Nemesis

 

Nemesis is one of my Agatha Christie favourites. Miss Marple is the sleuth so that's a winner to start with for me. But the whole story is intriguing and atmospheric with both historic murders and a new one with the potential for more. 

Miss Marple receives a letter from a firm of solicitors notifying her of the death of Mr Rafiel whom she briefly met in the Caribbean and who has a quest for justice for her. Despite minimal information, she takes up the challenge and sets off on a coach trip which leads her to key people who can help her solve the quest, including three weird sisters.

Verity Hunt who was about to married to the disreputable Michael, son of Mr Rafiel, is brutally murdered. Who did it and why? Was it Michael? Or someone else?

The characters are fascinating. The three sisters who live together in the Old Manor House provide most of the atmosphere in the book. There is a sense of danger and strangeness as well as deep sorrow about them. 

Who are Miss Cooke and Miss Barrow? Are they who they seem to be? 

And Elizabeth Temple: murdered or was it just a tragic accident?

Even the two solicitors are full of character and give a sense of the time in which the book was written.

I love this book and give it 5*.

A Caribbean Mystery

 

I love Agatha Christie's writing and ordered some of her books with my Christmas money/vouchers. This was the first to plop onto the doormat.

I prefer Miss Marple to Hercule Poirot (sorry Poirot fans!) and I like this particular story because it leads on to one of my favourites: Nemesis.

In A Caribbean Mystery, Miss Marple's nephew has treated her to a holiday in the tropics to help her recover from pneumonia. While chatting to a fellow guest, she is intrigued by his story of a murderer which is accompanied by a snapshot from his wallet. The next day, that guest is dead. 

Miss Marple does a bit of sleuthing and ends up joining forces with Mr Rafiel, a wealthy businessman who is also there for his health. Between them they prevent another murder from taking place.

I enjoy the characters in this book. Miss Marple, obviously. But also Miss Prescott and her canon brother. The accounts of the two ladies' conversations especially when the canon is around illustrate the era perfectly. Men were always to be seen as right and to be respected as such, even if the respect was more lip service than heartfelt. It amused me.

I like this easy-read book and happily give it 4*.

A Stranger on the Beach

Once again, I loved Michele Campbell's (third) psychological thriller.

It is written in two narratives: alternating the points of view of characters Caroline Stark and Aidan Callahan. One narrative can be trusted, the other is lies. But which is which?

Caroline is a rich woman with a beautiful showy mansion on the beach. Her husband Jason is successful and well-respected in a good job. They have a daughter in college. Their lives appear perfect.

But then Jason turns up at Caroline's big house-warming party with an attractive younger woman. Everyone, including Caroline, presumes she is his mistress.

Divorce proceedings begin.

Caroline is heartbroken and seeks solace in the arms of handsome young stranger Aidan who is a bartender. But after one night of passion, Caroline becomes convinced that Aidan is stalking her and her family.

Aidan, however, is trying to convince Caroline that it is Jason who is dangerous and that he is simply trying to protect her and her daughter.

Everything comes to a head one night at the beach mansion during a category four storm. Terror in the dark, a knife, gun shots, lots of blood and an arrest for murder.

Another 5* from me. I can't wait to read more from Michele Campbell.

The Murder at the Vicarage

This is Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple mystery and is set in St Mary Mead.

Various people, including the vicar, wish the bumptious Colonel Protheroe dead. When he is found murdered in the vicar's study, Miss Marple reckons there are seven clear suspects.

As the police (with unsolicited help from the vicar and Miss Marple) set out to find the murderer, there is much confusion over timings, shots and letters.

A gentle, easy-reading whodunnit, good for whiling away a rainy afternoon.

I'm happy to give it 4*.

Devices and Desires

This is my favourite PD James' book to date.

There is a mass murderer on the loose in Norfolk, nicknamed 'The Whistler' because of his eerie whistling as he strangles his victims and stuffs their mouths with their hair.

Local police are stumped and East Anglian women are not safe to be out alone at night.

We are introduced to an intriguing set of very different characters living in a remote corner of this rural county. The nuclear power station overshadows everything and casts its own atmosphere through the story.

Adam Dalgliesh is on leave from the Met police and, while not actively involved in the case, does play his part.

All sorts of secrets are unearthed within this quiet community as the police hunt for the murderer. But then one night it becomes chillingly apparent that there is more than one killer on the loose....

I found it hard to put this book down and loved the different threads of characters' lives and secrets running through it. I'm happy to award it 5*.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

I do enjoy PD James' writing; it's like a cross between Colin Dexter's Morse and Agatha Christie - win, win.

This is the story of Cordelia Gray, the junior partner of a private detective agency. It is her first case since her senior partner's death and she has to rely on her wits and instinct as well as everything Bernie had taught her.

Sir Ronald Callender asks Cordelia to investigate the apparent suicide of his son Mark. (This is the days before the internet and it made me realise afresh how time-consuming it was to look up information without having Google and Bing at our fingertips.)

Cordelia slowly pieces together the last days and hours of Mark's life, refusing to be put off by lies and threats.

As per usual for me, I did not anticipate the end of the story at all. Lots of plot twists to keep me turning the pages. I even stayed up till the early hours one night as I couldn't bear to leave the book unfinished. Even when Cordelia discovers the whole story about Mark's death and the case appears to be closed, there is more to come....

I am happy to award this book 4*.