A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)

Nemesis was the last written Miss Marple murder mystery. Agatha Christie wrote the novel in her old age but her wits and ingenuity in plotting a satisfying mystery was still topnotch!
The Plot: Millionaire Jason Raffiel dies leaving a mysterious letter for Miss Marple's keen perusal. The letter is given to her by the lawyers of the deceased Raffiel. The letter asks Miss Marple to conduct an investigation for Raffiel. Her reward will be 20,000 pounds.
Marple does so by going on a garden and famous homes tour with several persons who are suspects of murderous deeds. The 212 page book contains three murders. One of the victims is Miss Elizabeth Temple the former headmistress of a prestigious girl's school who is killed when a rock is dropped on her head. Earlier we have learned that the son of Raffiel is in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Verity Hunter. Verity was a beloved student at Temple's school. Another girl who was murdered prior to the action of the novel was Nora Broad. Young Raffiel is also suspected of having murdered her. A serial killer? Mrs Marple visits the wealthy home of three sisters: whose names are Lavinia Glynne; Anthea Bradbury-Scott and Clotilde Bradbury-Scott. Miss Marple has to ferret out the clever murderer of three women. Miss Marple feels a touch of evil in the home of these three sisters. How are they connected to the foul deeds which have been committed in the neighborhood? The murderer will surprise you!
This last case handled by the elderly Miss Marple is as intriguing as any in the Agatha Christie canon. It will entertain and challenge your mind as you seek to solve the crimes. Miss Marple is one of the greatest characters in Agatha Christie's immense body of work. This is a highly recommended Christie novel. Miss Marple fulfills her role as Nemesis who brings justice to a cruel person.

Nemesis by Agatha Christie.

Miss Marple receives word from the solicitors of an old acquaintance that she is to meet with them at her earliest convenience. She is informed that Mr. Rafiel has left her instructions which she must follow in order to inherit a substantial sum of money from his estate. The confusion lies in Mr. Rafiel's instructions. What exactly does he want from her? She has a tour already paid for her to join and then it's up to Miss Marple to glean whatever clues she can from her journey. A strange request coming from a mere acquaintance while on another trip.

Excellently written and a most enjoyable mystery.

In Nemesis, Miss Jane Marple is quietly sitting in her house in St Mary Mead, reading the obituaries in her favourite newspaper, when one of the names printed there strikes her as familiar. Mr. Rafiel, whom she'd met briefly during a sojourn in the West Indies a year earlier, and with whom she'd help solve a mystery, has died.
About a week later, she recieves a letter from London, asking her to go to the late Mr. Rafiel's solicitors' office. There she learns that Mr. Rafiel is leaving her a rather large amount of money, at the condition that she manages to solve a certain mystery, for the sake of Justice he says. The problem is, he doesn't give her any clues as to where she should start, nor what she should be looking for. Is she to witness, or prevent a crime? Catch a murderer red-handed, or maybe right some wrong that was done in a time long past? Intrigued, Miss Marple decides to accept the proposition.
Not long after, she recieves an invitation to go on coach tour of the Famous Houses and Gardens of Great Britain. Everything has been arranged and paid for by none other than Mr. Rafiel. Miss Marple starts her investigation.
What I enjoy the most in Nemesis is the way Agatha Christie makes you look at the world through the eyes of an old lady, the way you can follow her thoughts and deductions. How Miss Marple takes advantage of seeming a harmless old lady to bully people into revealing things is very funny too. Of course it's cleverly written and very suspenseful, but you wouldn't except less from "The Acknowledged Queen of Detective Fiction", now would you?

