I have decided that from now on SUNDAY is BOOK REVIEW DAY here on my blog. I give it a week before I forget this resolution but let’s just roll with it while I am still all pumped up with enthusiasm, shall we?
Several people over the years have noted that my continued insistence upon using the word ‘shall’ is a bit odd, not to mention antiquated. Is it? Is it REALLY? No, of course not.
Let’s move on.
My love for Agatha Raisin began quite by accident. In that I liked the look of one of the covers and had also simultaneously come to the dismaying discovery that I am a bit too keen on what are dismissively known as ‘cosy mysteries’. You know the sort of thing – Rosemary and Thyme is a prime example of this genre as is, possibly, Murder She Wrote, although that can get a bit hectic at times, can’t it?
Unfortunately, being an INNOVATOR, I rather stupidly opted to read the most recent Agatha Raisin book first, scorning the notion that as it is a series and presumably in some chronological order, I ought to begin at the BEGINNING.
I regret this perfidy now, of course, but the damage has been done and I would urge you, dearest and in some cases not so dear, reader to BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING if you intend to read the Agatha Raisin series. It’s not a hardship, really – the first book is about her leaving her pressured job in London, taking early retirement and moving to the Cotswolds where in an attempt to ingratiate herself with the locals she decides to cheat in the local Quiche Making Competition. When someone is murdered with her quiche, it swiftly becomes clear that being suspected of murder by the villagers is far more preferable to them knowing that she cheated with *gasp* SHOP BOUGHT QUICHE…
I just typed ‘quiche’ so often that it has somehow managed to lose all meaning.
In my last post I absolutely URGED you all to add me on Goodreads and if you had done so you will have seen that over the course of the month between the 11th of December 2011 and the 12th of January 2012, I read FIFTEEN Agatha Raisin books.
I think it is fair to say that I rather enjoy them. I didn’t at first though. No. I was flummoxed by Agatha herself with her brusque manner, jealousies, vanity and bitchiness. What, I found myself wondering, are ‘bear eyes’ and how old is she meant to be, exactly? I came to love her though. She’s just so HORRIBLE and yet so sweet at the same time with her non existant social skills, embarrassment about her lack of cultural education and reliance on microwaved ready meals.
If you’re anything like me, which I sincerely hope you aren’t, then you will absolutely ADORE books with horrible characters in. The only reason I struggle through Jane Austen’s paen to the miserable existence of the dependent female, Mansfield Park, is for the sheer JOY of Mrs Norris. Likewise, Mrs Elton in Emma. Anyway, if you ARE like me then you will love the Agatha Raisin series as with only a few exceptions (the vicar’s lovely wife and the adorable Bill Wong), EVERYONE in these books is downright unpleasant. EVERYONE. It’s just glorious.
The most unpleasant of all to my mind are the men in Agatha’s life, who manifest like the most dreary and hideous game of Snog/Marry/Avoid ever. Seriously, her taste in men is DREADFUL. You find yourself wanting to reach through the page and soundly slap her while shouting ‘DON’T DO IT, AGATHA! THE GUY IS A PRIZE PLUM AND I SHOULD KNOW.’
You won’t find yourself taxed by the crimes being solved in these murder mysteries, but that doesn’t matter as what is on offer here is instead a smorgasboard of the divine Agatha and a bunch of really unrelentingly awful people. It seems to me like a collision between Midsomer Murders and Mapp and Lucia with surreal tinges of Joanna Trollope thrown in for good measure, which is just my sort of thing.
Anyway, if that sounds like your sort of thing too then I’d definitely recommend giving these a try. Personally I can’t wait for the next one to come out this September…
Completely agree with you, I love the Agatha Raisin novels. I’ve only read about 8 of them however. Often read the odd one to cheer myself up.
I liked Rosemary and Thyme whenever I saw an episode – I could take or leave Murder, She Wrote, but can appreciate it for what it is, but…I really do NOT understand the attraction of Agatha Raisin books.
I sampled a book on my Kindle (a few Twitter friends seemed hooked by them/ M C Beaton, so I thought I’d give one a try). Thankfully it was only a sample and didn’t cost me anything. If it had, I’d have wanted my money back! I can’t even remember the title – think it might have been the Quiche one, unsure.
I think I read 5 pages. The description of her was kind of jarring. She was coming across as a bit of an Ann Widdecombe type to me. A Tory ‘investigator’. Doubts were stirring, but I *thought* “hey, it’s a period piece, I’ll roll with it.” Then I read a line which mentioned a microwave ‘ping’ and I thought to myself “this book is MODERN?” I stopped reading right at that point. I was happy to continue the ride whilst I thought it was a period piece, set in the 1950s or perhaps earlier. But as soon as I realised it was set in the present I was GONE!
