M.C. Beaton with [by, actually] R.W. Green
There are over 30 books (and counting) in the Agatha Raisin series, and I have read nearly all of them except for the very latest ones. My last one before this was half a year ago; you can find my review for "Hot to Trot" here.
In that book, we were introduced to a few characters new to the Agatha Raisin universum which make a reappearance in this one. She also makes a new friend, but the overall cast is the one regular readers have come to expect and like over the years: Agatha's ex-husband James, her former lover Sir Charles, her friends in the police force Bill and Alice, her enemy in the police force Inspector Wilkes, her employees at the detective agency she owns, her former colleague Roy, her most trusted friend in the village, Mrs. Bloxby, and a few others.
When the books were still written by M.C. Beaton (Marion Chesney), Agatha used to travel more, I think. Now she's back exploring, and we find her in a part of the world that has not yet been visited in the series: Mallorca. The author explains that Pollensa, where Agatha spends some time in this story, is one of his favourite places, which you can tell when he describes the place.
Agatha gets extremely busy when Charles asks her to organise a glamorous Extravaganza on his estate to put his wine on the map, while at the same time a series of burglaries in local businesses takes a nasty turn when one of the burgled owners is found dead in her shop. She dabbles in the world of antiques auctions and ends up not only with a much-coveted antique clock but also serveral death threats masked in puzzling hand-written verses delivered to her anonymously.
Her love-life reaches an all-time low, her car is burned, she nearly gets kidnapped and almost starts to believe in ghosts - what else needs to happen before she gives up on the chase? Anything or nothing, because once Agatha is determined to solve a case, she does it no matter what, and of course she also succeeds this time.
As a sideline, she occupies her mind with a real-life mystery: The Campden Wonder. I found this a very clever addition to the story, a first (if I remember correctly) for this series.
Once again, R.W. Green has brought Agatha & Co. to life in a way M.C. Beaton didn't quite achieve - she was good (otherwise, my Mum and I would not have stuck to the series for so many years), but he is even better.
I have read so many of these. I should keep better track of what I have read because now I can't remember for sure but this one sounds very familiar. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is something like #31 or so in the series, fairly new. I get confused with the titles, too, and am not always sure whether I know one or not - good job I have them on my blog as well as on my shelf here, so when I come across a title that seems new, I can check whether it's there or not.
Delete*Her love life reaches an all time low, her car is burned, she nearly gets kidnapped, and
ReplyDeleteshe almost starts to believe in ghosts.* Sounds like Glasgow on a Saturday night.
I like Mrs Bloxby, and if you need a rotter in the plot Inspector Wilkes sounds right.
Reading 30 books by an author is praise enough. You like mysteries that are solved ?
What about insoluble mysteries ? I watch Alien Abduction videos, fearful and riddling.
Oh my, that doesn't make Glasgow on a Saturday night sound very nice, does it!
DeleteMrs Bloxby is a rock-steady constant in Agatha's life (and actually in that of the entire village). She's the vicar's wife and features rather prominently in some of the books; not this one, though.
Unsolved (not necessarily insoluble) mysteries intrigue me. Take Cambyses' Lost Army, for instance, or the fate of the crews of the "Erebus" and the "Terror".
It's unusual for an author to continue another author's work successfully, but it sounds as though this author has triumphed.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is. In this case, the new author has described how it came about that he continued the original author's work. The two of them had been good friends and known each other professionally and personally for a long time, and when Marion Chesney knew that she was too ill to continue, she asked him to her house and suggested he take over. They talked through her ideas for each character, their biography and personality, and how she expected the series to continue. She lived long enough to read through his work, and was happy with it.
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