Monthly Reads | February 2023 Reads
February 28, 2023
Book Review | ARC Review | The Block Party by Jamie Day
March 2, 2023
Meet Agatha Raisin: feisty, gloriously non-pc, and used to getting her own way. After giving up her successful PR firm, Agatha moves to the cozy Cotswold village of Carsely–but the town isn’t quite as peaceful as it might seem. In this delightful mystery series from M.C. Beaton, amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin solves many a murder and falls desperately for many a man.
In the first book, The Quiche of Death, Agatha is 53, and ages slowly, setting up her own detective agency in The Deadly Dance. Police, even her friend Bill Wong, see more bumbling luck than skill.
246 pages
Published: December 1, 1992
Read: October 2022
Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest: Surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry–but falls over dead! After her quiche’s secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth…
Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she is soon receiving sinister notes. Has her cheating and meddling landed her in hot water, or are the threats related to the suspicious death? It may mean the difference between egg on her face and a coroner’s tag on her toe…
Main Characters
- Agatha Raisin – the star of the series! She is recently retired, at the age of 53, from working in public relations. Her ex(?) husband, Jimmy, is missing
- Roy Silver – twenty-five year old that had worked. He ends up employed by a bigger company and leans on Agatha to help with his job
- Mr. Cummings-Brown – the victim of the book, he is found dead after eating quiche from the quiche competition; he is a philanderer
- Mrs. Cummings-Brown – the wife of the deceased
- Sheila Barr – Agatha’s neighbor, angry with Agatha for stealing her cleaner
- Doris Simpson – Agatha’s cleaner
- Bert Simpson – Doris’s husband.
- Ella and John Cartwright – Ella was having an affair with Mr. Cummings Brown (she won the quiche competition every year); John is her husband and not a good person
- Mrs Bloxby – the vicar’s wife.
- Police Constable Fred Griggs
- Detective Constable Bill Wong – the policeman investigating Mr Cummings-Browne’s death and befriends Agatha’s.
- Other detectives investigating the case:
- Detective Chief Inspector Wilkes
- Detective Sergeant Friend
- Police Constable Fred Griggs
- Mr James Lacey – moves next door to Agatha
My Review
I enjoyed this book and immediately put a hold on the second book. It was a very cozy mystery that involved cranky, semi-older people and trying to fit in in town. I’m excited to see where the rest of the series goes – it appears there are lots!
Spoilers
*SPOILERS – Do NOT expand this section unless you want to know the spoilers!*
Agatha goes to confront Mrs Cummings-Browne, the wife of the deceased. She accuses her of murder – Mrs Cummings-Browne had baked a quiche with the poisonous plant in the social hall where the ladies’ circle keep food as there is a cooker and microwave. Mrs Cummings-Browne has put sleeping pills in the tea she gives to Agatha and intends to burn the place down with Agatha inside. Thankfully, the woman is arrested, and Bill Wong rescues Agatha.
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (Book #2)
198 pages
Published: August 1, 1993
by St Martins Press
Read: November 2022
Feisty Agatha Raisin, former London PR exec, retired to quiet Cotswold village. Handsome vet Paul Bladen accidentally kills himself while attending Lord Pendlebury’s horse. Agatha and attractive neighbor James Lacey investigate the curious lack of sorrow shown by his divorced wife while a killer plans another “accident”.
Main Characters
- Agatha Raisin
- Bill Wong – police, friends of Agatha
- James Lacey – Agatha’s neighbor who she is pursuing heavily in this book
- Paul Bladen – new vet in town, murder victim
- Lord Pendlebury – owner of the horse that was getting its vocal cords cut when Paul Bladen died
- Peter Rice – Paul Bladen’s partner
- Josephine Webster – owns a shop in town, was at Bladen’s funeral
My Review
There were some fun parts to the second book in this series. It is a light, quick read that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I smiled at the part where Agatha floods a bar bathroom.. all because she had a blemish on her nose. It does seem a little frustrating how quickly Agatha falls for people – from going on an out of country trip because she knew Lacey would be there, going on a date with the vet, to almost giving up her fortune to an old professional rival…
I will keep going in this series, these are perfect, cozy reads for the winter weather!
