Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful public-relations firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely.
Bored, lonely, and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest—surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry but falls over dead! After her quiche’s secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth.
Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper-crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she is soon receiving sinister notes. Has her cheating and meddling landed her in hot water, or are the threats related to the suspicious death? It may mean the difference between egg on her face and a coroner’s tag on her toe.
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“The cozy British mystery gets a feisty newsleuth in the person of Agatha Raisin…Beaton spices up the story with so manydelightful characters that whodunit hardly matters. Agatha herself is anirascible, testy tyrant who is as cranky as the rest of us would like to be.Still, she’s not completely stodgy; she does have an eye for the gentlemen.With a handsome neighbor moving next door in the book’s last few pages, itseems clear there’s more of Agatha to come.”
— Booklist
“The strong narrative drive comes from Agatha’s changing personality as awkward and perilous situations shape her into a softer, more admirable person.”
— Chicago Sun-Times“Beaton, always deft with imperfect human beings, guides Agatha through her travails until she becomes almost likable. You will want to see her again.”
— Houston Post“In Agatha, Beaton has blended perfectly the classic ingredients of a village with secrets and stock characters. The irascible but endearing personality of Agatha Raisin is like a heady dash of curry. May we have another serving, please?”
— Detroit Free Press“Beaton has thus launched a new series featuring an eccentric sleuth with human foibles galore, combined with an indomitable spirit, who will long persevere and endear herself to the village (and the reader).”
— San Antonio Express-News“A hilarious, up-to-the-minute murder romp that’s as delicious as a Christmas pudding.”
— St. Petersburg Times“In this highly promising launch to a new mystery series, Beaton…introduce[s] the redoubtable Agatha Raisin…whose personality is a piquant combination of brusque competence and fallibility…Beaton’s playful depiction of village life makes it all a delicious romp.”
— Publishers WeeklyM. C. Beaton (1936–2019), hailed as the “Queen of Crime” by the Globe and Mail, was the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Agatha Raisin novels—the basis for the hit series on Acorn TV—as well as the Hamish Macbeth series. Born in Scotland, Beaton also wrote nearly one hundred historical romances under several pseudonyms. Her books have been translated into nineteen languages and sold more than twenty-two million copies worldwide.
Penelope Keith is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and award-winning actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and The Good Life, but she has appeared in many other television programs, including No Job for a Lady and Law and Disorder. Her theater performances include The Norman Conquests, Hay Fever, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession. She has received several BAFTA Awards and in 2014 was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.