Need a book series recommendation? Grace Farren, Portage Public Library volunteer, has reviewed the Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series available at the library, for your reading consideration. If you want to review a book you enjoyed, contact Library Director Kaytlin at 814-736-4340.
I first became acquainted with Marian Chesney using the pseudonym of MC Beaton (1936-2019) when my granddaughter bought me Hot to Trot, a part of the Agatha Raisin series. Some readers may recognize the series name from the Acorn TV production of the Agatha Raisin mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found Beaton’s style an easy read. I have since read many of the books in the series as well as MC Beaton’s other mystery series with Hamish MacBeth as the central character.
Beaton transports you to the world of Agatha Raisin by the images she creates of her many and varied characters living in the seemingly tranquil English villages of cottages and manor homes surrounded by country fields that are in stark contrast to the gruesome crimes being committed there. Beaton even makes use of the diversity found in the seasons in the countryside of England. Her description of laid-back summers and outdoor events to the frosty landscapes of winter and sitting in front of the fires all contribute to the story plots that keep you guessing until the very end.
The Agatha Raisin series features a former public relations agent who decided to sell her firm and move from London to the Cotswold’s, remembering the countryside there from family vacations when she was a child. As she adapts to country life, she and the friends she makes there become involved in solving murders. Her friends, acquaintances, and even the local police feel that it is not through any skill in detective work but by accident or sheer luck that she finds the murderer. Eventually Agatha sets up her own detective agency and with the help of her friends unravels the dilemmas her clients become entangled in.
I recommend following the adventures of Agatha Raisin. It is entertaining, a study in human nature, and a way to escape to another world. Pit your investigating skills against Agatha’s and see if you can solve the mystery before she does!
-Grace Farren