Product Description

Agatha is dreaming of a white Christmas - but who will be joining her under the mistletoe? During the dark, grey days of early December Agatha is obsessed by only two things - Christmas, and her ex, James Lacey. Although she says she feels nothing for James now, she feels sure that planning the perfect Dickensian Christmas for all her friends will somehow reanimate her love. Even the murder of a Mrs Tamworthy, poisoned with hemlock at the local manor house, does little to distract Agatha from organising her perfect yuletide celebrations. And yet it should do, as Mrs Tamworthy had written to Agatha, telling her that one of her family wanted to see her dead before the year was out. Slightly guiltily (and belatedly), Agatha sets out to solve the case with the help of her new recruit, young Toni Gilmour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5949 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 244 pages

Review
"* 'a national treasure' - Anne Robinson * 'Any listener will pant for a sequel' - The Times * 'M C Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem' - Publishers Weekly * 'The Miss Marple-like Raisin is a refreshing, sensible, wonderfully eccentric, thoroughly likeable heroine' - Booklist"

About the Author
M. C. Beaton worked as a Fleet Street journalist. She is the author of 18 Agatha Raisin novels, the Hamish Macbeth series, which Constable & Robinson will be reissuing in 2008, and an Edwardian murder-mystery series. She divides her time between Paris and the Cotswolds, where she lives in a village very much like Agatha's beloved Carsely.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
What a disappointment. I finished reading all the Raisin novels back to back over a three month period about four weeks ago and was looking forward greatly to the latestest installment. I have to say that in my opinion there are large sections of the novel where the author appears to have only sketched in character, plot and dialogue, as if she intended to return at a later date and fill out the details. This is a shame, for it is in these details, particularly of Agatha's character and how she interacts with those around her where the chief pleasures of this series are usually found. I would say that this is by far the weakest novel in the series so far.

a particularly satisfying installment
This particular Agatha Raisin installment is a good one.

It's beginning to look as if the bloom has fallen off Agatha Raisin's obsessive love for her handsome ex-husband, James Lacey. Not that Agatha is about to admit to this. No. she's decided that her feelings if ennui are down to the lack of a really good investigation that she can sink her teeth into. So that when Agatha receives a letter from Phyllis Tamworthy who claims that someone in her family is trying to murder her. Agatha thinks that Phyllis Tamworthy may be a nutter, but something about the letter gives her pause. What if it is authentic? What if Phyllis Tamworthy is in real danger? With visions of Agatha Christie's "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" in mind (Christmas is after all round the corner), Agatha decides to take on the case. Isn't just typical then that all of Agatha's Christie-like visions would come to nothing? Phyllis turns out to be penny-pinching bully to comes her children firmly under her thumb, while Phyllis' children seem to be so colourless and spineless a bunch, that Agatha has a hard time seeing any of them as potential killers. But when Phyllis drops dead after a truly awful tea, Agatha is sure that a very cunning murderer has struck. Quickly Agatha springs into action, determined to discover who murdered Phyllis, and no one, not the hostile police officers in charge of the case or Phyllis' equally hostile relatives are going to stop her...


While the last few Agatha Raisin installments have not been exactly topnotch, "Kissing Christmas Goodbye" will remind fans of the Agatha Raisin installments that shone. Agatha is in top form as she juggles trying to figure out who murdered Phyllis, sorting out her latest employee's domestic problems and obsessing about giving her friends a truly spectacular Christmas dinner. I enjoyed every single moment of "Kissing Christmas Goodbye," and am truly delighted at being able to recommend it as a good read not only to fervent fans of the series but to anyone looking for a nice British cozy to curl up with. As to the perennial question: how will things pan out for James and Agatha? This installment moves neither backwards nor forwards in answering the question. There are intimations that Agatha may no longer be in love with James; but can we believe this? I'm not too sure and will look to the next Agatha Raisin installment for answers

Declining by the book
The Agatha Raisin mysteries have been declining as the series wears on, which is unfortunate as the central character offers so much potential.

When the series started, it was Agatha and her interaction with others that drew the reader into the story and the mystery. However since Agatha opened her detective agency, the stories are now padded out with grey or unbelievable characters - such as Toni Gilmour and the mystery element is how MC Beaton keeps getting these stories published.

Everything in this book from the title, the new characters, the mystery - in the loosest sense of the word, is contrived and unfortunately, I am hard pressed to recommend this book to anyone.