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 i...
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Dec 09, 2008
Kaye
rated it: 
Needed a lighter mystery and Agatha Raisin was just the ticket. I listened to this and found the reader and her accent great. Agatha is 53 and has just sold her PR firm and moved to the Cogswells. She has a bit of a rough trasistion to small town life. She is a fish out of water but she is stirring up the locals as she solves a murder.
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Feb 05, 2012
Bibliolad
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This is the first book in the Agatha Raisin series by M. C. Beaton. We meet Agatha Raisin as she leaves her successful life in London as the owner/manager of a PR company to follow her dream of retiring early to the Cotswolds. Things don’t quite go to plan for Agatha however, as she discovers that what made her successful in business (being headstrong, bossy, manipulative, and at times thoroughly unpleasant) don’t endear her to her new neighbours in the Cotswold village of Carsely. To help
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Oct 11, 2011
Kathy
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First in the Agatha Raisin mystery series set in a tiny Cotswold village in England and revolving around Agatha herself as she attempts to make the transition from advertising executive to retiree.
The Story
Desperate to fit in with village life, Agatha decides to enter the cooking contest with one of Mr. Economides' quiches. When she doesn't win, she goes off in a huff leaving her quiche behind for the judge, Mr. Cummings-Browne, to have for his dinner.
A fatal error as it More...
The Story
Desperate to fit in with village life, Agatha decides to enter the cooking contest with one of Mr. Economides' quiches. When she doesn't win, she goes off in a huff leaving her quiche behind for the judge, Mr. Cummings-Browne, to have for his dinner.
A fatal error as it More...
Nov 24, 2010
Trish
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This is a delightful little English countryside mystery. Agatha Raisin, a life-time career woman, takes early retirement from her PR business and moves from London to her dream cottage in the Cotswolds and finds herself in the middle of a murder in the quiet countryside.
Beaton has created a wonderful character in Agatha Raisin. Agatha is a no-nonsense, calls it like she sees it type who finds herself a bit out of sorts and vulnerable in this tight-knit Village of Carsely. She so More...
Beaton has created a wonderful character in Agatha Raisin. Agatha is a no-nonsense, calls it like she sees it type who finds herself a bit out of sorts and vulnerable in this tight-knit Village of Carsely. She so More...
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Feb 05, 2012
Wendy
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I absolutely loved the title of this book and bought a boxed set for my sister who has now loaned them back to me.
Agatha Raisin is not an immediately lovable character; she is blunt and rude and her move from London to Carsely, a cotswold villlage, seems ill-advised. She will never fit in. Actually, though, most of the villagers are equally plain-speaking. Everyone seems more than willing to speak their mind.
When Agatha enters a quiche into the village contest she is shocked at the c More...
Agatha Raisin is not an immediately lovable character; she is blunt and rude and her move from London to Carsely, a cotswold villlage, seems ill-advised. She will never fit in. Actually, though, most of the villagers are equally plain-speaking. Everyone seems more than willing to speak their mind.
When Agatha enters a quiche into the village contest she is shocked at the c More...
May 31, 2011
Book Concierge
rated it: 
The author would have us believe that Agatha Raisin was a successful business woman, having built a PR firm from scratch. How did she do that if she is so abrasive and insensitive to everyone around her? Makes no sense. Neither does the plot of this “cozy” mystery. I figured out the victim’s great secret on page 26 (victim had been introduced on page 25). I could tell who the murderer was on page 30 (murder was introduced on page 24).
I don’t understand Agatha’s success; and I re More...
I don’t understand Agatha’s success; and I re More...
