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lisa_bergin's review against another edition
4.0
Another enjoyable Agatha Raisin, Cotswolds set murder mystery. Agatha is so wonderfully awful, you cant help but love her. I really enjoy this series, very quick to read with great characters.
camvi's review against another edition
3.0
Ce livre était vraiment bien c’est le premier Agatha raisin que j’ai lu et il m’a beaucoup plu, je lui reproche tout de même de tourner en rond il est un peu long l’enquête qui s’arrête et qui reprend environ 4 fois tout au long du livre le rend plus difficile à lire. Je vous conseille d’avoir lu d’autres livres de la collection avant car l’abondance de personnage peut parfois rendre le livre assez confus et ne connaissant pas la plupart des antécédents amoureux et amical des personnages on s’y perd un peu. J’ai aussi trouvé que l’intrigue se complexifie un peu trop mais reste facile à suivre.
drbetteridge's review against another edition
3.0
I'm getting a bit bored with Agatha Raisin now, but I'm determined to finish the series and I am close. Still a break from serious reading, but I have to admit that while reading it on the train I was hiding the cover. Just a bit embarrassed reading this kind of book. Not really mind stretching.
zara89's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
lyndsay_reads_a_lot's review against another edition
4.0
Agatha gets hired to advertise a county fete but goes over board for a handsome face. Multiple deaths and suspicious accidents and Agatha and toni somehow figure it out.
beccajbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Well Agatha is back, with another mystery to solve. This time in the village of Comfrey Magna.
Agatha has been asked to help with the PR for the local fete, so that the village can make as much money as possible in order to fix the church roof. All goes well, and the fete is turning out to be a huge success with Agatha's contacts bringing in the youth from far and wide. However, this is an Agatha Raisin mystery, and so someone must die.
A couple of elderly parishioners are adversely affected by something that has been put into the jam, and subsequently end up dead. Agatha must find out who killed them and why.
Along the way she meets a host of characters, some nice, some nasty, and also a few more bodies turn up. Of course.
Can she find out who tampered with the jam? Can she keep her hands off the handsome villager called George? Is she safe, with all her meddling rubbing people up the wrong way?
I enjoyed reading this one, although it wasn't the best I've read in the series. It dragged on a little and took an age to get to the point. I felt there were loads of extra added bits that were just uneccesary for the story. There is a random bit in there about a shoe factory that takes up about 2 pages..? With no relevance to the story at all, that I could see. These random bits are what drove down the stars to a generous 2.5 for me.
It is always a cosy read, when you pick up an Agatha Raisin. If you want a quaint little murder mystery to tide you over for a couple of days on these cooler nights, then this could be for you.
I would recommend, but not my fav of MC Beaton's by far.
www.thebeautifulbookbreak.com
Agatha has been asked to help with the PR for the local fete, so that the village can make as much money as possible in order to fix the church roof. All goes well, and the fete is turning out to be a huge success with Agatha's contacts bringing in the youth from far and wide. However, this is an Agatha Raisin mystery, and so someone must die.
A couple of elderly parishioners are adversely affected by something that has been put into the jam, and subsequently end up dead. Agatha must find out who killed them and why.
Along the way she meets a host of characters, some nice, some nasty, and also a few more bodies turn up. Of course.
Can she find out who tampered with the jam? Can she keep her hands off the handsome villager called George? Is she safe, with all her meddling rubbing people up the wrong way?
I enjoyed reading this one, although it wasn't the best I've read in the series. It dragged on a little and took an age to get to the point. I felt there were loads of extra added bits that were just uneccesary for the story. There is a random bit in there about a shoe factory that takes up about 2 pages..? With no relevance to the story at all, that I could see. These random bits are what drove down the stars to a generous 2.5 for me.
It is always a cosy read, when you pick up an Agatha Raisin. If you want a quaint little murder mystery to tide you over for a couple of days on these cooler nights, then this could be for you.
I would recommend, but not my fav of MC Beaton's by far.
www.thebeautifulbookbreak.com
emmalg's review against another edition
3.0
I found this unusually hard going for an Agatha Raisin mystery. It just seemed a bit boring, going round and round over the same ground over and over. It definitely lacked the usual wit and as a result took me much longer than usual to finish.
I have skipped a few books and have read one of the later ones as well. The later one was better but I found myself asking in this one where "snakes and bastards" came from. Did I completely miss this in the earlier books or was it a saying she picked up?
Altogether an unusually dull book from this series.
I have skipped a few books and have read one of the later ones as well. The later one was better but I found myself asking in this one where "snakes and bastards" came from. Did I completely miss this in the earlier books or was it a saying she picked up?
