A review by constantine2020
Nemesis by Agatha Christie

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½

Genre: Classic + Mystery

This classic can be considered a sequel to A Caribbean Mystery. Originally, it was the eleventh book in the Miss Marple series before Goodreads messed up the sequence of the books without any valid reason.

In this book, Miss Marple is depicted as more fragile, and her memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Nevertheless, she still manages to outsmart everyone by solving all the murders and mysteries. The elderly lady is contacted by an acquaintance she met on a Caribbean cruise, the late millionaire Mr. Jason Rafiel.

The assignment is to solve a crime that has not yet been identified. A reward of 20,000 British Pounds is offered to her if she is successful in solving this unidentified crime. Before he passed away, the man completed all of the arrangements for her, as he appeared to be very confident that she would accept them. For this reason, Miss Marple is required to embark on a tour with fifteen strangers and become acquainted with them in order to gain a better understanding of the things that she will be looking for. 

Obviously, this is not the complete recounting of events; there is a great deal more to it than that. It is expected that Miss Marple will discover a multitude of connections, and she will initially learn that Mr. Rafiel's son may have been involved in a criminal act; however, she will be required to demonstrate whether or not he was guilty of the crime.

First, allow me to share with you some of the aspects of this Agatha Christie mystery that I enjoyed. You are following Miss Marple from the very first page all the way through to the very last page. Some of the books in the Marple series do not center on her. This one does, and it’s a great thing because I personally read these books because of how fascinating this character is. 

A second aspect of this book that I found to be very appealing was the premise that it presented. This is something that the author has never tackled before, at least not in any of the Marple books that I have read up until this point. The premise is unique, which makes it exciting, but I understand that some readers might not be in favor of it as it makes the direction of the story not very clear.

Despite the positives, there are a few negatives that will affect your enjoyment. The pace seemed slower, and the book felt longer than all the other books in the series. Additionally, there are many characters in the story, and it takes time to follow everyone, especially if you want to put yourself in the main character’s shoes. But despite the negatives, this remained an entertaining book. It's not a favorite of mine, but it's definitely among the very good ones.