Spoilers
*SPOILERS – Do NOT expand this section unless you want to know the spoilers!*
The new vet in town is murdered by horse tranquilizer. It ends up being his partner, Peter Rice. Peter was angry with his partner for swindling money from him – getting women to give Paul Bladen cash for the new vet hospital he said he was going to open up. Peter Rice was mad that Paul had already stolen the woman he loved and married her (mainly for her money). When he discovers what has been going on with the swindling – he sends Peter to open up a vet clinic in Cotswold village where he has a friend, Josephine Webster. Paul ends up taking advantage of a few women to get one from them to pay back Peter, but then he gets Josephine to give him money and sleep with him. Paul had enough and kills Peter because he was in love with Josephine.
Agatha Raisin and Potted Gardner (Book #3)
191 pages
Published: July 15, 1994
by Minotaur Books
Read: December 2022
Never say die. That’s the philosophy Agatha Raisin clings to when she comes home to cozy Carsely and finds a new woman ensconced in the affections of her attractive bachelor neighbor, James Lacey.
The beautiful newcomer, Mary Fortune, is superior in every way, especially when it comes to gardening. And Agatha, that rose with many thorns, hasn’t a green thumb to her name. With garden Open Day approaching, she longs for a nice juicy murder to remind James of her genius for investigation.
And sure enough, a series of destructive assaults on the finest gardens is followed by an appalling murder. Agatha seizes the moment and immediately starts yanking up village secrets by their roots and digging up all the dirt on the victim. Problem is, Agatha has an awkward secret of her own . . .
Main Characters
- Agatha
- Jame Lecy
- Roy Silver
- Bill Wong
- Mary Fortune – New to town, she moved into the house that Mrs. Josephs had been murdered in in the previous book
My Review
I did find it weird that they came out at the end that Mary had suffered from depression, it didn’t seem like it was relevant and was trying to justify the bad things she did.
Spoilers
*SPOILERS – Do NOT expand this section unless you want to know the spoilers!*
The killer was the neighbor whose fish were poisoned. He loved his fish so much that he killed her.
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (Book #4)
240 pages
Published: April 1, 1995
Read: January 2023
Agatha Raisin joins Dembley hiking club to pursue handsome Cotswold neighbor James Lacey. Angry member Jessica targets wealthy landowner Charles Fraith, who retaliates with tea invitation, but her body is found dead on his grounds. Agatha and James investigate the crime, the group ready to kill.
Main Characters
- Jessica Tartinck – extreme feminist; murder victim
- Deborah Camden – hires Agatha to figure out who killed Jessica; mousy person
- Gustav – the butler, very grumpy man
- Deborah and Jessica’s rambling group
My Review
I think this might have been my least favorite so far.
Spoilers
u003cstrongu003eWarningu003c/strongu003e: This section contains spoilers! Do not expand this section if you don’t want to be spoiled!
The killer was Deborah! She thought that Agatha was not very good at investigating, so she enlisted her to help thinking that she would botch the case. She killed Jessica because she had had a fling with her and was worried that Jessica would tell the rich landowner that she was seeing. Deborah was convinced that she was going to marry him and become wealthy. James and Agatha thought it was the landowner, so they go to save Deborah, but find she is about to kill him when they get there. James and Agatha hook up at the end and he asks her to marry him!
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Book #5)
224 pages
Published: September 15, 1997
by Minotaur Books
Read: January 2023
The morning of Agatha’s marriage to James Lacey dawns bright and clear. But her luck runs out in the church when Jimmy, the husband she had believed long dead, turns up large as life and twice as ugly.
Agatha has a go at strangling him. James breaks off the engagement. So when Jimmy is found murdered next day, Agatha and James are both the prime suspects. And they’ll have to work together in order to clear their names . . .
Main Characters
- Agatha
- Bill Wong
- James Lacey
- Roy Silver
- Jimmy Raisin – Agatha’s husband; murder victim
- Mrs. Hardy – bought Agatha’s cottage
- Mrs. Gore-Appleton – mystery woman that went to the health spa with Jimmy
My Review
Agatha and James are getting married, but Agatha’s husband shows up at the wedding and it’s called off! Roy had found Jimmy Raisin, homeless, and hinted about Agatha. Agatha was sure Jimmy had died from drinking a long time ago.
Jimmy is found dead in a ditch after Agatha had confronted him and threaten him. Agatha is arrested, then James is question – so they team up to find out who the murderer is. Agatha had sold her cottage to Mrs. Hardy when she thought she was going to be married.. so awkwardness ensues as she has to still live with James for the time being.
