Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (1995)

Did Ms. Beaton send this out to be written by someone else? What a difference this one was to the previous stories. I usually give the series five stars because they make for such enjoyable reading, but I found myself actually being offended by this one. I also went back several times and re-read parts because I could swear the story was contradicting itself in detail. I'm sorely disappointed, but have started on the next in the series anyway. If it lets me down, I may give up on what I thought was a brilliant thing. ( )

Did Ms. Beaton send this out to be written by someone else? What a difference this one was to the previous stories. I usually give the series five stars because they make for such enjoyable reading, but I found myself actually being offended by this one. I also went back several times and re-read parts because I could swear the story was contradicting itself in detail. I'm sorely disappointed, but have started on the next in the series anyway. If it lets me down, I may give up on what I thought was a brilliant thing. ( )

http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/2010/10/agatha-raisin-and-walkers-of-demble...

What an odd book. On the one hand, I learned a lot about English property laws, on the other hand M.C. Beaton betrayed some very bizarre attitudes.

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Things I Liked:
--Learned about ramblers associations and 'rights of way';
--Killer was the one who first prompted Agatha to investigate, under teh guise of clearing her friend (the prime suspect)'s name;
--As always, her writing style is very enjoyable, readable and flows nicely;
--She tried to be more risque with bisexual love triangles and such.

Things I Found Troubling:
--Bizarre homophobia and anti-feminism;
--One rape joke (never okay);
--Cavalier attitude toward drunk driving and violence against women;
--James proposes marriage after one drunken night of sex? Really??
--Outdated assumption that "madness in the family" is a sufficient motive for murder. ( )

Not Miss Marple. I like the Hamish MacBeth mysteries by this author better than Agatha Raisin ( )

I love Agatha Raisin, and altho some reviewers here are griping about how short this novel is, I really can't imagine how much more could be crammed into this simple cozy without ruining its charm. Beaton's books are sweet, funny and very quick reads mostly meant for fun little romps through Agatha's quirky world. This book features a touch of sweet autumn romance with her crush James Lacey, and sets up nicely for the next book. This series is incredibly long-running, and far and away one of my favorites. ( )