I suppose the audiobooks ‘read by Penelope Keith’ should have been another indicator for me to stay well clear.
Definitely no more Raisins for me ;-)
Your love of Agatha Raisin mysteries is shared by many, including myself! As I drive 1+ hour back and forth to work each day, I have lots of time to listen to audio books…..and Agatha Raisin mysteries make the time of the commute fly by, not to mention supplying many laugh-out-loud moments in the car. As a slightly over-weight 59 year old, I am able to empathsize and sympathsize with most of her foibles……..although I, too, feel the need to give her a good shaking every once in a while. Hopefully, some day soon, she will find happiness with a man who loves her for who she really is!
If you like books with horrible characters, have you ever read Mil Millington? Love and Other Near Death Experiences is quite fantastic but full of awful, though vividly imaginable characters. It’s the first book I’d ever read where I could hear a character’s voice distinctly in my head without it being written in dialect, Hagrid-style.
Oh God, I HATE his books, sorry! Everyone in them is definitely horrible but I also can’t stand his writing style either. I’ve tried to read two now and they both made me incredibly angry and also bored. :(
oh I love these books too. Got into them when lots of them were 99p on Kindle, and now the buggers have reeled me in, most of the prices have gone up.
I’ve never heard of Agatha Raisin before but I can already sense I’m going to love her!
Thank you for the tip!
Despite the books being utterly formulaic IMO, I too have a penchant for our Aggie! I’ve read everything up to (and including) There Goes The Bride (am I the only person who sees Pierce Brosnan whenever James is around?!), and have loved them all. I agree that they should be read in order. I’ll wait until I can either get the most recent two on *Read It Swap It*….by then I may have got through the pile of Russian authors currently inhabiting one of my bookshelves!
I read most of them on Kindle last year, and I do have to warn anyone considering the K-versions that the formatting leaves an awful lot to be desired. I did get in touch with Amazon about this and their response was, “If you go through them all and tell us what and where the errors are, we’ll see if we can find someone to fix them.” My response; “Ummmmm….no….not unless you pay me.” Didn’t hear any more from them. Aside from the Kindle formatting issue, I do have a problem with all the spelling and editing errors in print format too – being a freelance editor and proofreader myself, these things jump out at me! In one book (I forget which), partway through, the name of one of the characters had been changed…and then changed back later on (I’m guessing some draft material had found its way into the final book)! I’ve also come across several instances of partially repeated paragraphs. V.bad IMO.
I actually had a disagreement with someone on a forum about this because they *claimed* to be friends with both MCB and her editor, and said they are both very nice people…as though that made everything all right! I pointed out that being nice does not excuse a lack of professionalism, especially when people are parting with their cash. Needless to say, I got e-yelled at and told I should keep my opinions to myself!
Have you read any of the Hamish Macbeth books? Although I loved the TV programmes, I really couldn’t get on with the books….even more formulaic than Agatha. And I’m not keen on the Edwardian Mysteries either….mostly because MCB doesn’t appear to have a clue as to how people behaved in those days, so the characters have no ring of truth about them IMO….unlike Agatha – I’ve met several people like her!
To finish on a positive note though – after a long and stressful day, Agatha makes for brilliant bath books (yes, I do read my Kindle in the bath)!
Oh yes, I forgot about the changing character name – it was that horrible woman from Portsmouth who moved into the village and eventually got offed along with her horrid little dog. Her name changed half way through one of the books, which was a bit confusing.
Yes! That was the one! Ha ha ha!
I just love the Agatha Raisin books – willingly suspending my urge to criticise some of the details and ignoring anything that irritates me – and the Hamish Macbeth ones too (never saw the TV series first time round but enjoying them too on DVD now, though nothing like the MCBeaton books). Completely addictive comfort reading! My only gripe is that MCB doesn’t write them as fast as I read them. But the woman must be a workaholic – she is astonishingly prolific. (Haven’t been able to get into her Georgian romance series that were her first big hit though – Deborah Goes to Devon and other irritatingly alliterative titles,)
I have just started reading my first ever Agatha Raisin book. I thought it would be right up my street, as I love Midsommer Murders, Poirot, Miss Marple etc, but actually I think it is really rubbish! It is not the first one, so maybe that is why, but I am over half way through and I still don’t know anything about the characters. In my head I thought she was a middle class, 50 something, who is best friends with the vicar’s wife, but then she is shouting across a restaurant at someone and calling her a fat old bitch! Just doesn’t add up, I just don’t get it
I’m sure Agatha would love the fact that you thought she was middle-class! I really would recommend you stop reading this one right now, and start with the first because there *is* an ongoing saga, and if you don’t get it, you miss out on most of the humour. :-)
Hahahaha, yes, she’d think ALL her Christmas snogs with Vile James had come at once if someone thought she was middle class! ;D