Dishing the dirt: an Agatha Raisin mystery

The acerbic Agatha Raisin is back in her twenty-sixth outing. This time quasi-therapist Jill Davent is spreading information about Agatha's Birmingham slum upbringing, which Agatha has taken great pains to keep hidden. Agatha confronts the private investigator whom Jill hired, and soon the PI and Jill herself are found murdered, leaving Agatha, who was heard threatening to kill Jill, as the chief suspect. To clear herself, Agatha, her detective agency staff, and Sir Charles Fraith work to solve the murders. It turns out Jill was a blackmailer, widening the suspect pool. When Agatha is almost killed, Sir Charles sends her to Venice on the Orient Express, out of harm's way with the killer still on the loose. Agatha is the same character fans have adored and others have disdained all these years: vain; envious of younger, prettier women; man crazy; and blunt to the point of rudeness. It may not be everyone's recipe for success, but it works for Agatha.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2015 Booklist

Jealousy prompts Agatha Raisin to visit therapist Jill Devant, who has attracted the attention of Agatha's ex-husband, James Lacey, in bestseller Beaton's lively 26th cozy featuring the remarkably intuitive private detective (after 2014's The Blood of an Englishman). The session at Jill's office in Carsely, the scenic Cotswolds village where Agatha resides, doesn't go well, since Jill accuses Agatha of lying about her past. Agatha has further reason to resent Jill because Jill is counseling Gwen Simple, who Agatha is convinced was an accessory to murder in her previous case. When someone strangles Jill, gossip suggests that Agatha was involved, given her quite public disdain for the therapist. Agatha, aided by her loyal team of investigators, sets out to prove her innocence, but as usual her penchant for allowing handsome suitors to distract her complicates her search for the killer. Fans of traditional English mysteries who appreciate oddball sleuths will be rewarded. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein, Lowenstein Associates. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Never one to keep quiet, Agatha Raisin confronts Jill Davent when she learns Jill hired a detective to look into Agatha's background. Two days later, the therapist, who was suspected of being a quack, is found strangled and Agatha is the prime suspect. Now on her 26th case (after The Blood of an Englishman), Agatha must use her sleuthing expertise to save her own hide. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/15.] © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A private detective continues her search for love in all the wrong places. Her hunches pan out so very often that Agatha Raisin may well be the cleverest detective in the Cotswolds. But her taste in men leaves a lot to be desired. This time, however, trouble comes from an unexpected source. The newest arrival in Carsely, Jill Davent, who's set up a counseling practice, makes an enemy of Agatha when she discovers the poverty-stricken background the sleuth has worked so hard to conceal. Soon after Agatha visits Jill in her office and declares "leave me alone or I'll kill you," Mrs. Bloxby, Agatha's good friend and wife of the local vicar, finds Jill dead, and Agatha is the prime suspect. Agatha would like the killer to be the lovely Gwen Simple, the mother of the murderer in her last case (The Blood of an Englishman, 2014), but Jill had plenty of other clients with something to hideand it turns out that she was a blackmailer. As more bodies are added to the count, Agatha, Sir Charles Fraith, her friend and sometime lover, and the rest of her regular team continue to investigate. At least one of the victims was poisoned by monkshood, and Agatha's search for that poisonous plant leads to a number of attempts on her life. As usual, Agatha attracts and forfeits the attentions of a number of eligible bachelors while hunting a clever killer; a basket full of red herrings makes this one of her more interesting cases. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The acerbic Agatha Raisin is back in her twenty-sixth outing. This time quasi-therapist Jill Davent is spreading information about Agatha's Birmingham slum upbringing, which Agatha has taken great pains to keep hidden. Agatha confronts the private investigator whom Jill hired, and soon the PI and Jill herself are found murdered, leaving Agatha, who was heard threatening to kill Jill, as the chief suspect. To clear herself, Agatha, her detective agency staff, and Sir Charles Fraith work to solve the murders. It turns out Jill was a blackmailer, widening the suspect pool. When Agatha is almost killed, Sir Charles sends her to Venice on the Orient Express, out of harm's way with the killer still on the loose. Agatha is the same character fans have adored and others have disdained all these years: vain; envious of younger, prettier women; man crazy; and blunt to the point of rudeness. It may not be everyone's recipe for success, but it works for Agatha. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

In her latest case, New York Times best-selling sleuth Agatha Raisin is the suspect. New-in-town therapist Jill Davent snickered about Agatha's humble origins and pursued her ex-husband, but when she hired a private detective to investigate Agatha, our put-upon heroine yelled, "I could kill you," two days before Davent is found strangled. Oops.

Never one to keep quiet, Agatha Raisin confronts Jill Davent when she learns Jill hired a detective to look into Agatha's background. Two days later, the therapist, who was suspected of being a quack, is found strangled and Agatha is the prime suspect. Now on her 26th case (after The Blood of an Englishman), Agatha must use her sleuthing expertise to save her own hide. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/15.]

Jealousy prompts Agatha Raisin to visit therapist Jill Devant, who has attracted the attention of Agatha's ex-husband, James Lacey, in bestseller Beaton's lively 26th cozy featuring the remarkably intuitive private detective (after 2014's The Blood of an Englishman). The session at Jill's office in Carsely, the scenic Cotswolds village where Agatha resides, doesn't go well, since Jill accuses Agatha of lying about her past. Agatha has further reason to resent Jill because Jill is counseling Gwen Simple, who Agatha is convinced was an accessory to murder in her previous case. When someone strangles Jill, gossip suggests that Agatha was involved, given her quite public disdain for the therapist. Agatha, aided by her loyal team of investigators, sets out to prove her innocence, but as usual her penchant for allowing handsome suitors to distract her complicates her search for the killer. Fans of traditional English mysteries who appreciate oddball sleuths will be rewarded. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein, Lowenstein Associates. (Sept.)