Nov 09, 2009
BarkLessWagMore
rated it:
Although mysteries aren't my favorite genre this book managed to capture my attention right away. The main protagonist, Agatha Raisin, is a middle-aged business woman who has made enough cash to retire. She decides to buy a home in a little town and has some difficulty adjusting to small town life and comes to the realization that she is seriously lacking in people skills. Being a sales person she's spent years bulling and talking people into things but when it comes to small talk and making
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Jan 01, 2009
Jenger
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My husband's grandmother passed these on to me with rave reviews. Since I've been so hooked on mysteries lately and love all things British, I took the entire set to read. This is the first in the series and was definitely a quick read. I often don't care for extensive descriptions when reading books, especially when it doesn't do anything to enhance the story. This book, however, was detailed but not in a boring, "get on with it" way. Nor did it seem that the author had to ramble
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Aug 22, 2008
LJ
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AGATHA RAISIN AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH - Ok
Beaton, M.C. - 1st of Agatha Raisin series
In order to introduce herself to the picturesque English village where she has just retired, Mrs. Agatha Raisin enters a quiche in a local competition and promptly finds herself a murder suspect when the judge dies from her poisonous pie.
I know she is supposed to be annoying, and she certainly was. This was very light.
Beaton, M.C. - 1st of Agatha Raisin series
In order to introduce herself to the picturesque English village where she has just retired, Mrs. Agatha Raisin enters a quiche in a local competition and promptly finds herself a murder suspect when the judge dies from her poisonous pie.
I know she is supposed to be annoying, and she certainly was. This was very light.
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Apr 25, 2010
Juliet
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This book is the first in a series by M.C. Beaton about Agatha Raisin. She is a totally hard, snarky, but engaging character. You are introduced to her in this book and you learn of her back ground and how she sees life. She is almost unlikeable at first because she is so rude and caustic. But as the book goes on you begin to feel a bit of affection for her as she stumbles through getting to know her neighbors and being accepted in the small town in the Cotswalds that she has just retired to.
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Jul 17, 2009
Christiana
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This contemporary mystery novel set in the Cotswolds has nothing very original about it except its heroine, a squat aggressive middle-aged Londoner who gives up her cut-throat marketing career to retire early on her earnings, finds herself bored to death, and decides to solve mysteries.
The mysteries themselves are the usual "sordid events in a small town" fare, but Agatha's prickliness held my attention. She's an enjoyable character. Unfortunately, what Agatha lacks is an More...
The mysteries themselves are the usual "sordid events in a small town" fare, but Agatha's prickliness held my attention. She's an enjoyable character. Unfortunately, what Agatha lacks is an More...
Aug 11, 2010
Jaimie
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So at first I didn't think I was going to like this book much at all. I couldn't find anything about Agatha to like and it seemed a little over descriptive and a little slow. Then Agatha starts to shed her facade and we get to see who she is and she is funny and perceptive. I really like her now. I have to say that I was a bit confused about Roy though. I was pretty sure he was gay, I mean he even brought his "friend" down who seemed pretty flambouant to me but then he starts talking a
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Jan 05, 2009
Redatt
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Summary: Agatha Raisin sells her London based PR firm and takes early retirement in order to fulfil her childhood dream of cottage living in the pleasant surrounds of the Cotswolds. In an attempt to enter into village life, make friends and impress the natives, she enters a professionally baked quiche as her own in a village competition but is revealed as a cheat when the judge is somehow poisoned by the quiche.//
This is actually one of my husband's books, loaned to me from the sm More...
This is actually one of my husband's books, loaned to me from the sm More...
Aug 28, 2010
Arlene
rated it:
This was a quick read. I have read several other books in this series but it was good seeing where Agatha came from and how she ended up in the small village of Carsley in the Cotswolds of England. Agatha has a hard time fitting into village life where even her neighbor, who has lived there for 20 years, was considered an incomer. In an attempt to fit in she enters a local baking contest, doesn't matter that she doesn't know how to cook, so she just buys a quiche from her favorite Greek restr
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May 23, 2011
Joanmom
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I've recently read the first 4 Agatha Raisin books: The Quiche of Death, The Vicious Vet, Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener, and The Walkers of Wembley. I am sorry to report to the friend who likes her that I don't. In general, they are quite amusing, inventive plots, and engaging characters - except for Agatha. Yes, I realize the author has purposely written her as a rude, self-centered addicted person. But I am too personally affected by all the drinking and drunk scenes. Addiction is
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Feb 21, 2011
Dolly
rated it:
I am a big fan of M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series and I've heard good things about her Agatha Raisin series, so I figured I'd check it out. Agatha is a tough old bird, quite cantankerous and stubborn, but charming in her own way. The characters in her newly adopted home are interesting and I expect that I will grow to like them even more as the series progresses. I liked this first story and will put the next on hold at my local library very soon. More cozy mystery fodder for my brain ca
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Aug 31, 2009
Ali
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I have finally got around to reading the first of these books, after having collected a good many of them.
