A Miss Marple, getting physically more frail as she gets older, is still allowed to stretch her brain skills, by being sent on a tour to find out a crime. Only she's not told what the crime is, or when it happened...

Some years earlier, when on holiday in the Caribbean, Miss Marple had met Jonas Rafiel and together they had solved a mystery. Now, a number of years on, he has died, but with some"unfinished business" on his mind, and he leaves a bequest for Miss Marple, dependent on her carrying out his request. She is contacted by his lawyers who hand her a letter from him offering her £20,000. At that stage there is no detail about what he wants her to do apart from the fact that he is keen to see that justice is to be done, and he reminds her of the fact she once told him that she saw herself as Nemesis, the harbinger of justice.

So she begins her quest two days letter by joining a bus tour of Famous Hoses and Gardens of Great Britain with 15 other people. She really still has no idea of what Mr Rafiel wanted her to do, but she has already begun some investigations of her own into his background. As the bus trip progresses it becomes clear that although he hasn't told Miss Marple much, Mr Rafiel has assumed she will accept his request, and he has done several things to clear the way for her.

By the middle of the novel I thought the nature of Miss Marple's quest had become obvious, but at the same time, the narrative was frustratingly slow, almost as if Christie wanted us to think about what makes a person a good detective etc. And then came the first death when one of the passengers from the bus tour was killed, struck by a large boulder. Things speeded up a bit after that.

I can understand if readers are of two minds with this book. It is very different from most of the Miss Marple books, and I thought it was a bit obvious that Christie wanted to explore what made Jane Marple so sensitive to the presence of evil, what made her so determined to see that justice was done. There are sections of text that are almost rambling.

You will have seen that I have read this before. I am re-reading it with my U3A Agatha Christie reading group and I will be interested to see whether or not they have enjoyed it. We will follow our discussion with the viewing of one of the television interpretations but I have yet decided whether it will be the Joan Hickson or the Geraldine McEwan one, probably the former I think, in the hope that it sticks closer to the original book. Which do you think it should be? (We don't have time for both) ( )

I didn't remember this book very well at all, but of course I have seen the Joan Hickson adaptation. Even so, I found that I was not completely sure about who did it (I remembered that it was one of the sisters but Christie was very good at her misdirection!)

Emilia Fox did a fine job narrating. ( )

Digital audiobook read by Emilia Fox

From the book jacket: In utter disbelief, Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel – an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. He had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing. Soon, she is faced with a new crime – the ultimate crime – murder. It seems someone is adamant that past evils remain buried….

My reactions
Miss Marple is up to her usual tricks. She is a keen observer and an astute judge of character. She fully understands that people underestimate her – or even completely ignore her. She is only an old woman, after all. HA!

I have to admit that my mind wandered on this one. I just wasn’t keeping up with Miss Marple in following the clues, I guess. But not to fear. As is typical with these books, she will sit down and explain it all – in detail – to the detectives, suspects, and other interested parties.

Emilia Fox does a good job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and I like the way she interprets Miss Marple. My lack of attention was not due to any lack of skill as a narrator. ( )

My mom had several Agatha Christie books, and I am reading them before she decides whether to donate them or keep them. Not being very familiar with Christie, I consulted a book list to determine the order of books--I thought this came up early on the Miss Marple list of books, but now that I am on review sites, it says it is #12 (and another reviewer stated it was the final Miss Marple).

For me, the story did not really get going until about 100 pages in.

Miss Marple is offered an "inheritance' of sorts from a man she met once before if she can solve a problem--but she's not quite sure what problem.

There were quite a few characters and it made it somewhat difficult to remember them (for me). ( )

this was my first miss marple book and i can't say that i liked it. i did enjoy the solving of the mystery, which was a surprise (i definitely fell for the red herring). but i didn't like the writing and i found so much of it repetitive. including how often she denigrated women, which i also found surprising, and quite over the top. (although maybe it was neither christie nor miss marple who actually felt this way? it was hard to tell for sure, if they didn't, though.)

