Product Description

In this sixth entertaining outing Agatha leaves the sleepy Cotswold village of Carsely to pursue love - and finds a murderer. Spurned at the altar, she follows her fleeing fiance James Lacey to north Cyprus, where, instead of enjoying the honeymoon they'd planned, they witness the killing of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Intrigue and a string of murders surround the unlikely couple, in a plot as scorching as the Greek sun!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8529 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-23
• Released on: 2006-02-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
"* 'Anyone interested in a few hours' worth of intelligent, amusing reading will want to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Agatha Raisin.' - The Cleveland Pain Dealer * 'Agatha Raisin is sharp, witty, hugely intelligent, unfailingly entertaining, delightfully intolerant and oh so magnificently non PC. M C Beaton has created a new national treasure... the stories zing along and are irresistible, unputdownable, a joy. If you buy one book a year, let it be this. Agatha Raisin is The Strongest Link.' - Anne Robinson * '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"

The Hebridean
A delight for fans of the series and newcomers alike.

Good Book Guide
A humourous and exciting mystery with the indomitable Agatha once again winning through

Customer Reviews

The best in the series so far!
This is the sixth book in the Agatha Raisin series and having read them all so far I believe it to be the best.

At the end of book five Agatha had been left standing at the alter by James Lacey after Agatha's husband had turned up. James flees to North Cyprus (which was going to be their honeymoon destination) and is eventually followed by Agatha who cannot bear not to have contact with James.

Of course a murder of a tourist takes place at a disco and Agatha and James investigate. James is feeling agrieved at being mistreated by the people he has rented his accomodation off and disappears to Turkey in search of him. Agatha is left to solve the murder herself which she does admirably.

On arriving back in Carsley Agatha finds that James as not arrived back and is extremely disappointed. This of course is the end of the book and we are, sadly,left waiting to see what will happen between Agatha and James.

I loved this book and thought there was much more humour to be found than in the others.

To understand the ongoing relationship between Agatha and James I do think it is necessary to read the series from the start, beginning with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.

Agatha Is Hot on the Trail of James Lacey While Other Men Are Hot for Agatha
Stop reading right now if you haven't yet read Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembly and Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage. You should read those books before beginning this one. Otherwise the interactions between Agatha Raisin, James Lacey, and Sir Charles Fraith won't make as much sense as they should.

Better yet, go back to the beginning of the series and start with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death which is followed by Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener before you get to Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembly.

Agatha Raisin experienced a marital setback the likes of which I don't recall in fiction during Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage: Her husband showed up as she was about to say "I do" with James Lacey. Outraged, James Lacey decided he'd had enough of Agatha . . . except when she can help him clear his name. As soon as her husband's murderer is identified, James is off to Cyprus alone, the planned site of their honeymoon.

Dauntless, our Agatha finds out that James is on Cyprus and heads off to find him . . . which is no easy matter. Before she can locate James, she finds herself drawn into meeting two trios of English tourists. Each group contains a married couple and a single older man. It's most unusual. Since one group sees itself as higher class, Agatha is surprised when the two groups merge. Despite her best intentions, Agatha finds herself drawn into the merged group's activities.

James, when located, is about as warm to Agatha as an iceberg in winter. Despite this, they are soon sharing a villa . . . in separate rooms. Their privacy is at risk, however, when members of the merged group start to meet murderers. Agatha, herself, experiences to murder attempts against her life.

Much of the appeal of this story comes in Agatha attracting other men without any intent to do so. The effect of this is to complicate her life in ways she doesn't want . . . and to infuriate James Lacey. In the process of again sharing a roof with James Lacey, Agatha discovers even more reasons why this man may not be such good marriage material.

I commend M. C. Beaton for moving this story away from Carsely. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any people left in the village if murder keeps whittling away at the local population.

The murder mysteries aren't really up-to-snuff. You'll figure out who did it long before the characters do.

I also found much of the Agatha-James interaction to be painful to read rather than funny.

But if you are like me, you'll be rooting harder than ever for Agatha to make her way more positively into her new life as this entertaining series continues in Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death.

Best of series to date. Heartwrenching.
Agatha takes devoted fans through the ringer with her romantic escapades and her perilous adventures. Readers should expect to be starved for more of agatha especially in the James Lacey department upon completion of this book. Despite the severely painful adventures agatha faces in this book, her self esteem seems to be improved.