I really enjoyed this little book. Funny, charming a real English cosy mystery. Rather better written than the American cozy mystereies I have read recently. Agatha Raisin is a character who is very likeable despite her being quite flawed. In this first book she must come to terms with a new way of life following her early retirement from the world of P.R in London. Her attempt More...
I really enjoyed this little book. Funny, charming a real English cosy mystery. Rather better written than the American cozy mystereies I have read recently. Agatha Raisin is a character who is very likeable despite her being quite flawed. In this first book she must come to terms with a new way of life following her early retirement from the world of P.R in London. Her attempt More...
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Jul 01, 2011
Lesa
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It wasn't a bad read, but I wasn't wowed by it, either. The book has some cursing but not a great deal. I identified the killer very early on, and there was no surprise, no twist before the end. Having just read one of the Hamish Macbeth series before this one, I was expecting to like this one more; instead, I liked it a fair bit less. If someone were to give me more books in the Agatha Raisin series, I would read them, but I don't think I'll purchase any others. Beaton will still get her fair s
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Jan 23, 2010
Kate
rated it: 
My first Agatha Raisin, and I found it impossible to put down so have completed it in one day. Not sure if I would like Agatha when I first started reading, but she grew on me as the book went on (as she did with the residents of the Cotswold village of Carsely.
It jumped to the top of Mount tbr as keep hearing about these books and wanted to know what it was like - and it was a pleasant relaxing bit of escapism, just what I needed this weekend.
It was an interesting take o More...
It jumped to the top of Mount tbr as keep hearing about these books and wanted to know what it was like - and it was a pleasant relaxing bit of escapism, just what I needed this weekend.
It was an interesting take o More...
Jan 24, 2009
Gerry
rated it:
The first in the series of Agatha Raisin novels and Agatha sells her successful London-based PR business and moves to a sleepy Cotswold village. It turns out to be not so sleepy however as she enters a quiche (that she had not made) in a local competition only to discover that the judge, who seemingly ate a piece of it, dies from poisoning. How did it happen? How do the villagers react to this intruder? Will she stay after the mystery is resolved and, more importantly, will she be accepted into
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Dec 08, 2011
Judy
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This is the first in the Agatha Raisin series. Can a slightly overweight,nosy, opinated, insecure woman find happiness in retirement in the English Cotswolds? Agatha Raisin sells her successful PR firm in London and heads to the tiny village of Carsely to find out. Soon bored, and on the fringes of social life in Carsely, Agatha, who has never baked anything, enters a local baking contest. Judge Cummings-Brown not only doesn't like her quiche, but he dies soon after tasting it. Oh yes, she
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Aug 13, 2010
Kate
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Career woman Agatha Raisin has sold her PR business and bought a home in the Cotswolds- fulfilling her lifelong dream. The only problem is that once she gets to her cozy cottage, Agatha finds herself bored and lonely. How can she make the other villagers "stand up and take notice?" she wonders. When she enters a quiche making competition, and the crooked judge is found dead apparently by her own entry, she sets off to find the killer. I loved Ms. Raisin and her grumpy, yet endearing,
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Jun 27, 2009
Lori
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Agatha Raisin is like Miss Marple meets Cruella DeVille gone born again Christian. Ok, maybe she's not a Christian in this series, but she definitely has changed her evil "head of a PR firm" ways and moved to the country for a slower paced life. She does end up finding excitment in this small town, despite her desires at first to leave.
