A review by hymnedhiver
Nemesis by Agatha Christie

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

what i've learnt from reading this book:
  • agatha christie mysteries are the quickest way to get yourself out of a reading slump
  • never pick up a book without reading the trigger warnings beforehand, unless you want to find yourself feeling sad on the train at 7am with a long day of work ahead. at first i thought it would be a lighter book, focused on a riddle rather than a murder, but Boom! tw // rape, assault, victim-blaming and victim-shaming, misogyny, all of which seemed somehow worse than murder.
  • agatha christie was a woman of her time and this book was a product of its time. i cannot expect from her to write humanitarian novels, when the time she lived in was like that, and her own choices to remain ignorant were very prominent and questionable. that being said, all the misogynistic opinions and victim-blaming reflected in this book are very anachronistic and, frankly, disgusting to come across in an otherwise okay book.
  • the book was quite repetitive, miss marple explaining how she reached a conclusion regarding a clue at least three times. it was too long unnecessarily. nothing much happened during the first third of the book. we're literally trying to find out what the mystery is and so, the plot wasn't that adventurous, nor were there really any useful or interesting distractions from the eventual reveal of a murderer. in fact, the ending was rather disappointing and a bit  bland. it wasn't necessarily predictable, but certainly not shocking either,  whereas i much prefer to be confused and surprised, even if it's a far-fetched revelation. this is just my preference.
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