<![CDATA[Nature has been widely discussed in crime fiction studies, especially as a setting to support the atmosphere. However, no study specifically examines how nature actively constructs mystery in the story. This article analyzes how nature operates as both a sign and an ecological threat in And Then There Were None. This study uses qualitative close reading. Estok's ecophobia and Buell’s environmental imagination are applied to examine nature’s threatening role in the narrative, while Peirce's semiotics is used to understand how natural elements function as signs that deepen the mystery. The findings reveal that the mystery is represented by the absence of the host, U.N. Owen, and the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Soldiers" as predictors of death. Nature functions as an active mechanism of mystery through the island's geographical isolation, the depiction of nature as a cause of death in the rhyme, and the storm that closes off any possibility of rescue. As a result, the characters experience helplessness, all paths to resolution are closed, and the inescapable fear drives the narrative toward its inevitable conclusion. This article contributes to ecocritical perspectives on detective fiction by showing that nature can be more than a passive backdrop, but rather an active narrative agent working towards both suspense and structural inevitability.]]>
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