William Henry Blore
William Henry Blore is a former police inspector turned private detective who arrives on Indian Island under the false name Davis, posing as a South African colonist. Hired by the mysterious U. N. Owen to pose as a guest and watch the other visitors, Blore is exposed during the gramophone accusation and later becomes one of the last survivors, methodically trying to identify the murderer before being crushed by a marble bear clock dropped from Vera Claythorne's window.
Identity and Background
Blore is a former Scotland Yard inspector who now runs a private detective agency in Plymouth. He is a solidly built man with a slightly military cast, a moustache, and grey eyes set rather close together, with very little expression in his face. He arrives on the island using the alias "Mr. Davis" and claims to be a man of means from Natal, South Africa, having studied a travel folder to lend credibility to his cover story. His true identity is revealed during the gramophone accusation, when the recorded voice names "William Henry Blore" among the accused, forcing him to admit that his name is not Davis. Philip Lombard immediately exposes Blore's South African pretense as a lie, stating that he knows South Africa and Natal and can swear Blore has never set foot there. Blore then confesses that he is an ex-C.I.D. man running a detective agency, hired by U. N. Owen to join the houseparty under a false name, watch all the guests, and report back—supposedly because of concerns about Mrs. Owen's jewels. The judge later notes that Blore was the police officer in charge of the Landor case, in which James Stephen Landor was convicted on Blore's evidence and died in Dartmoor a year later.
Arc Through the Plot
Blore is among the most methodical and physically robust of the guests, and he takes an active role in investigating the deaths. On the first morning, he joins Philip Lombard and Dr. Armstrong in a thorough search of the island, climbing down cliffs with a rope to check for hiding places. When the search proves fruitless, he is the first to suggest that the murderer must be one of the guests themselves. After the death of General Macarthur, Blore participates in the impromptu court convened by Justice Wargrave, and he is the one who points out that the only people who could have administered poison to Mrs. Rogers are her husband or the doctor. He later becomes increasingly suspicious of Emily Brent, suggesting she may be the killer due to religious mania, and he is the one who finds the hypodermic syringe and a smashed china figure outside the dining-room window after her death. As the survivors dwindle, Blore grows more paranoid and watchful, barricading himself in his room at night and listening for any sound in the darkened house.
Key Actions and Objectives
Blore's primary objective is survival, and he pursues it with dogged determination. He is the one who suggests that the group should collect all drugs and firearms and lock them away, and he agrees to hold one of the keys to the locked cupboard. When he hears footsteps outside his door on the night of August 10th, he arms himself with a chromium lamp with a heavy ebonite base and follows the figure, glimpsing someone passing out through the front door. Instead of pursuing immediately, he first checks the other bedrooms to see who is missing, discovering that Dr. Armstrong's room is empty and the key is not in the lock on the inside. He then joins Lombard in the hunt for Armstrong, and when Lombard reveals that his revolver has been returned to his drawer, Blore becomes deeply suspicious of Lombard, accusing him of having hidden the weapon during the search and then retrieved it. Blore's final action is to go alone to the house for lunch while Vera and Lombard remain on the cliffs, and he is found dead on the stone terrace, his head crushed and mangled by a great block of white marble—the bear-shaped clock from Vera's mantelpiece.
Relationships and Conflict
Blore is viewed with suspicion by nearly everyone. Lombard openly distrusts him, calling him a "first-class liar" and later telling him that his lack of imagination makes him a sitting target for the murderer. Dr. Armstrong also questions Blore's movements, noting that he was "a long time" when he went to fetch a rope during the island search. Blore, in turn, suspects Lombard of being the killer, pointing out that Lombard's revolver was never truly accounted for and that his story about it being stolen is implausible. Blore also suspects Emily Brent, believing her religious piety masks homicidal mania, and he is the one who suggests that her calmness in the kitchen proves she knows she has nothing to fear because she is the criminal. His relationship with Vera Claythorne is more neutral, though he does not trust her completely and insists that she submit to the same search as the men.
Change and Ending
Blore's confidence erodes as the deaths mount. Initially, he is the most pragmatic and least imaginative of the group, believing that his police training and physical strength will see him through. But after the judge's death, he becomes visibly shaken, and his thoughts turn to the face of James Stephen Landor, the man he helped convict through perjury. He lies on his bed in the dark, unable to sleep, and when he hears footsteps, he is driven by a desperate need to know who is moving through the house. His decision to follow the figure leads to his death: he is crushed by the marble bear clock that Justice Wargrave, having faked his own death, drops from Vera's window. Blore's body is found spread-eagled on the stone terrace, and the police later note that the clock was shaped like a bear, corresponding to the nursery rhyme verse about a bear hugging one of the little Indian boys.
Narrative Role and Evaluation
Blore serves as the embodiment of flawed institutional justice. His past crime—committing perjury to convict an innocent man—is the most clear-cut example of a legal professional abusing his power for personal gain. Unlike the other guests, whose crimes are ambiguous or unprovable, Blore's guilt is confirmed by his own admission to Lombard: "Landor was innocent right enough. The gang had got me squared and between us we got him put away for a stretch." His death, caused by a falling object that he could not have anticipated, underscores the theme that the murderer's plan is inescapable and that even the most cautious and physically capable cannot survive. Blore's methodical approach to investigation, while initially useful, ultimately fails because he cannot conceive of a killer who would fake his own death and move freely among the corpses. His final moments, spent trying to identify the figure in the dark, represent the futility of rational deduction against a madman's cunning.
