A Spoonful of Poison: An Agatha Raisin Mystery

What more charming setting could there be than a tiny stone village in the heart of the English Cotswolds? M. C. Beaton has a winning recipe when she adds in amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin and her supporting staff of old friends, current employees and hopefully a future beau. Nothing slows Agatha Raisin down when it comes to romance. "Agatha's Perception of beauty....was prompted by her hormones. If only Agatha hadn't seen that handsome man..." When Agatha is approached to handle a bit of public relations for a neighboring town's annual church fete, she decisively says no --- until she catches sight of George Selby. Then she quickly changes her mind. Despite the fact that business at her detective agency is overly brisk, she is about to let a handsome man add to her already hectic schedule. Hoping to be looked at as more than a PR person by this green-eyed bachelor, Agatha jumps in with enthusiasm and a head full of wonderful ideas to make this year's fundraiser at St. Odo the Severe in Comfrey Magna something to remember. In that goal, she is successful. Someone laced several jars of jam entered in the local competition, which causes a couple of deaths and a number of very sick attendees. Now Agatha's detective agency has a new case: catch the killer. Keeping George in her crosshairs, Agatha enlists the aid of her youngest detective, Toni, to help her track down the person who poisoned the church fete jam. She soon finds that there is no shortage of suspects. Several of the town's women seem to have plausible motives, including winning the affections of George Selby. The little hamlet of Comfrey Magna has more secrets than it has citizens, and Agatha exposes a few that put her in grave danger. It appears possible that the killer has struck again when one of the ladies who Agatha and Toni interviewed ends up dead in what looks like a suicide. But is it? Before the tragedy that ruined the village celebration, the church had raked in much more than it had in past years, a large enough sum that the vicar worries where to put it for safe keeping. Trouble follows the money, and Agatha ends up with even more on her hands. Now she needs to find the killer and the missing loot. Meanwhile, the cast of characters grows. Sir Charles Fraith, whom Agatha blithely overlooks as a serious candidate for romance, drops in on her now and then, occasionally spending the night at her home. He may have even saved her life this time. At the very least, he saved her some embarrassment. An ex-employee of the agency, Jimmy, takes an interest in pretty young Toni, causing her some uncomfortable moments. And a few others weave themselves in and out of the story to complicate Agatha's days and her solving of the mystery. A SPOONFUL OF POISON simply defines the British cozy. As the tension ratchets up, so does the love interest level. And along the way, readers are treated to a glimpse of the quaint countryside that comprises the beautiful Cotswolds. It doesn't get much b

The irascible Agatha Raisin returns in her nineteenth adventure, as feisty, headstrong, and obnoxious as the day readers first fell in love with her. The outspoken sleuth is ready to tell the vicar of St. Odo the Severe she'll have nothing to do with helping him organize his church fete until she discovers handsome George Selby is also a volunteer. Man-hungry as ever, Agatha plunges headlong into making the small village fete the talk of the country and manages to bring murder and mayhem into the village. When someone puts LSD into the jam, lots of the young people are happily stoned, but two of the village's elder citizens hallucinate themselves into death and Agatha's detective agency must solve the case in order to save its reputation. More murders plus one from the past will all be solved in the typical Raisin style followers of the series have come to love. Old favorites like Sir Charles Fraith, Roy Silver, Mrs. Bloxby, and Bill Wong are all here as well as more recent additions like the lovely young Toni Gilmour and sometimes-employee Harry Beam. If you've been following the madcap adventures of Agatha and crew, you won't want to miss this latest installment. The return of James Lacey and Agatha's new hair extensions will have you howling and eagerly anticipating the meaning of Agatha's wave of fear and sense that something is terribly wrong with James.

I ALWAYS enjoy Agatha Raisin and her antics with the men in her life and this book was no disappointment. I'm so glad I stumbled onto it. I usually read the front flap of a book before I buy it, but not Agatha Raisin. When I see a new one I snatch it up IMMEDIATELY. Looking forward to the next one.

M.C. Beaton aka Marion Chesney has done a wonderful job as usual involving her readers with Agatha Raisin's latest exploits. I laughed, then laughed some more as Agatha got into one jam after another. Murder, innuendo, wishful thinking, purring cats and good friends color Ms. Raisins world and paints a lucious picture for all of us.

As usual, MC Beaton has written another wonderful installment in the Agatha Raisin series. Unfortunately, "A Spoonful of Poison" was over in the blink of an eye and I'm sitting here feeling more than a bit disgruntled. The storyline has Agatha going to the small town of Comfrey Magma to help promote a country fete at St. Odo's. Of course disaster follows and along with that, the retention of Agatha's services to find out who committed the latest dastardly deed. Predictable fluff? Yup, but I love it just the same and highly recommend it too.