What made many of Agatha Christie's books good reading is the dialogue appeared to be spoken by different people instead of a single person delivering different lines. There were really multiple personalities in the tale rather than figureboard mouthpieces of the author.
That is why there was a Mr Rafiel, eccentric wealthy man who charged Nemesis, which was what he called Ms Marple, to set out on a quest to right a certain wrong. In his will, read after his death, Ms Marple was left 20,000 pounds if she would take up his charge. He left no explicit instruction for her, other than referred to the only time they had met, when together they solved a murder.
Not one to idle, Ms Marple went forth enthusiastically to learn all she could of the late Mr Rafiel to find out if he had anything unfulfilled in his life.
Next, she was contacted by a tour agency informing her that Mr Rafiel had pre-booked her on a tour of old English houses and gardens. On the tour, she met various personalities, of which two revealed themselves to have links with the late Mr Rafiel.
In due time, Ms Marple learned of several noteworthy things which had happened in a little village - vicious murder of a girl engaged to the son of Mr Rafiel, conviction of the latter for the death, another missing girl, three sisters who had brought the girl up and also well acquainted with the late Mr Rafiel.
Little by little, Ms Marple learned more about the people around her, and it was from their personalities and characters she determined the kind of persons they were and what they might and might not have done. Alert for danger, Ms Marple sought to assemble disparate pieces of information to uncover a hidden picture of what could have happened which would be of interest to Mr Rafiel.
I found that having read several of Christie's mysteries, the trend was easy to spot, and being alert for the red herrings, found them fairly easy to spot. However, it would still offer a challenge to those who enjoy reading mysteries which gave clues through relationship of people rather than clues in the forms of dropped matchsticks etc.

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.

This is the fifteenth Christie novel I've read, the third that I've read after seeing a film version of the story, and the second Miss Marple book I've held in my hand (I've seen film adaptions of ten of the twelve Miss Marple stories). This is my favorite Miss Marple story.

My habit before writing reviews is to read the negative reviews first, and the ones below talk about how the story plods. To me, it's not boring; it's just that it doesn't rush. Miss Marple is given a challenge to undertake a task with minimal information and then starts learning the facts one by one until she determines who the murderer is.

Although I guessed the guilty party before the end there were a few twists that Christie always throws in that I did not see coming. As usual I enjoyed the book as I do most of Agatha Christie's work. It is nice to read about real detective work sans the gore and blood of modern mystery novels.

A delightful entertaining Miss Marple mystery. Mrs. Christie doesn't give her character Miss Marple much to start out in solving this one and it's almost a mystery how she is going to solve this ten year mystery. As ever the author cleverly creates scenarios and our elderly lady must be creative in this one in order to solve this one.

Miss Marple murder mystery. #12 in the Miss Marple books. Copyright 1971, my copy is from 1973.
This is a reread for me, but it's been a lot of years since I last read it. I did eventually remember "who dunnit".

This story starts out slow. It really doesn't get interesting until chapter 11. The premise seems pretty impossible. Miss Marple has to solve a mystery set on her by her old friend, Mr Rafael (The Caribbean Mystery). She has no clues, no anything. Until she gets an invitation for a garden/house tour. Then things get moving. Lots of coincidence, red herrings, contrivance. I liked the story, but it was a little much.

Some very old fashion ideas about rape are a turn off. I also don't know why every young man who has long hair is a suspected anarchist. A quirk of AC's.

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.

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.

It has been years since Miss Marple heard anything from the very rich Jason Rafiel, who had pooled his wits with hers in that murder business some years back (see A Caribbean Mystery). Now that he has died, Miss Marple receives an unexpected letter from Mr. Rafiel's solicitors, asking her to call at their offices. The late Mr. Rafiel wants Miss Marple to solve a crime, but he doesn't give any clues as to when it happened, where, or to whom. Miss Marple takes on the challenge, but faces death more closely than she ever expected.

Nemesis was published in 1971 and finalizes the list of more than twenty Miss Marple books. But the nosy sleuth receives a far more prosperous retirement than her colleague Hercule Poirot, who dies during his final appearance in Curtain.

Nemesis may be slow-paced and a bit tedious at times, but the old charm is still there and a good deal of magic in plotting too. Nevertheless the denouement seems a bit in a clutter and misses the opportunity to amaze the reader. The gimmick of a reoccurring character from a previous book, never really compensates this flaw. But for who indeed has enjoyed the other adventures of Miss Marple, it stays a delight to see that old lady at work.

