tickled by this send-up of the genre.--Volin, Eva Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Younger readers may not be familiar with Christie's Ten Little Indians, but they'll be hooked by the plot gambit of trapping a group of suspects in a mansion and knocking them off one by one-if they can stand all the corpses, that is. French writer Cali (The Great House Hunt) minimizes the trauma by casting insects as the victims, which also affords him opportunities for poo humor (about a fly: "He must have run into some dung and decided to stop for a snack!") and macabre jokes. "I've never done anything bad apart from tearing off my husband's head before eating him," says Mrs. Mantis, one of the servants. Too bad-she's the next to go. Pianina's fine lines, candy-colored palette, and stage-set mansion backgrounds offer Krazy Kat-style whimsy, while the charming detective Gafard anchors the story, delivering traditional whodunit deductions: "And who's to say that the murderer is one of us?" Though the ending doesn't entirely satisfy-the whole fiasco is the fault of bureaucratic error-it still delivers engaging, Continental-style entertainment, with echoes of Herge along with Christie. Ages 9-12. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-10-This graphic-novel homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None finds 10 bugs drawn to a mysterious weekend getaway on a remote island. As the hours tick by, the members of the motley crew meet untimely deaths in a variety of macabre ways: poison, freezing, electrocution, being eaten by a fish, and getting beheaded amid secret passages. The title is filled with Victorian spookiness, until only a detective and his assistant sail away with their lives. The boldly colored art in the cartoon panels, while simple, holds some hilarious details that will have readers chuckling. The size and format may turn off potential readers who see a picture book rather than a gruesome murder mystery but reluctant readers will find more than enough to engage and amuse them.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A remote island and a weekend getaway, with murder on the menu. Think Agatha Christie's classic Ten Little Indians retold as a graphic novel, an inspiration that Cali's characters freely reference in the story. These characters, guests on remote Tortoise Island, are various insects: a fly called McFly, who comes in on an airplane; green Mr. Krikkit, who plays a guitar; the tall, yellow, segmented Johnny Nail; and others. Each thinks he's coming for a different reason: a medical conference, swim meet, etc. An ominous recorded voice upbraids all assembled for unspecified misdeeds and predicts their imminent deaths. (The female praying mantis admits to tearing off her husband's head and then eating him, but that's just normal mantis behavior.) Accusations, search parties and crazy killings follow. One insect is poisoned when cider is added to the dung all are feasting on; another is locked in the freezer; a third drowns while trying to swim to the mainland for help. Secret tunnels, a mysterious lighthouse, a skull and a sance all figure into the twisty tongue-in-cheek plot. The storytelling is ably carried along by Cali's punnish narrative and Pianina's colorful cartoon panels, which run from five to 10 per page. The playful cover and book size falsely imply a story for young children, but it's more for preteens and even teens. Bright and altogether engaging; aspiring entomologists should find it extra amusing. (Graphic mystery. 10-15)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
