What events suggests that Justice Wargrave is the murderer? Vera’s fascination with both the poem and the hook on her ceiling hint at her eventual decision to hang herself.

Definition: something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue.

Blore suggests that Lombard may be the killer, and Lombard asks why he wouldn't simply shoot Blore if he were the murderer. Vera scolds them for being distracted. She points out the verse in the rhyme that applies to Armstrong's death: “A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.”

“I have wanted... to commit a murder myself. I recognized this as the desire of the artist to express himself!... But— incongruous as it may seem to some—I was restrained and hampered by my innate sense of justice. The innocent must not suffer.” – Justice Wargrave

Satisfied both his desire for justice and his desire for murder Paradox - Agent of death vs agent of justice (murderer and detective) Not a likeable character Ultimate self justice

Do we accept Wargrave’s belief that all the murder victims deserve their deaths? Do we accept that Wargrave has the moral authority to pronounce and carry out the sentences? At least some of the murders are unjust if we do not consider all of Wargrave’s victims murderers. Emily Brent, for example, did not actually kill her servant, Beatrice Taylor. Thus, one could argue that she deserves a lesser punishment for her sin.