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, the store Reviewer

The last Marple novel Agatha Christie wrote prior to her death, Nemesis is a wonderful read. The famed elderly female detective, Miss Jane Marple receives a mysterious letter from an old acquaintance known as Mr. Rafiel. The man asks Miss Marple to solve a crime committed many years earlier. He tells the elderly woman she has a "flair for crime" that will help her resolve the case. Miss Marple would be only too happy to investigate, but there are a couple of hitches: First of all, Rafiel does not tell her where or when the crime was committed, who was involved, or even what happened. Second of all, she cannot ask him for more information, because Rafiel is dead, having arranged for Miss Marple to receive the letter after his death. Eventually, she receives other obscure clues the man left for her before his death, and Miss Marple gradually uncovers the shocking details of three murders and comes face-to-face with a deranged killer.
The major thing which made Nemesis so enjoyable was the fact you start off not knowing details regarding the crime that was committed and are required to learn, alongside Miss Marple, exactly what had occurred. For me, this heightened the suspense of the novel and caused me to anticipate even more the conclusion of the story. In addition, Christie has a magnificent way of describing her scenes:
In the afternoons it was the custom of Miss Jane Marple to unfold her second newspaper. Two newspapers were delivered at her house every morning. The first one Miss Marple read while sipping her early morning tea, that is, if it was delivered in time. The boy who delivered the papers was notably erratic in his management of time. Frequently, too, there was either a new boy or a boy who was acting temporarily as a stand-in for the first one. And each one would have ideas of his own as to the geographical route that he should take in delivering. Perhaps it varied monotony for him (Ch.1).
Finally, Christie is a genius when it comes to having Miss Marple learn vital information to her investigation through ordinary conversation. Pay close attention, for example, to Miss Marple's conversation with Clotilde Glynne concerning a plant that has overgrown a greenhouse. It will become important later. These things, plus many others, make Nemesis one of Christie's best novels.

Before "Nemesis", I haven't read an Agatha Christie book in years. I'm glad I started again, as this book reminded me of what a brilliant writer Christie was. "Nemesis" immediately engaged me and I found it difficult to put down. Agatha Christie weaved such a coherent and fascinating tale of murder and mystery without resorting to gore or sensationalism. In Miss Marple, she created a relateable and loveable character reminiscent of one's own nosy but likeable aunt. It took some time for the mystery to develop. Many of the characters weren't fully fleshed out, which was my only problem with this book. Otherwise, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can't wait to read another of Christie's mystery soon!

Before "Nemesis", I haven't read an Agatha Christie book in years. I'm glad I started again, as this book reminded me of what a brilliant writer Christie was. "Nemesis" immediately engaged me and I found it difficult to put down. Agatha Christie weaved such a coherent and fascinating tale of murder and mystery without resorting to gore or sensationalism. In Miss Marple, she created a relateable and loveable character reminiscent of one's own nosy but likeable aunt. It took some time for the mystery to develop. Many of the characters weren't fully fleshed out, which was my only problem with this book. Otherwise, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can't wait to read another of Christie's mystery soon!

Agatha Christie pulls out all the stops for Miss Marple in NEMESIS. She reunites my favorite sleuth with Jason Rafiel, a companion in crime solving she commandeered in A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY. Mr. Rafiel is decreased, but solicitous the help of his nemesis to right a grave injustice without leaving any instructions for her to follow.
Miss Marple must make her own case with her own highly developed sense of justice and knowledge of evil.
This one will keep you guess until the final pages and send you back to reread this perfect gem of detective fiction.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

I LOVE Agatha Christie's books, but the publisher picked the wrong narrator. Emilia Fox is fine for other books, but she sounds too young to be an authentic representation of Miss Marple. I returned my audiobook and was VERY disappointed to see that Audible did not have another version with - say Joan Hickson, Stephanie Cole, Nadia May or Rosemary Leach!!!

How clever! Only Dame Agatha could take such a peculiar premise and turn it into a well-written, logical storyline. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to Miss Marple, though. I’ve enjoyed her adventures quite a bit.