Bill Wong ends up investigating Agatha and James because of a relationship he is hoping to have with someone in the police force. This is hurtful to Agatha, so she is very motivated to find the murdered. James and Agatha pretend to be married and go visit a health farm where Jimmy had sobered up with a Mrs. Gore-Appleton. They think someone from the health farm is responsible for the murder. Two of the people Agatha interviews end up dead, James house is set on fire with them in it… they need to find the murderer before the murderer gets them too.
After interviewing several people from Jimmy’s past, they stumble upon a picture of Mrs. Gore-Appleton, who was stealing from people and Jimmy was her partner. Agatha then confronts the murderer or Mrs. Gore-Appleton or the older version, who happened to be someone living in the village. Agatha is in danger once she has figured out the identity of the murderer.
Spoilers
*SPOILERS – Do NOT expand this section unless you want to know the spoilers!*
The neighbor, Mrs. Hardy, was the the bad guy! She had faked being Mrs. Gore-Appleton and Jimmy Raisin was blackmailing her. Jimmy and Mrs. Hardy had been stealing from people. She killed the other two people that were at the health farm because they would be able to recognize her. She knocks out Agatha and almost kills her and is going to bury her alive, but the others find a picture of Jimmy with her in Jimmy’s things and make it in time to save her!
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (Book #6)
212 pages
Published: October 1, 1997
Read: January 2023
The tough and brassy Agatha Raisin goes to north Cyprus to track down her ex-fiance. Instead of having a honeymoon, the two witness the murder of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Two sets of terrible tourists surround the unhappy couple, and Agatha won’t rest until she finds the killer. Unfortunately, it also seems the killer won’t rest until Agatha is out of the picture.
Main Characters
- Olivia – upper class; they have a house in the Cotswolds
- George – recently retired from the foreign office
- Rose – lower class; beautiful
- Trevor – Rose’s husband
- Harry – friends with Olivia and George; farmer
- Angus – Friends with Rose; retired shopkeeper
- Dreary couple – Alice and Bert Turpham-Jones
- Charles Fraith – From the Walkers of Dembsley
My Review
We are still in the midst of the wedding drama and it’s a little cringeworthy that Agatha follows James to Cyprus. Upon her arrival, Agatha goes on a sailing cruise and is introduced to other tourists that she doesn’t seem to like. Two of the couples end up staying at the Dome Hotel with her.
Once she finally ends up finding James (and moves out of the hotel into a villa with him – platonically.. and he treats her like garbage), they go out dancing with the two couples and their friends they brought along. Rose ends up dead!!
Agatha is accused of the murder because they think she wanted to bring the fame of solving murders to northern Cyprus. She teams up with James.. and Sir Charles!… to solve the murder.
This was one a little slow for me, I think there was quite a bit of northern Cyprus history sprinkled in to fill pages – which was information, but I wanted more of the story! I also think I like these better when they are in the cozy little town setting.
Spoilers
Warning: This section contains spoilers! Do not expand this section if you don’t want to be spoiled!
Olivia is the murderer! She had known all about their debts for a while. She stabbed Rose with a knitting needle and hid it in the ceiling of her hotel room. Olivia had found George and Rose having sex, and was very jealous. George only had sex with Rose because he thought she was going to bail him out from his debts. He had asked Harry for money, but Harry had said he’d only give it to Olivia but George didn’t want Olivia to know about the debts. Harry was paying for all of Olivia and George’s vacations instead of giving George money. Olivia also killed Harry because he had told her he had left her everything for her in his will.
Olivia is found and is pronounced dead – they think she was trying to swim away and wasn’t strong enough.
James had left for Turkey to go find proof that Mustafa (the person he was supposed to be renting a nice place from) had swindled him, but it turns out Mustafa had been killed already because he owed the Turkish mafia money.
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (Book #7)
212 pages
Published: January 1, 1998
Read: January 2023
Agatha Raisin’s neighbouring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company – which intends to tap into the village spring – sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps.
When Agatha, who just happens to be handling the PR for the water company, finds the council chairman murdered at the basin of the spring, tongues start wagging. Could one of the council members have polished off the chairman before he could cast the deciding vote?
Poor Agatha, still nursing a bruised heart from one of her unsuccessful romantic encounters, must get cracking, investigate the councillors and solve the crime.
