Customer Reviews

The Quiche of Death (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For months now some of my reading friends have been praising Agatha Raisin, the female detective who has got her life through the pen of M.C.Beaton. It took me some time to finally buy some of the books, but one day a packet came from amazon with the three first ones. In the middle of buying and selling houses, full time work and a busy family it was not easy to sit down with the book. But you always need some resting time, and what is better then to crab a cup of ice tea, and sit out on the patio with a book. Agatha Raisin then came into my life, and here she will stay on, no doubth of that. I loved the book from the very first pages. First I was curious, this Agatha, who is she? Then amazed of this woman selling her promotion company in London to move out into the storybook English village, then I had to laugh, laugh alot ....She is for sure no Miss Marple, and no Penelope from Rosamunde Pilcher. She is truly something unique, a woman you have to love because she is so human, with her faults and everything. In her attempt to become one of the villagers, Agatha decides to take part in the country fair. No cook though she buys a quich from a London deli, quite sure that this one has to be a winner. Of course it is not, it is even a very bad quich, and when the judge eats from it he dies of poisoning. Well, from here the story goes on, with Agatha trying to find the murderer when eveybody else tend to believe it was just an accident. With this book I can promise you hours of fun, and if you are about to sell a house you might need to do as Agatha does, tell people the house is already sold when the come to look at it. I am glad I already have the second book to dive into, but what about my house selling???

I've just discovered the novels of M.C. Beaton through the Hammish Macbeth TV series running on BBC America. While the majority seem to prefer the Macbeth series, I don't. Agatha Raisin is a prickly personality that is delightful to read because she says the things we would want to say and don't. This particular book is a great character study and even if set in England, I recognize my own small hometown within its pages. Is it literature? No, thank God! But it is a pleasant weekend read. Oh, and if you've ever read the very funny Regency romances of Marion Chesney, you'll want to know she is also M.C. Beaton.

...And great fun to read! Agatha first comes across as hard to take, but pretty soon we begin to appreciate her vulnerability. Set in the Cotswold villages of Britain, Agatha's adventures are closely tied in with her inability to safely navigate normal social life amongst the village. The supporting cast is wonderfully diverse, and the humor that is liberally sprinkled throughout Agatha's observations and experiences kept me thoroughly entertained chapter to chapter. I don't much care for series, but look forward to reading more in this one. I appreciated that it was PG rated, and that the main emphasis was on characterization and solving the mystery. No blood and guts.

Agatha Raisin, a sharp-tongued middle aged woman, debuts in this cozy set in the Cotswolds of England. Agatha, tired of London and the publicity business, sells out and buys a cottage in the village of Carsely. Wanting desperately to fit in, she enters a baking contest in the village, but resorts to cheating when she enters a store bought quiche instead of her own. When the judge of the contest dies from eating the quiche, all fingers point to Agatha and she must admit to all that she cheated.

All the while, Agatha becomes more and more curious about the poison found in the murder victim, and wanting to clear her name, Agatha sets out to find the real killer. Helping her (when everyone else shuns her) are Mrs. Bloxsby, the vicar's wife, and Detective Bill Wong. Future love-interest, James Lacey, is also introduced in this hilarious romp of a mystery.

M.C. Beaton is also the author of the much-loved Hamish McBeth mystery series, and shows her sense of humor in this series. Agatha's antics are legendary, and at times, I laughed out loud at some of the silly things that she does. Agatha's low self-esteem (hidden under a rough, blustery exterior) makes you root for her even when she pushes everyone away. I especially like the scenes in which Agatha tries to make herself appear younger (wearing tons of make-up that runs, high-heeled shoes for a walk, etc.) because she becomes much more human and lovable to the reader. If you have not read this series and you like cozy mysteries, ask yourself what you are waiting for, and get all of the books in the series! Then curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy!

Agatha is a delightful and very different anti-heroine, completely lacking in introspection, annoyingly human, but plenty smart. This first in the Agatha Raisin series is unlike anything I've read in the genre, and very funny. Highly recommend for a vacation read!

As a child Agatha Raisin was taken to the Cotswolds on vacation and fell in love with the area. Ever since that one visit she has made her plans to go back to the Cotswolds to live, and as this book opens she is about to do just that for Agatha was retiring. She had built her public-relations firm into a very successful enterprise and has now sold it and bought a cottage in Carsely where she plans to spend the rest of her days although she begins to wonder if she has made the right decision even before her retirement party begins.

As a hard-nosed executive in London, Agatha had made few if any friends but was so busy with her career that she never noticed. Once she settles into her cottage in Carsely she becomes keenly aware that she is lonely and isolated. The people are friendly enough but she can tell there is a distance in their friendliness so she sets out to be fully accepted. Winning the local baking contest she decides will put her well on the road toward acceptance so she enters the quiche category. Unfortunately she has never learned to cook so she makes a trip to London and buys a spinach quiche, disguises it as her own and enters it in the contest. The judge of the contest however has a tendency to award the prize to his favorites and Agatha's entry does not win. Not yet knowing that the judge is a philanderer who always picks the entries of his companions, Agatha storms out leaving her quiche on the table. The next thing that she knows, the judge has eaten some of her quiche at home and has dropped dead. Poisoned quiche is the cause of death.