Altogether an unusually dull book from this series.
booksonhermind's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
This is my first Agatha Raisin story so it might make more sense that I rated it low. I enjoyed Agatha even if she is an unlikable character. There were some funny lines in the writing and the writing itself was good. I think I just got lost with all the characters. There was so much happening in the story, maybe too much, that took away from the main murder. Yes, I said main murder. Again, there was a lot happening. I may have liked this better if I had started from the beginning but although I liked Agatha - there is so much that I can take of her. So Agatha, the many storylines, and the many characters are the reason I rated this low. Otherwise it was a nice time.
This is my first Agatha Raisin story so it might make more sense that I rated it low. I enjoyed Agatha even if she is an unlikable character. There were some funny lines in the writing and the writing itself was good. I think I just got lost with all the characters. There was so much happening in the story, maybe too much, that took away from the main murder. Yes, I said main murder. Again, there was a lot happening. I may have liked this better if I had started from the beginning but although I liked Agatha - there is so much that I can take of her. So Agatha, the many storylines, and the many characters are the reason I rated this low. Otherwise it was a nice time.
yourfavoritemixtape's review against another edition
2.0
This felt a bit all over the place again. I understand that the author doesn‘t want to use the same storyarc over and over again, but it‘s a lot neater with a straight storyline.
ayundabs's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have always told myself that I like cozy mysteries, maybe because they usually involve puns as their titles, cute covers, and they give me a chance to read something lighthearted in place of all the dark fantasy/thrillers I normally pick up.
I bought this copy randomly secondhand from a book market in 2019. It looked like a fun read, and for once in my life I didn't care if it was not the first book of the series.
What I liked about this book:
The main character. Feisty, opinionated, passionate. It was really fun getting to know the witty Agatha Raisin.
The setting. Such a dainty, cozy, and peaceful vibe, it was just the ideal atmosphere and location for such a genre. Also the rainy weather and nice moments with nature makes me want to read it while curling up under the blanket with a cup of tea.
The side characters. From the suspects to the random middle-aged ladies living in this isolated little town, to the young prodigy Toni that has her own character arc, all the side characters feel well written and fun to read about. I would really enjoy a spinoff book fully centered about Toni, because I think she is more relatable to me, being a young person recently starting her adult career.
What I didn't really like about this book:
This is the 15th or something book of the series, so it's a shame that I don't know much about the main characters, their character development or back stories.
The crime and crime solving itself isn't the most exciting or engaging story in the world, but I didn't really expect much out of this sort of genre.
At times the story could get boring and I would lose track of who is who. Maybe also knowing that this book is so short that it's a bit of a waste of time for me to remember the people anyway, also makes me lose interest in the random suspects and more interested in the main characters/detectives.
Overall, a very nice cozy read. Exactly what you'd expect from something in the genre, with a very interesting main character, but not mindblowing in any way. Will I continue the series (aka go back and read all the previous books)? Maybe! Let me know if you have read the series and if it worth it to read all 15-something books in the backlist ;)
I bought this copy randomly secondhand from a book market in 2019. It looked like a fun read, and for once in my life I didn't care if it was not the first book of the series.
What I liked about this book:
The main character. Feisty, opinionated, passionate. It was really fun getting to know the witty Agatha Raisin.
The setting. Such a dainty, cozy, and peaceful vibe, it was just the ideal atmosphere and location for such a genre. Also the rainy weather and nice moments with nature makes me want to read it while curling up under the blanket with a cup of tea.
The side characters. From the suspects to the random middle-aged ladies living in this isolated little town, to the young prodigy Toni that has her own character arc, all the side characters feel well written and fun to read about. I would really enjoy a spinoff book fully centered about Toni, because I think she is more relatable to me, being a young person recently starting her adult career.
What I didn't really like about this book:
This is the 15th or something book of the series, so it's a shame that I don't know much about the main characters, their character development or back stories.
The crime and crime solving itself isn't the most exciting or engaging story in the world, but I didn't really expect much out of this sort of genre.
At times the story could get boring and I would lose track of who is who. Maybe also knowing that this book is so short that it's a bit of a waste of time for me to remember the people anyway, also makes me lose interest in the random suspects and more interested in the main characters/detectives.
Overall, a very nice cozy read. Exactly what you'd expect from something in the genre, with a very interesting main character, but not mindblowing in any way. Will I continue the series (aka go back and read all the previous books)? Maybe! Let me know if you have read the series and if it worth it to read all 15-something books in the backlist ;)