Nemesis vs The Murder at the Vicarage: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Marple, Jane Marple, Women detectives, England, Mystery, Fiction
Nemesis
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E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on Nemesis;2) "The Marples": the complete guide to all the cases of crime literature's foremost female detective.Even the unflappable Miss Marple is…
The Murder at the Vicarage
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Murder at the Vicarage (1930)is the first Miss Marple mystery book by Agatha Christie. Miss Jane Marple is a village busybody who applies human nature to crimes. Colonel Protheroe, magistrate universally despised, was…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Murder at the Vicarage has the widest readership — 222506 ratings behind its score.
- Nemesis runs the darker storyline; The Murder at the Vicarage stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Nemesis | The Murder at the Vicarage | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (47047) | 4.0 (222506) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (92) | 3.9 (348) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (168) | 4.5 (64) |
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Reception
| Nemesis | The Murder at the Vicarage | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 47047 | 222506 |
| Editions | 103 | 127 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 20640 | 198900 |
| Reading it now | 1648 | 8101 |
| Written reviews | 3250 | 10364 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4302 | 6364 |
| Pages | 194 | 288 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Nemesis or The Murder at the Vicarage?
The Murder at the Vicarage has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Murder at the Vicarage 4.0/5, Nemesis 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Nemesis or The Murder at the Vicarage?
Nemesis is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Nemesis (194 pages, ≈ 3 h 36 m); The Murder at the Vicarage (288 pages, ≈ 5 h 20 m).
Which is harder to read: Nemesis or The Murder at the Vicarage?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Nemesis: Moderate; The Murder at the Vicarage: Challenging.