In this book, Quiche of Death, Agatha tries to fit in to the small town by entering a quiche in a bake off. Only one problem, she can't c More...
In this book, Quiche of Death, Agatha tries to fit in to the small town by entering a quiche in a bake off. Only one problem, she can't c More...
Oct 24, 2009
Tracey
rated it:
Agatha Raisin embarks upon a new life after an early retirement in a small town in the Cotswolds, far from her busy and powerful business days in London. Immediately, she finds herself in the midst of a mystery after the death of the judge of a contest in which she entered a quiche. By all appearances, it was her quiche, which it turns out was poisoned, that did him in. Ostracized by the community and suspicious of foul play, she takes it upon herself to prove her innocence. Agatha is on the sur
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Nov 07, 2011
Alyson
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A decent cozy mystery. Agatha is abrasive--as advertised--but while this would normally put me off, here I found it almost charming. The murderer is fairly obvious from the beginning, and, yes, this is a book that includes a Bad Guy Monologue That Explains Why and How It Was Done at the end, but I was looking for a light, fun mystery, and this fit the bill (in other words, if you've read any other cozies, you know what to expect--there are no surprises here). The introduction of a neighbor at
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Jan 07, 2012
Chris
rated it:
A cozy mystery novel, I read this in a span of one day because it's short and engaging enough to be read in a single sitting down. This is the first of the series in the Agatha Raisin mystery novels. It's a charming enough novel with one murder mystery that needs to be solved. The novel is set in England, in a quaint town that may not be so quaint at all. Agatha Raisin gave up her PR business for early retirement and settle in the countryside. Much of the novel is set to establish the characters
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Jun 13, 2010
Laura
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The first in the series of Agatha Raisin books. Loved it. Agatha is a quirky, sometimes grouchy, fish-out-water in the Cotswolds. She's lived in London running her own PR firm for many years & has decided to retire to the quiet countryside. She's clueless. A local fair with a quiche baking competition sends her running back to London & her favorite bakery to buy what she hopes will be the winning quiche. When one of the judges dies after the competition (after he took Agatha's quiche home) Agath
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Nov 03, 2011
Jenna
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Agatha Raisin has retired to a seaside town after a successful PR career. After a week she's bored silly and worse, is lonely with no idea how to make new friends. So, she enters a quiche baking contest - ignoring the fact that she can't cook at all. Agatha buys a quiche from a fancy London shop and expects to win. What she doesn't expect is that the judge will eat her quiche and fall over dead, poisoned by the quiche that Agatha didn't make. Agatha sets out to prove her innocence and solve her
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Jan 28, 2010
Joey
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The story begins with Agatha Raisin taking an early retirement from her PR firm in order to fulfill a childhood dream of hers, which is to buy a cottage in the Cotswolds and move to a quaint little village away from the hustle and bustle of London.
Unfortunately, after just a few pages, I knew I wasn't going to like Agatha Raisin. She's quite rude and unnecessarily nasty with pretty much everyone she first encounters. Actually, this quaint little village seems to be full of rude a More...
Unfortunately, after just a few pages, I knew I wasn't going to like Agatha Raisin. She's quite rude and unnecessarily nasty with pretty much everyone she first encounters. Actually, this quaint little village seems to be full of rude a More...
Oct 21, 2011
wfpoppet
rated it:
Agatha Raisin is a character I love to hate. Sometimes I find myself rooting for her, and at other times I can't wait until she "gets hers." She is abrasive and self-centered - to the point that I sometimes have to step away from these books for a few days - but I find the general storylines appealing enough to keep coming back for more. Part of the charm of the Agatha Raisin mysteries is the peek into her surroundings in the Cotswolds.
Overall, this series offers light my More...
Overall, this series offers light my More...