What "improvements" have been made for the Signet edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further additions still in the Bantam, Berkley, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

Interesting in itself, I couldn't help notice the similarities with other Agatha Christie novels, notably the Body in the Library. One scene is closely reminiscent of Death on the Nile. The whole concept of digging up a murder from the past recurs in many of Agatha's story - Sleeping Murder, Five Little Pigs, Sad Cypress, etc. About 70% of the way into the book I could guess the murderer. If you don't mind the repetition, you may like it.

Miss Jane Marple, an elderly lady with a knack for solving mysteries, took up a challenge given to her by the late Mr. Rafiel. Miss Marple was very surprised to learn that Mr. Rafiel had left a message with his lawyers insisting that she take up a case involving his son. He gave no information on what the case was, and only asked Miss Marple to say whether or not she would take up the challenge. He had arranged for her to go on a tour of the English countryside to meet suspects. While on the tour, she stopped for two nights in a little town and stayed with friends of Mr. Rafiel's. The three sisters that owned the mansion had very plain personalities and Miss Marple concluded that they had nothing to hide. She also met Miss Temple, who had interest in a girl named Verity Hunt, who had been brutally murdered by Mr. Rafiel's son. Did Mr. Rafiel's son kill Verity or not and who could have done it? Miss Temple was murdered on a hike with the tour and right before her death, she told Miss Marple helpful secrets. As the mystery began to unfold, Miss Marple learned of more unsolved murders. Mr. Rafiel only wanted justice to be done, and as Miss Marple tried to insure the justice, her life was being threatened as she uncovered a tragic love affair, a ten-year old murder, and an all-too-living killer! One of the most interesting characters was Anthea Bradbury-Scott, one of the three sisters Miss Marple stayed with. Miss Marple suspected sorrow in this house, and noticed it highly in Anthea. Anthea's most interesting aspect was that she was so fearful and it was a mystery as to why. I recommend this book because it is very well written and surprising. The characters are very descriptive and the clues all fit together. I was very surprised at who turned out to be the murderer and who were secret police officers. I think this book is perfect for anyone who loves a good mystery!

I hate to say anything negative about this book because on many levels it's so enjoyable. The premise is tantalizing: Miss Marple is asked by a dead man to solve a mystery and then is given almost no information about it. She must simply follow some very general instructions and see what comes up. What follows are two of my favorite mystery settings: an English coach tour full of quirky tourists visiting tourist sites, and a decrepit old manor house full of what we call atmosphere. Needless to say, there are perplexing clues, sudden death, and a maddening stew of suspects. It's a format I enjoy: an investigator must piece together an old story told in bits and pieces from various people. She must find the needle in the haystack from long, long ago, such as an overlooked clue or some later evidence that has come to light and that now changes the conclusions drawn in the past.

The book does fall short, however. Early on, I was able to guess without much trouble what would come later, and that's always disappointing in a mystery novel. Certain basic questions were never asked or answered, so some things didn't add up at the end of the day. Christie was getting on when she wrote this, so maybe she wasn't at the top of her game. In spite of that, I'd still recommend it as a very enjoyable read.

Agatha Christie Audio CD (BOOKS ON TAPE) are absolutely wonderful . I have purchased all of mine from the store.com and will be purchasing more in the future from the store. Her Mysteries of Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot and other characters are absolutely wonderful . When listening on CD with head-phones on and your eyes closed you start an unbelievable journey every time . If you love Great Mysteries you have to buy these , you'll love every exciting minute of these("SITTING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR CHAIR") stories ! If you want the best price , look no furter than the store.com as they have the best prices I have ever seen on these wonderful CD series . You can buy with Confidence and Trust from the store , there the Best. Sincerely, Pat Simmons

Agatha Christie has done it again. Another totally entertaing mystery. This is a mystery brain twister and a must read for Agatha Christie fans and mysteries fans alike. I have only read only read one other "Miss Marple" by Christie and "Nemsis" is definitly better than "The Body in the Library". One you start you won't be able to put it down. Miss Marple plays a much larger role in "Nemsis."

