Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist #6 by M. C. Beaton198 pages
Published July 1998 by St. Martin's Press
Source: my wonderful local library
Agatha Raisin's ex-husband has recently come back into her life only to be murdered. She's managed to solve the case but at the expense of her fiance who has broken off the engagement and fled to Cyprus. Not eager to have her future happiness snatched from her Agatha follows him only to find herself caught up with two sets of obnoxious tourists, as well as her now ex-fiance James. When Agatha insists on solving the murder, she irritates not only James but the local police as well. To make matters with James worse, Agatha is also spending time with old friend Sir Charles. A series of attempts on her life make Agatha more determined than ever.
Because I've done all of my M. C. Beaton "reading" on audiobook, I'm at the mercy of the library as to the order I get to the books in. I did wish that I had read the books in order but it's not necessary. It doesn't take long for the reader to get up to speed on Agatha's background and to get a good feel for her character. And what a character it is! Agatha is a middle-aged woman who has had a successful PR career; she's feisty, no nonsense and not good at making friends.
When I started talking about Beaton's other series, with Hamish MacBeth, several people told me to rush off and get some Agatha Raisin, that I would like her even better. I wish I could say that I did but this book did not make a believer of me. I couldn't understand Agatha's attraction to James, I didn't care for a second story line involving a friend of James', and I thought the plot here was weak.
But just as in the MacBeth series, Beaton always manages to keep things light even as people are being murdered and writes wonderfully funny characters. A bonus in this book are the terrific descriptions of Cyprus; as I listened, I kept looking on the internet to see what the sights really looked like.
Luckily for Agatha, she comes highly recommended so I'll probably give her another chance.
That's good to know...I like finding out knew cozy mystery series to read. Looks like this one is a light fun read.
ReplyDeleteI love books that give really good descriptions of the setting. I've planned a few trips that way - all because of a book!
ReplyDeleteI didn't read your review (just skimmed it) as I've only read the first two books in this series...but I really enjoyed both of them. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying this series as well. I think that they are a fun cozy mystery series and I can't help but love Agatha as the main character.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up on Agatha. I think both of Beaton's series are the type that grow on you.
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