#ReadChristie2021: June - Nemesis

It's hard to believe we're already halfway through 2021! This year seems to be absolutely flying by, but thankfully I've finished some great reads. 

As we're now into July, that also means we're halfway through #ReadChristie2021! I've had a really great time exploring new Christies and revisiting old favourites, but I'm glad there's still another six books left to enjoy.

The prompt for June was: a story featuring a garden.

This was my second Miss Marple of the year. I was really excited for Nemesis, because I remember my mum saying great things about it. However, I found it a little too convoluted for my liking.

Here's my full wrap-up, where I've answered the questions posed by Official Agatha Christie. You can find out more about #ReadChristie2021 on their website.

1. What did you enjoy about this novel?

I enjoyed that this was something a little bit different. I really love Christie's typical locked room mysteries and classic plot methods, but it never hurts to mix it up. I also enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about Miss Marple herself. She's such an interesting character and it was nice to see her properly in action.

2. What did you think of the unusual set-up?

I thought it was interesting, and it was nice to see her tackle something a little more out there. However, I found that too much of the story was establishing the story, and so it didn't feel like it was handled very effectively. 

3. Which characters did you find the most interesting?

If I'm really honest, and I hate to say it, I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting. Miss Marple was fun to follow, but beyond her I struggled. I felt like there were too many to really connect to any of them, and I wish we had had a bit more to hold onto.

4. What did you think of Miss Marple's detections?

I felt like some of them were a bit of a reach. However, I also liked being able to see Miss Marple's thought process, and I thought the story really established her detection as intuitive. She's very good at solving mysteries because she perceives the truth. That's why I felt the story title was so interesting. Miss Marple is set up as Nemesis, and being able to sense good and evil works well in line with that!

5. What did you make of the ending?

It made a lot of sense to me. I could see how the story had got to that conclusion, and it all seemed to work. I think there was so much going on, though, that the ending wasn't as satisfying as it could have been.

6. Rating

✫✫✫

This certainly wasn't my favourite Agatha Christie book, but I can see why others would really enjoy it. I'm looking forward to reading more Miss Marple stories in future that I hopefully connect better with.