"It seemed to me highly unlikely that there was a very definite case of rape. Girls, you must remember, are far more ready to be raped nowadays than they used to be. Their mothers insist, very often, that they should call it rape."

and

"Girls are said to mature earlier. That is physically true, though in a deeper sense of the word, they mature late. They remain childish longer. Childish in the clothes they like to wear. Childish with their floating hair. Even their miniskirts represent a worship of childishness. Their babydoll nightdresses, their gym slips and shorts, all children's fashions. They wish not to become adult. Not to have to accept our kind of responsibility. And yet, like all children, they want to be thought grown up. And free to do what they think are grown up things."

and

"Well, we all know what rape is nowadays. Mum tells the girl she's got to accuse the young man of rape, even if the young man hasn't had much chance. With the girl at him all the time to come to the house while mum's away at work or dad's gone on holiday. Doesn't stop badgering him until she's forced him to sleep with her. Then, as I say, Mum tells the girl to call it rape." ( )

Azért ez mekkora genyóság már. Képzeld el, hogy egy szegény, jóravaló gyilkos vagy, aki hosszú-hosszú évekkel ezelőtt eltett láb alól valakit - nyilván respektálható okokból -, és akkor egy nap kopognak. Törékeny, cukimuki öreglány van az ajtóban, jaj de meleg van, sóhajtja, leülhetne-e Önnél? Te meg ugye jóravaló gyilkos vagy, szóval megkínálod egy pohár vízzel, aztán cseverésztek erről-arról, és egyszer csak azon kapod magad, hogy csattan csuklódon a bilincs. Mert átvert az öreglány! Becsapott! Azt hitted, valami random Erzsike néni, holott ő Miss Marple!!!


(Én Miss Marple-t mindig Joan Hickson arcával képzelem el. Ez már így marad.)

Alighanem ez a Marple-regények titka, a kontraszt a törékeny test és a mögötte rejlő eleven szellem között, ami, ha szagot fog, kikutatja a gazságot, ha hat láb mélyre temették is. Nem csoda, ha Mr. Rafiel (akivel találkoztunk már a Rejtély az Antillákon-ban) csak benne bízik, őt kéri meg a halálon túlról visszanyúlva, hogy bogozzon ki egy csúnya rejtvényt, egy elfeledett gyilkosságot, amit már mindenki ad acta tett. Színtiszta lehetetlen küldetés ez, a logika összes szabálya szerint, de hát Miss Marple-nek nincs lehetetlen. (Mivel Agatha Christie úgy írta meg, hogy ne legyen neki lehetetlen.) Úgyhogy cidrizzetek, gyilkosok, mert a Nemezis egy tündéri, vidékies aggleány képében már felétek csoszog.

(Megj.: picit sokalltam a regényben a "régenmindenjobbvót" ízű mondatokat. Hogy a fiatalok ilyenek meg olyanok. A mai lányok meg még ilyenebbek és olyanabbak. De végül függetleníteni tudtam magam az ezzel kapcsolatos halovány ellenérzéseimtől.) ( )

8427202946

(Audio version) Convoluted, nonsensical, sensationalist plot with holes big enough to bury a body in, and displaying Agatha Christie at her close-minded, anti-feminist, victim-shaming worst. I remembered disliking the book when I read it years ago, but was longing to listen to Joan Hickson tell me a Miss Marple story. Now I wish I hadn't wasted my money. ( )

4/8/22

The last 10% of mildly interesting story didn't save the 90% of slow bore. ( )

There was more mystery about the execution than the guilty party. While some of the typical smooth work of Christie was missing, I liked the fact that this book focused on Jane more than it did other characters (though they were somewhat wanting). I still like Poirot better, and there are better Marple ones out there, but this was a nice tidy ending to the series. ( )

I knew it!!! I’m surprised this is a good Marple read!

Here's my full review! http://www.sholee.net/2019/09/mpov-nemesis.html ( )

An intriguing premise for the last of the Miss Marple's books. The narration by Emiliia Fox made this a compelling audio to listen to and enjoy, also bumping it up, in my opinion, from three to four stars. Written in 1971, with a few out-of-date views, I managed to put those aside (though some readers may not find so easy to ignore) since I found myself hooked on the storyline. ( )

Miss Marple must investigate a mystery without even knowing what it is.

4 stars for the mystery, 2 stars for the Agatha Christie Problems.

Agatha Christie Problems: the dangerous and harmful myth that women claim to be raped after consensual sex is repeated multiple times by many characters.

They also like to talk about girls not being chaperoned by their mothers enough (a common Christie theme) and one mention that girls like bad boys instead of nice ones. ( )

After reading [b:Passenger to Frankfurt|310224|Passenger to Frankfurt|Agatha Christie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1308808994s/310224.jpg|2277716], which I believe was the book Agatha Christie wrote before this one, this books was a huge relief.

