Nemesis (The Agatha Christie Mystery Collection)

Kindle review - Chapter navigation available. This is an actual Kindle version so the navigation and type-setting are appropriate to Kindle. Book review - This is a follow up to A Caribbean Mystery. Miss Marple and Mr. Rafiel became friends while trying to avert a murder in St. Honore. A year later he leaves her a death-bed challenge without actually telling her what the challenge is, much less who is involved. So she is in a situation where she has to figure out what the problem is and then what the solution is. It's kind of fun. I don't know if this was easier to solve than her usual puzzles because I remembered how it went and it seemed pretty obvious the second time through. Some of hers I can remember what happened but not why or how and so the puzzle lives on even after you know what the solution is. So it's still a good read... but for re-reading years later it's lower on the list.

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.

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.

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.

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!