Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton ISBN 978-0312939168
I had never read any of the Agatha Raisin stories but they had come highly recommended by a number of patrons — so I thought I would try one. Agatha is a middle aged woman who retires young from her own public relations firm and moves to a small village where she had vacationed once. She is a woman who had fought her way to the top and held tight with a firm hand. She had a very hard time fitting in with tea parties and Ladies Society Meetings. This book is how she uses her acute business sense and stubborn attitudes to find a place in a small village while trying to avoid being murdered in her quest for truth.
This is a great book with funny scenarios and wonderfully strong characters.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this highly promising launch to a new mystery series, Beaton turns from the adventures of her Scottish policeman Hamish Macbeth to introduce the redoubtable Agatha Raisin. At 53, Agatha, whose personality is a piquant combination of brusque competence and fallibility, sells her London public relations firm to retire to the picturesque Cotswold village of Carsely. Determined to gain acceptance among the villagers, the undomestic Agatha enters a local bake-off. The judge, Reg Cummings-Brown, not only snubs her entry but later dies, poisoned by cowbane in Agatha’s killer quiche. Of course Agatha is innocent: her “homemade” entry came from a Chelsea delicatessen. Knowing news of her cheating will light up the village, Agatha hopes to save face by proving Reg was murdered, even though the police think it was all a ghastly accident. But was Reg or Agatha the target? And why would anyone want to kill the popular Reg, whose wife was only one of “quite a lot of ladies . . . sobbing into their handkerchiefs” at the inquest? While the murder is occasionally overshadowed by Agatha’s settling-in problems, Beaton’s ( Death of a Snob ) playful depiction of village life makes it all a delicious romp.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Review
“- ‘Beaton’s dry sense of humour and her unflattering but affectionate portrait of gruff, often adolescent acting Agatha make this… tale a bloom worth picking.’ – Publishers Weekly – ‘Engaging’ – Booklist –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