Story: Friend of Ms Marple dies and gives her a mission to be a "nemesis" with no further details. Ms Marple being curious as ever agrees and soon things start happening around her. There are old stories and new actions interwoven into something that is a rather classic Christie I'd say.

It is a late Christie though, which means the mandatory rants against youth is ever present. The 1970s was not a good time for the UK and I guess Agatha Christie became a bit depressed by what she saw and she couldn't stop herself from putting complaints into her books. As her main characters, Poirot and Marple both are of an advanced age (somewhere between 70 and 130 years old) it is not completely out of character though so it is not disturbing. I also think this book has it toned down a bit.
( )

Enjoyed the concept of Miss Marple needing to figure out what the mystery is and slowly introducing the characters that are going to play a part in it. Liked how she used the idea of her being an old lady as a way to get information from people without them realizing it. ( )

Just good fun with Jane Marple!!!

Just good fun with Jane Marple!!!

Another great Miss Marple mystery. Miss Marple is set with a seemingly impossible task. She may look like a sweet old lady, but looks can be deceiving. ( )

Nemesis is a breath of fresh air. When seemingly ordinary people: dentists, librarians, park guides (what have you) get caught up in murders again and again and again I get annoyed by the coincidence...especially if it is an unexplained phenomenon. Miss Jane Marple addresses crime's ability to find her time and time again, acknowledging how odd it is for this elderly women to be an accidental investigator. I found that refreshing.
On to the plot: Jason Rafiel, an extremely wealthy man dies. Seeing his name in the obituary section of the newspaper sends Miss Marple down memory lane. She immediately beings to reminisce about the deceased even though she only met him once on a trip in the Caribbean West Indies. Oddly enough, they were thrown together to solve a mystery. Imagine that! What a coincidence when she receives a letter from the dead man asking her to take on an investigation without any information. If she solves the case, she stands to earn 20,000. Is she to solve a crime or just a wealthy man's conundrum? Miss Jane Marple, elderly and nosy, is up to the task despite not knowing a single detail. Dear readers, this will be the final case of her investigative career. Back to the drama: Mysterious Mr. Rafiel sends her on a garden tour lasting two to three weeks and prearranges every detail for Miss Marple, right down to the people she needs to meet.
A warning to those sensitive to a time before political correctness: there is a lot of ageism and sexism. I have a high tolerance for the days before being polite...except for when they say a woman is asking to be raped. "Girls, you must remember, are far more ready to be raped nowadays than they used to be." Whatever that means. I also took offense to the line, "Accuracy is more of a male quality than a female one." Again, whatever. ( )

I have already read Sleeping Murder so for me Nemesis is my last Miss Marple mystery. I am saddened by that a great deal but Nemesis ended up being just a four star read for me which was very disappointing to me after reading and loving "A Caribbean Mystery" and "At Betram's Hotel".

Nemesis has Miss Marple reviewing the obituaries and realizing that a man she previously met during the events in "A Caribbean Mystery", Mr. Jason Rafiel has died. Miss Marple is then surprised to receive a note through attorneys representing Mr. Rafiel asking her to look into a crime and if she solves it she will inherit $20,000 pounds. Miss Marple is perplexed by what Mr. Rafiel could possibly want her to look into and revisits Ms. Esther Walters (also from "A Caribbean Mystery") and Miss Marple starts to put clues together to figure out what crime she is supposed to be looking into.

Miss Marple is then surprised to find out that Mr. Rafiel also bought Miss Marple a place on tour of famous British houses and gardens. Miss Marple starts to look into the other people on the tour and meets a family of sisters that Mr. Rafiel asked prior to his death for them to allow Miss Marple to visit with them. Miss Marple finds herself intrigued by the three sisters, Lavina Glynne, Clotilde and Anthea Bradbury-Scott.

"Nemesis" I found to be a very intriguing mystery. However, for the first time ever I was able to correctly guess the murder. I think that was due to so many clues that practically smacked me on the nose that I was able to figure it out so easily.

