Customer Reviews

Nemesis

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Readers met Jason Rafiel in "A Caribbean Mystery" and may recall his high opinion of Miss Marple's knowlegdge of evil and her sense of justice. When Mr. Rafiel grows too ill to set a terible injustice right, he leaves that duty to Miss Marple in his will along with a bequest of twenty thousand pounds. Miss Marple agrees to do what she can but is puzzled since she is given no information. Knowing Mr. Rafiel as she does, however, she knows he will guide her if only from the grave. And guide he does. A few days after agreeing to do his biding, she receives a letter from the Famous Homes and Gardens of Great Britain confirming her reservation on one of their tours as a gift from Mr. Rafiel. Realizing this is the lead she was waiting for, she sets out on the tour relying only on her own keen observations and the belief that Mr. Rafiel will give her more assistance along the way. That he does, as she is led through a maze of adventure and danger to solve mysteries both old and new.

Most interesting among the characters in this book are three elderly sisters who own a beautiful 18th century house. Because they had received a letter from their friend Jason Rafiel informing them that his friend Jane Marple would be on the tour, they invite her to be their guest while she is in Jocelyn St. Mary. Just as in "A Caribbean Mystery" Mr. Rafiel proves to be a worthy ally and Jane Marple more than lives up to his opinion of her and proves herself worthy of the pet name "Nemesis" he had bestowed on her.

and Miss Marple is seeking the truth about the long ago tragic death of a young woman named Verity.

While on vacation last year Jane Marple had met fellow traveler Jason Rafiel. Together they solved a crime (CARIBBEAN MYSTERY) and then passed out of each other's lives - or so Miss Marple thought. She was quite surprised to find that he had left her a bequest in his will. She was even more surprised to find what the bequest was amd what Mr. Rafiel requested that she do. It seemed that his only son had been charged with the murder of a young woman years before, a young woman named Verity, and Mr. Rafiel wanted to truth of come out once and for all.

Soon Miss Marple was on the trail of this long ago crime, set to act in the role that Mr. Rafiel had cast her, the role of 'Nemesis' - bringer of justice. Her task is further complicated by the vagueness of her instructions. Mr. Rafiel has not given her more than the barest of clues as to what he wants her to accomplish or to who is enemy or ally on her quest.

As always with a Christie novel the clues are all there for the reader to follow but the plot twists and turns to challenge the reader to arrive at the solution ahead of Miss Marple.

A.C. is a master of deception. I'm always left dumbfounded by the ending of every book of hers-until this one. (I was 80% sure of the conclusion before the last chapter). But that does not take away from this exhilarating read. The plot was ingenious: Miss Marple receives a letter from the deceased Mr Raphiel(a fellow traveller in A Carribean Mystery). He makes her a proposition of sorts to help him uncover some sort of injustice (at least that is what she deduces from what she's reading). Raphiel's lawyers, equally clueless, meet with her and discuss her prospective reward if she meets the demand of late Raphiel. This meeting is followed by an itinerary and other info from a house and gardens tour co. that Raphiel has made reservations for Miss Marple to take part in. Miss Marple is still clueless as to what she is to be in search of. After being on tour for just a few short days, Miss Marple starts acquiring clues that sets her on a path(albeit w/ twists and turns along the way) of finding answers. The A.C, fan is in for a real treat w/ this one. Miss Marple is as sharp and quick witted as ever, making for a faster pace. The characters are well developed as well. I urge any and all to read this!

Miss Marple has a real puzzle on her hands when she receives a letter from an old acquaintance who is recently deceased and who wants her to see that justice is done. He doesn't say what he is referring to, but promises to give her more information later if she agrees. She tells his solicitors that she will do her best to comply with her late friend's request, and is subsequently asked to go on an extended house and garden tour.
She knows that each person she comes across may be a potential criminal, so she carefully scrutinizes each one. Eventually she finds herself in the home of three sisters who have been asked to give the elderly Miss Marple a respite from the tour. One of the tour members meets with a fatal accident just as she is about to give Miss Marple some information, so this spurs her on to investigate even more vigorously. She carefully studies each person who has been a part of the tour, and eventually comes up with the solution, as her friend knew she would. This book takes place in Miss Marple's later years, but the reader is reassured that, though her body is failing, her mind is as sharp as ever. This is another treasure for Christie fans.

Nemesis is great! It seems so impossible for anyone to figure out, (especially a little old lady like Miss Marple) because there is absolutely no information to go by in the beginning. Miss Marple doesn't even know what she's supposed to investigate! It's amazing and quite superb. Miss Marple is brilliant, and I congratulate Agatha Christie on a terrific book and a great plot!

Nemesis was a well-developed novel. The plot was intriguing. I love Mystery novels and this is now one of my favorites! Mrs. Marple was a well thought out character. She was described with great detail and her age and attitude fit the story line well. This story was very original and displayed great complexity. It was complex because just enough clues were given at a time to allow your mind to freely explore all of the possibilities. Mrs. Marple is trying to solve a crime with very little to go on. All she has is very vague and incomplete instructions from the dead Mr. Rafiel. She did not even know whose murder she was supposed to solve. She was in the shadows on nearly everything and little by little she was clued in on what her task was supposed to be. Mrs. Marple meets several interesting people on her trip, which she carefully observes and takes notes on. She is alert to everything because she does not know where her next clue os going to come from. This was a novel where the details and clues were given right to you. There were no hidden details. Everything was laid out on the table for you. The ending was great. What made it so great was that it was so believable and easy to comprehend, which is something that I like! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely would not mind reading it again!