Agatha is a suspect for only a short while because Detective Constable Bill Wong asks her to show him how she made her quiche and is soon quite certain that the irascible Mrs. Raisin couldn't produce an edible quiche if her life depended on it. The death is in fact ruled an accident because the police believe that the cowbane, which killed the judge, got tragically mixed in with the spinach that went into the dish. That answer is just a little too neat for Agatha however and she begins to snoop around. Along the way she is physically attacked by one of the late judge's harem and has a hex put on her by another of the dear departed's lady friends. She also uncovers a lot of dirt that has no relation to the judge's death what so ever, but she finally hits on what really happened and is almost killed for her efforts. She does however begin to find herself accepted by the people of her new hometown and she has a bunch of new friends almost before she knows what's happening.

This is the first entry in the Agatha Raisin mystery series and the reader is introduced to a cast of characters that I assume will continue to play major roles in future stories. The reader is also introduced to Agatha who is pushy, loud, opinionated, and rude and sometimes foul-mouthed but she also exhibits a vulnerable side that makes her character very interesting. By the end of the book, the fierce London executive who doesn't seem to have a romantic bone in her body, has a crush on her neighbor and is the proud owner of a new kitten that she lies in the floor and plays with.

The depth of the characters along with a quality mystery combine to make this a very enjoyable and interesting warm fuzzy mystery. Be warned however that all is not always warm and fuzzy when Agatha gets her dander up and heaven help anyone who gets in her way. I'm just glad that I don't like spinach quiche!

I still remember my first time reading this book! I have never laughed out loud reading a book before, but this changed it all! The book is well written for a nice light read that you can read in a day or two. I still go back and read it when I have a little down time and I still laugh and just can't put it down. This is the first in the Agatha Raisin series and the others are just as delightful. If you have a day or two and need to escape or need something to read on a relaxing vacation this is it!

This is the first book in M.C. Beaton's series of cozies featuring Agatha Raisin. Agatha is a laugh-out-loud mix of vulnerability and tough-as-nails self-made business woman, who sells her London public relations business and fulfills a life-long dream by buying a cottage in the Cotswolds village of Carsely and taking early retirement. Eager to make an impact on her fellow villagers, she enters the village quiche competition, after wining and dining the judge. Agatha's detective adventures begin when she loses the competition and the judge dies the next day of cowbane poisoning from eating her quiche. Of course, it wasn't really Agatha's quiche. She can't cook at all, and bought the quiche from a famous London quiche maker, and entered it in the competition as her own. Naturally, our Agatha's cheating is exposed almost immediately, and she is no longer a suspect. She is, however, bored to tears by retirement, and sets out to find the murderer. Readers are introduced to series regulars detective Bill Wong, former employee Roy Silver, the vicar's wife Mrs. Bloxby. We are also introduced to handsome retired colonel James Lacey, who moves next door to Agatha towards the end of this story. James's early impressions of Agatha walking by mumbling to herself and her reaction to this good-looking new neighbor are terrifically funny. This fifty-something heroine is a hoot! The mystery is well-written, with a solid, traditional resolution. If you love Agatha Christie, you'll love Beaton's Agatha Raisin! I suggest you collect the entire series all at once and read them in order....because you won't be able to wait to get to the next book!

I love English mysteries, mostly because they center on personality--and Agatha Raisin has tons of personality. This first book in the series, set in the modern hills of England, introduces you to Agatha and many recurring characers. There are references to sex and all of the gore happens off stage. As a mystery, there are many better but you have an even chance of guessing the killer(s). Red herrings abound, but the point is not the mystery but the slightly (let's be honest) silly story. The village itself is a character, and has more than a few living in it. (I particularly love to hate the Boggles.) The book is quick, fun read. I keep waiting for the vicar's wife to be less a saint, and love the various sinners -- and enjoy how Agatha keeps getting herself in fixes that arise from her little weaknesses. This is not a book to analyze,just to enjoy. You'll wish you were in the Cotswolds, in the rain or at the Village fair. Have a great time!

Crawl into the cozy of the Cotswalds with Agatha Raisin, who makes her debut as unorthodox heroine to the menopausal set. Taking a well earned early retirement to the village of Carsley, Agatha tries to adapt her presumptuous and pushy personality to the cozy and contentious community life. Aggressive Agatha is clueless in the deportment department, but determined to fit into her imagined idyllic retirement at any cost. And never imagines that the store bought quiche she enters into the village cooking contest will kill someone. Agatha's allure lies in her complete lack of tact and charm, her assertive aplomb, shrewd intellect, rude responses, and the little glimpses the reader is permitted of the human Agatha. The scenery is splendidly sketched, the cast of characters outrageous but somehow believable, and this middle aged mama's only complaint is that this book ends all too quickly - but hold on - this is a series, and more Agatha awaits.