The main reason why I gave this novel just three stars is that I found it quite disconcerting to read about Miss Marple and others views on lesbianism and rape. I was actually surprised that Agatha Christie even tackled these subjects in this novel but it definitely came from an out of date thinking. While reading I found certain characters saying things such as this about rape:

"Girls, you must remember, are far more ready to be raped nowadays than they used to be. Their mothers insist, very
often, that they should call it rape."

"Earlier cases of assault and rape. Well, we all know what rape is nowadays. Mum tells the girl she's got to accuse the young
man of rape even if the young man hasn't had much chance with the girl at him all the time to come to the house while mum's
away at work or dad's gone on holiday. Doesn't stop badgering him until she's forced him to sleep with her. Then, as I say,
mum tells the girl to call it rape."

And here are the quotes about lesbianism in the novel:

"No. Verity did not want anyone to know, and I should say most certainly Mike did not want anyone to know. They were afraid
of being stopped. To Verity, I think, besides love, there was also a feeling of escape. Natural, I think, owing to the
circumstances of her life. She had lost her real guardians, her parents, she had entered on her new life after their death, at
an age when a school girl arrives at having a 'crush' on someone. An attractive mistress. Anything from the games mistress
to the mathematics mistress, or a prefect or an older girl. A stated that does not last for very long, is merely a natural part of
life. Then from that you go on to the next stage when you realize that what you want in your life is what complements
yourself. A relationship between a man and a woman. You start then to look about you for a mate. The mate you want in life."

There are some more but that would spoil the ending of the novel and I don't want to do that. So all in all I really did not like this novel. I thought it was an interesting idea to have Miss Marple go forth as "Nemesis" and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice in old murders but the comments constantly about girls faking being raped, having a character we hear about being charged with rape but it being patted down as if it was just random girls who were asking for it so what did that matter, and making it seem as if the only normal thing in life is the love between a man and a woman was off-putting.

I am glad that Sleeping Murder was the last of the Miss Marple novels and that Miss Marple didn't end on this disquieting note. ( )

Miss Marple is surprised when the lawyers of the now-deceased Mr. Jason Rafiel, whom she met on her trip to the Caribbean. He's left Miss Marple a large amount of funds, if she can solve a mystery. The only catch is, he hasn't told her what the mystery or whom it might involve.

An odd Miss Marple mystery. There's quite a bit of recalling of previous mysteries, which is delightful for dedicated fans of the series but Miss Marple also feels far more rambly than she ever has. The oddity continues with half the novel being taken up with trying to figure out what mystery Miss Marple is supposed to solve. Once we get there, it's a decent case to dig into but not the most charming or sparkling of her adventures. ( )

Nemesis (1971) (Miss Marple #12) by Agatha Christie. This might be thought of as a follow up to A Caribbean Mystery for Miss Marple, the only connecting factors are a Mr. Rafiel and Miss Marple herself. After Mr. Rafiel’s death, Miss Marple is contacted by his lawyers about the will. She is bequeathed a sizable sum of money if she will take on a problem for him. It entails going on a bus tour of some of England’s great houses and solving the mystery of who, if anyone, killed him. No suspects are given, or motives, or any clue whatever, just that she is to do her thing, snoop until something shows up. Or until someone unsuccessfully tries to kill her.
Intrigued by the proposition, she takes on the case, as it were.
There follows a meeting with her 15 fellow travelers as they board the bus.
Latina Glynne offers a clue or two along the way, Not part of the tour but acting as an agent for the late Mr. Rafiel, she takes Miss Marple away from the tour to stay with her and her two sisters. There the trio tell more about a girl called Verity that had already been mentioned by a woman on the bus. Seems that Mr. Rafiel’s son Michael was engaged to the girl. She is now dead and Michael is in prison.
Miss Marple returns to the tour only to learn that a fellow tourist is in hospital, in a coma, the victim of a rockslide. Just before she dies Miss Temple tells Miss Marple to look for “Verity Hunt.”
There s a lot of “she said- she said” talk that takes up a considerable amount of the book, but in the end the true culprit is nabbed, Michael is set free from prison, and Miss Marple collects her money.
I feel this is not one of the best of the Christie stories. With this book we spend a great deal of time inside Miss Marple’s thought process and what a rather boring old thing that is. I prefer the other tales where the mystery is not only who done it, but what is Miss Marple, or Poirot, or whoever the detective is, is thinking. Trying to outwit the star of the show is so much fun, and quite often so difficult, that I feel drawn along until the final pages. ( )