This story is probably the most original and complex of all the Miss Marple stories. The notion of going back in time to try and solve an old crime and right past wrongs is something that Christie was fascinated by - you see it in many of her other novels such as "Five Little Pigs", "Sleeping Murder", "Elephants Can Remember", etc. When you start reopening old cases however, that can rouse strong feelings, and even cause a murderer who had escaped detection to kill again. This is what happens in this story when Miss Marple is trying to solve an old crime with nothing to go on except the vague instructions of a dead man and her own instincts. My only criticism was that she appeared to hit on all the right clues with a consistency and swiftness that was a little implausible, considering how much in the dark she was. However, the resolution of the story was truly amazing and yet completely believeable. I also really liked the idea of nemesis - that you are unable to escape the consequences of your own actions, both good and bad. "Nemesis is long delayed sometimes, but it comes in the end" is a line I have never forgotten. It's a reminder to you that your actions may sometimes result in unforeseen consequences - a pretty sobering thought.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best known mystery novelist of the 20th Century--and with good reason, for when it came to plots, truly fiendish plots, she could easily out-construct all competitors. Even so, as Christie entered her sunset years, the nature of her novels changed, often becoming less interesting for the complex plots that made her reputation than for their chatty charm.

This is very much the case with the 1971 Miss Marple mystery NEMESIS, which falters in both style and plot when compared against the truly great Christie novels of 1930-1960. Although densely written, the narrative is unexpectedly repetitive in nature; for once it is actually possible to skim passages of a Christie novel without missing telling detail. While the plot is not transparent, it seems slightly out of focus and it lacks the unexpected edges that made Christie world famous in the genre. Even so, NEMESIS remains an entertaining read largely via the charm of Christie's favorite reoccurring character, English spinster Jane Marple, presented here in all her disconcerting glory.

As a novel, NEMESIS grows out the 1964 A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY, a work that found Miss Marple joining forces with wealthy invalid Mr. Rafiel to thwart a murderer in a south seas resort. For Mr. Rafiel has died and has remembered Miss Marple in his will--albeit in a most peculiar way. He asks that she undertake an investigation for him, but he does not specify the nature of the task. Miss Marple is at a loose end. How does one investigate a matter without names, places, dates, without information or detail of any kind?

Fortunately, the resourceful Mr. Rafiel has provided a way. When Miss Marple embarks upon her journey she soon finds herself ensnared in a Gordian knot of tragedy, love, perversity, evil, and murder that lurks under a veneer of the often beautiful and seeming innocent English countryside. Christie was seldom noted for her talent for atmosphere, but this indeed the great strength of NEMESIS; it is very much like biting into a rosy apple only to discover rot at the core.

NEMESIS is unlikely to please hardcore fans in search of one of Christie's legendarily mind-bending plots, but fans will enjoy the unexpected premise, and Miss Marple remains everyone's favorite English spinster with a nose for evil. Recommended to established fans.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

After watching the recent PBS Mystery series version of What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw, I picked up Agatha Christie's Nemesis (1971) at the local library. This is the first Agatha Christie novel I have read, and it will not be the last.

As many reviewers have noted, the novel deals with a set of precise, yet ironically vague, instructions written to Miss Marple by an elderly acquaintance, Jason Rafiel, just before he passes away. The novel begins with an old Miss Marple-a sufferer of rheumatism-sitting reasonably comfortably in her home in St. Mary Mead, England, and reviewing obituaries in the newspaper over an after-lunch cup of tea. Saddened to read of Mr. Rafiel's death, Miss Marple reflects on the man's character. Jason Rafiel, though "ruthless" in business, was also a man with "a deep kind of kindness that he was careful never to show on the surface." Later, Mr. Rafiel's lawyers explain that the late financier wishes to employ Miss Marple to "investigate a certain crime" and in the process "serve the cause of justice." The reward for completing the investigation is 20,000 pounds. Spurred by a desire for justice and her admiration for Mr. Rafiel-motivations sweetened by the monetary reward as well-Miss Marple, known by her code name from a prior investigation, "nemesis," is on the case.

Agatha Christie makes the nature of the crime itself a mystery. The deceased Mr. Rafiel provides few concrete details in his letters. Christie builds up suspense in the process of deciphering what the crime is as well as figuring out who is the culprit. A great plot device is Mr. Rafiel's having managed ingeniously to speak from the dead through his letters.

Miss Marple's old age is depicted in a way that a reader of any age can identify with. At the beginning of the novel, Miss Marple struggles with her memory, which she calls "a muddle," as she recalls the lives of those mentioned in the obituaries. Her acumen, we quickly learn, is as sharp as ever.

Miss Marple's ability to sense atmospheres and detect evil is an underlying theme. She states, "I have several times in my life been apprehensive, have recognized that there was evil in the neighborhood, the surroundings, that the environment of someone who was evil was near me, connected with what was happening." Her unraveling of the case combines this perception and impeccable logic.

The book has many levels. After reading the novel, it is interesting to reflect on Miss Marple's first description of Mr. Rafiel's character. This is a truly enjoyable book, a perfect novel to read, like Miss Marple reads her newspaper, with a nice cup of tea.

This was billed as Miss Marple's last case, but I think there were actually some written later. Still, it is probably one of her last. In this story, Miss Marple discovers that a millionaire that she had encountered in the Caribbean has died and has left a request for her to take on a task. She eventualy figures out what the task is and performs it for him. Once again, Miss Marple comes through. I like Miss Marple better than Christie's other characters, so this was a natural for me. Still, it's a pretty good story for anyone. Just remember that Miss Marple mysteries are not action stories; they are solved by reasoning and investigating. So, if you like lots of action, you may not care for this type of story.