Main Characters
- Agatha
- Bill Wong
- James Lacey
- Mrs. Darry – newcomer to the village from London, member of the Ladies’ society
- Sir Charles
- The Freemant brothers – owners of water company
Members of the Parish Council in Ancombe
- Mr. Struthers – chairman; retired banker; murder victim.. casting vote for the water company
- Andy Stiggs – vice chairman; retired shopkeeper – against the water company
- Mary Owen – independently wealthy – against the water company
- Jane Cutler – widow, wealthy – for the water company
- Bill Allen – runs the garden center – against the water company
- Fred Shaw – local electrician – for the water company
- Angela Buckley – farmer’s daughter – for the water company
My Review
I really wish Agatha would move on from James. She does have a fling, with a younger man, who is also one of the owners of the water company. She finds the body of one of the parish men down by the spring. He was the deciding vote for the water company. All sorts of things happen for her job as PR for the water company, including a drug scandal with a band she was going to have open up for a get together. James goes undercover with an animal rights group. There is a search for a white Persian cat.
“Did anyone ever age gracefully? Or was it a choice of giving up or going down fighting?”
― M.C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
Spoilers
Warning: This section contains spoilers! Do not expand this section if you don’t want to be spoiled!
Guy is the killer. He killed Mr. Struthers and well as Ravena to ensure the water company would succeed. Mary Owens was funding the animal rights group to protest.
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Book #8)
196 pages
Published: December 15, 1999
by Minotaur Books
Read: February 2023
The local ladies all deem Mr John a wizard, so when Agatha finds a few grey hairs on her head, she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. As well as sorting out her hair it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart – but their future together is cut short when Mr John is fatally poisoned in his salon.
Spoilers
Ending of Book #8:
The wizard was using people to get their secrets and then blackmailing them. He ends up dead. The woman that opens a salon across the street and takes all of his workers ends up being his ex wife. She was the one that murdered him because she was mad that he left her to fail with her own salon. She tries to kill Agatha once she figures out it was her, and at the end she uses a chemical to remove all of Agatha’s hair instead of shampoo.
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (Book #9)
196 pages
Published: June 15, 2000
by Minotaur Books
Read: March 2023
There is nothing more depressing for a middle-aged lovelorn woman with bald patches on her head than to find herself in an English seaside resort out of season. Agatha Raisin, her hair falling out after a run-in with a hairdresser-cum-murderess from a previous investigation, travels to an old-fashioned hotel in order to repair the damage away from the neighbors in her all-too-cozy Cotswolds village. Unhappy about the slow results and prompted by the elderly residents of the resort, she consults the local witch for help. Agatha purchases a hair tonic (and a love potion, just in case!) and is soon sprouting hairs and capturing the fancy of the village police inspector. But the quiet town is stunned by the murder of the witch. Which one of the graying guests is capable of such a brutal crime? The brassy yet endearing Agatha won’t stop until she finds the culprit–and, of course, a little love, too.
Do not expand this section unless you want to see spoilers
Agatha gets engaged to the police chief Jimmy – but then sleeps with Charles when he comes to visit. They break off their engagement.
Daily Jones was the killer. She killed the witch when she beat her and then she talked her daughter into meeting her by the water and pushing her in – knowing she couldn’t swim.
The colonel died of natural causes. Daisy sent Jimmy up to Agatha’s room to catch her with Charles… Daisy is a jealous woman.
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (Book #10)
196 pages
Published: June 2000
Read: March 2023
When a fortune teller from a previous case informs Agatha Raisin that her destiny–and true love–lies in Norfolk, she promptly rents a cottage in the quaint village of Fryfam. No sooner does she arrive than strange things start happening. Random objects go missing from people’s homes, and odd little lights are seen dancing in the villagers’ gardens and yards. Stories soon begin circulating about the presence of fairies.
But when a prominent village resident is found murdered, and some suspicion falls on her and her friend Sir Charles Fraith, Agatha decides she’s had enough of this fairy nonsense and steps up her sleuthing for a human killer.
The prickly yet endearing Agatha will have fans dangling in suspense: Will she catch her crook–and a husband?
Do not expand this section unless you want to see spoilers
Barry Jones, the attractive gardener, is the killer (he is the son of the cleaner). He was having an affair with Lucy and killed Tollie.
Charles overheard him telling Agatha what he did – he ran and got the police and they arrest Barry.
Agatha goes back home and James shows up and proposes and they get married. UGH.