I agree with the reviewers - oddly few in number - who find the plodding plot and endless discussion glacial, but that is not my main complaint with this novel. At least twice, characters find an opening to articulate their unpleasant views on rape - namely, that girls are asking for it "these days" (i.e., the feminist/sexual revolution era). And one of them is a doctor! I don't know if these backward remarks have been tidied out of this particular edition - I hope so, otherwise I'm REALLY surprised there are no other comments about it. While I know this attitude was very prevalent for years (and in England, well into the '90s) it adds a nasty element of "she asked for it" that sits very oddly in a Miss Marple mystery, even one as unconventional as this. Also, Christie's patronage of the lower-classes has a "narsty" tinge too, since it was OK for a low-born "tart" to get raped and killed, but not a rich girl.

Yes indeed, Nemesis may seem a strange nickname for elderly Miss Marple but it suits her. This book has been written towards the end of Agatha Christie's carreer and she shows a lot of insight in what's going on inside the head of old people. The plot is well built and intriguing and original, because before looking for who has done it you have to find what has been done.

To clarify D. McKinzie's statement written above: NEMESIS was the last Miss Marple novel written by Christie. Another, SLEEPING MURDER, published after the author's death, was actually written in the 1940s. I give it only three stars, not because it was all that bad, but because most of the other Marple books were so much better. Its shortcomings must be forgiven when we remember that Christie was well into her eighties when it was written.

Nemesis sadly shows Christie's age--or an editor who was overawed or underemployed. The writing lacks the sparkle of earlier works. Even aside from the puzzles, Christie's writing is usually a delight, but Nemesis drags on painfully in spots; I even found myself scanning pages, which I've never done with other Christie books.

Agatha Christie Audio CD (BOOKS ON TAPE) are absolutely wonderful . I have purchased all of mine from the store.com and will be purchasing more in the future from the store. Her Mysteries of Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot and other characters are absolutely wonderful . When listening on CD with head-phones on and your eyes closed you start an unbelievable journey every time . If you love Great Mysteries you have to buy these , you'll love every exciting minute of these("SITTING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR CHAIR") stories ! If you want the best price , look no furter than the store.com as they have the best prices I have ever seen on these wonderful CD series . You can buy with Confidence and Trust from the store , there the Best. Sincerely, Pat Simmons

Sleeping Murder was the last published Miss Marple novel but was written some 30 years earlier. That makes Nemesis the final Miss Marple novel that she wrote. And, it is a fine coda to the old sleuth.

After learning of the death of Mr. Rafiel, whom she had met during “A Caribbean Mystery,” Miss Marple receives a summons to a lawyer. Mr. Rafiel has left instructions, and a potential financial reward, for Jane to take on her role of Nemesis once again and find justice. The only problem is that Mr. Rafiel has left no information about the case – at all. She doesn’t know who needs justice, or was denied justice. She assumes it has to do with a murder, since it was a murder that brought her into Rafiel’s circle. So, a good portion of the opening has Miss Marple blindly searching for direction. It isn’t until she is contacted to take an all-expense paid tour, arranged by Rafiel, that the suspects are introduced, and the mystery begins to unfold.

The book is relatively long (compared to other Marple books), and I was initially afraid it would be a meandering, boring mess like “At Betram’s Hotel”. The first third was very slow, but it picked up significantly in the second half. I liked the mystery: a young man in prison for murder, the deaths of two young girls years ago, and a fellow passenger now. And, it made sense why Rafiel kept Jane in the dark – he wanted her to investigate without any preconceived ideas. The mystery was very good, but I enjoyed much more that Miss Marple was actively engaged throughout. There is no police inspector taking the lead; no frequent switching between character POVs. It’s all Jane – and that makes the story better than it would have been otherwise. Plus, Jane is quite old by now and the danger more acute when the killer begins to see her as a threat.

Overall, while not Christie’s best Miss Marple mystery, I loved that Nemesis focuses almost exclusively on Miss Marple and that it tied to a previous book. The resolution was well supported, if a trifle predictable, and the final showdown was more exciting than one would expect from an elderly sleuth.