Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 12) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "IT was one of those grey days where misty rain blurs the windscreen and the bare branches of the winter trees mournfully drip water into..." (more)
Key Phrases: freezer room, hen party, blond wig, John Armitage, High Street, Agatha Raisin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tetchy Agatha Raisin's attempt at a little R&R in the wake of her beloved husband's defection to a French monastery gets her revved up for another mystery when she hears that a fellow vacationer was murdered. The real story in M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came takes place upon Agatha's return to her Cotswold home, when she learns of a young woman's apparent suicide and decides to investigate with the aid of her new neighbor, the dashing, cultured and vaguely lascivious writer John Armitage, and her own surprising flair for deceit and disguise.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Beaton's Agatha Raisin series (this is her twelfth) just about defines the British cozy: she gives us an individualistic sleuth working out of a thatched cottage in an achingly picturesque Cotswolds village. Agatha Raisin deviates from the sensible Miss Marple norm, however, in being thin-skinned, prickly, and annoying, but this difference spices up the formula. Agatha's latest adventures begin when her husband runs off to join a monastery in France. Agatha seeks solace in an island vacation. During her getaway, she notices a newlywed couple; within days, the groom drowns the bride. On her return home, during a dramatic flash flood, Agatha sees another dead bride, wearing a white gown and clutching a bridal bouquet, sweeping past on the river. Agatha swings into action, pestering the locals and enlisting the aid of her new neighbor, a mystery writer. Very improbable detective work, but a satisfying read nonetheless for cozy lovers. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (October 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031298586X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312985868
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,224 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #16 in

  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Beaton, M.C.

• This is item 12 in The Agatha Raisin Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars made for compulsive reading, June 24, 2002

By	tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 12) (Hardcover)

Like "Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell," the manner in which this latest Agatha Raisin installment unfolds pretty much mirrors Agatha's frame of mind and feelings. The ending of her short-lived but ill fated marriage to her great love, James Lacey, has left Agatha feeling empty, lonely and utterly diminished in the self confidence department. As such, the novel moves between Agatha's feelings of inadequacy and her determination to get a handle on things and so move forward and onward. This could be slightly off putting if you're not an Agatha Raisin fan, and if you're not prepared to fall in with whatever master plan M. C. Beaton has mapped out for Agatha. I enjoyed the book very much. It was well written, cleverly executed and completely engrossing.

Saddened and weary -- first James ends their marriage in order to join a monastery, then Sir Charles Fraith (someone she thought she could count as a friend) gets married to a French society beauty and never bothers inviting her to his wedding -- Agatha decides that what she needs in a holiday far away from everyone she knows. A week at a small isolated South Pacific island seems just the ticket. And to her surprise Agatha finds herself enjoying her vacation. The other vacationers are incredibly friendly and take great pains to include Agatha in their activities. Only the honeymooning couple remains aloof. And although something about the newly wed husband strikes Agatha being slightly 'off,' she manages to keep her opinions to herself, and refrains from interfering.

Back again in England, Agatha comes across a young local couple (Zak Jensen & Kylie Stokes) that reminds her of the vacationing honeymooners. Something about Zak Jensen seems slightly 'off' as well. A couple of weeks later, Agatha watches in horror, as the body of Kylie Stokes, dressed in her wedding dress and clutching a bridal bouquet, floats down the river during a storm. And while the police are strangely reticent about classifying Kylie's death (her body was pumped with heroin and frozen before it ended up in the river); Agatha is sure that Kylie was murdered and that Zak had something to do with Kylie's death. And she is determined to prove it. Disguising herself as a researcher for a TV station, Agatha begins making the rounds, interviewing Kylie's friends and coworkers, hoping to discover something that would lead her to Kylie's killer.

I like this series immensely -- it is poignant, humourous and completely appealing. And this particular installment, "Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came," proved to be as compulsive a read as the other books in the series. Part romance novel (will Agatha ever over her love for James?), part mystery novel, I've been an enthusiastic fan of this series from the very beginning. And while the tone has changed a little -- the first few mystery novels were a little more quirky and humourous than the later ones which have been more poignant in tone -- this novel still made for enjoyable reading. I thought that the novel unwound in a smooth manner even if the denouncement was a bit rushed. There were quite a few red herring suspects to keep readers guessing, even if the plot was not a terribly complex or complicated one. All in all, great reading.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prickly, Grouchy, but Undeterred--Agatha Survives!, December 18, 2002

By	Patricia McDonald-Nunemaker "Patricia Nunemaker" (Leawood, KS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 12) (Hardcover)

This most recent of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series (all complete delights for cozy-holics like me) finds our Agatha at long last rid of her handsome ex-neighbor and ex-husband James Lacey, who has sold his cottage and joined a French monastery. And good enough for him, too, after the way he treated our Agatha. Regular readers will be delighted to see Agatha recovering surely if slowly from the wounds inflicted on her by the misogynistic, emotionally abusive Lacey...and will find further snickers in the brief images of the fickle tightwad Sir Charles Fraith, a former partner in investigation and erstwhile lover, caught in a not necessarily happy marriage and newly chubby to boot. Don't we all want to see Agatha find a man who thinks she's as funny and worthy as we do? Could her new neighbor, the famous author John Armitage, be The One? Can't wait for the next installment in this series to find out! As far as the plot, it's predictable and delightful. If you're an Agatha Christie fan, you'll recognize the plot and certain clue devices early on, although Beaton takes a few twists and contemporary turns on the original. Beaton never fails to delight in her plots, nor in the continuing saga of the grumpy but tender-hearted Agatha! More, more, more, and more, please Ms. Beaton!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Enough Adjectives for Agatha, August 27, 2002

By	Mamalinde "mamalinde" (Dallas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 12) (Hardcover)

Winsome, quirky, irritable and delightfully miserable, our middle aged heroine Agatha Raisin has been deserted by James Lacy and must go on to find what life awaits. An escapist trip to Robinson Crusoe island in South America was a bit of a surprise, but it has now been added to my venue of places to visit. Upon returning to her cottages in the Cotswolds and her adoring cats, Agatha seriously takes up Pilates, determines to studiously ignore her new neighbor and to hypnotize away her cigarette habit. Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar's wife, is a minor character, but has one line in this book that makes the whole read more than worth while. As Agatha finds herself in the midst of yet another murder mystery, she dons a wig and glasses and goes investigating. Despite rude remarks about her age, threats and more murder, Agatha perseveres and (of course) nearly gets killed herself. How M.C. Beaton can continue to improve on her Agatha formula book after book, I couldn't guess, but I found this one even more fun and even wiser than previous volumes. Exceedingly clever.