The Agatha Raisin Series: M.C. Beaton

When I picked up 'Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet', by M.C. Beaton, it was initially because of a fondness for all things murder mystery based. (I'm still mourning the loss of my cherished Cluedo SUPER CHALLENGE! Maybe Ms Raisin was destined to be a substitute?) I also thought of my nan, we had very little in common but she hoarded Agatha Christie books, watched Midsummer Murders with my brother and I, when babysitting, and even had a strong affection for Poirot. Added to that, with mirth, my family often refer to my mum as, "Clouseau!" (she picks apart the minutiae of a story to make sure she's not being duped), it seemed fitting that Aggie came home with me.Four months, and 6 instalments of escapades, later, and I am more familiar with Agatha than my own brother. She's reliably frivolous, "truculent" (Beaton's favourite word, which is more charming than irritating) and spunky. Agatha makes many blunders, but they are written with sympathy; she could be flippantly described as a cougar, but I see her as having a romanticism that forces missteps. Agatha Raisin, in brief, is completely unaware of how she frequently lives in opposition to her herself. She wants and feels certain things but doesn't want to admit them, can't articulate them and feels she will be judged for them.  I find I'm gluttonous for this affliction of Aggie's, maybe because the same emotions whisper within myself and so many of my friends? Oh, also, because she's always a resounding success in at least some aspect of the scenarios that befall her. It's reassuring!If you hadn't guessed from the titular character's name, 'Agatha Raisin', you're meant to draw immediate parallels with Agatha Christie and her famed female sleuth, 'Miss Marple'. Like Marple, Raisin lives in a fictional English village, Carsley, within the very real Cotswolds; just as Marple is able to rely on her acquaintance with Sir Henry Clithering, a retired police commissioner, for intel, Raisin gets tidbits from Bill Wong, a young, active police officer (Beaton gets Brownie points here for adding a bit of diversity to her cast). Both ladies have loyal housekeepers and witness more than an average amount of murders in small, seemingly charming, villages.However, that's where the similarities end. Beaton is doffing her hat to Christie (rightly so, she was a Dame and figurehead of the murder mystery genre) and then adding her own contributions to the field. Agatha Raisin comes from a background in PR, could anything be more fitting for the modern reader? Our Aggie struggles with middle-aged spread, worries about the lines around her lips and grapples with reconciling how she finds that village life is a remedy for the decades she had, proudly, spent in 'The City.'I'm excited for the other 14 in the series. I don't even feel like a guilty feminist for saying I hope Aggie gets her man!

Some quotes to show you what to expect:

“What sinks of iniquity these little villages can be”

“When confronted with someone who appears to be in a perpetual state of outrage, it is tempting for other people to wind them up. Besides, I have always found the most vociferous guardians of morality on matters of sex are those who aren’t getting any.”

“The other diners studied him with the polite frozen smiles the English use for threatening behaviour.”

You will enjoy Agatha Raisin, if you liked:

Agatha Christie novels.

Alexander McCall Smith novels.

Bridget Jones's Diary.

I can't guarantee this will be the case, but I have noticed the online retailer 'The Book People' frequently have the entire collection at a hugely discounted rate, currently, this link works and all 20 books are £16.99! (Not an ad, I'm not an affiliate, just love a bargain!):  https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?productId=571647&catalogId=10051&searchTerm=agatha+raisin