Hiss and Hers

Agatha Raisin has done it again. She's fallen for a new man. This time it's George Marston her gardener. But George is popular in Agatha's Cotswold village of Carsely, and a lot of women seem to be vying for his attention. Since Agatha isn't having any luck getting George to look her way she's decided to organize a charity ball, hoping she'll get the first dance with George. The only problem is, George can't make it. He's dead. Now Agatha must turn her attention to finding his killer. Due to his way with the ladies she isn't short on suspects.

Agatha Raisin is one of my favorite lady detectives. She's feisty, cranky, opinionated and so much fun. With her motley crew of detectives and her colorful friends she's able to mix business with show more pleasure. If you're a fan of this series you don't want to miss Hiss and Hers, where Agatha has to come to terms with the fact that not all men fall for her particular charms.
More reviews at: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com show less

In M.C. Beaton's 23rd Agatha Raisin mystery, Agatha is at it again. This time, she develops an obsession with her new gardener, George Marston. Unfortunately for Agatha, it seems that most of the single women of the village, including beautiful soap star Jessica Fordyce, do also. When Agatha finds George murdered, it is up to her, Toni Gilmour and the rest of the Agatha Raisin Detective Agency to find George's murderer. Will this be the one time that Agatha doesn't succeed?

I have been a fan of M.C. Beaton and her Agatha Raisin series for many years. The novels are light-hearted and fun, and the mystery is usually well thought-out. One can't help but like Agatha, her blundering detective skills and her obsession with handsome single men, show more who are usually unavailable.

However, I have noticed that in the last few novels, the quality of the writing doesn't seem as good as it did in the older novels. The conversation seems stilted and the action did not flow for me as well as earlier novels. Scenes just seem to start and end abruptly.

I still enjoyed the story and peeking at the lives of my old friends from Carsely and Mircester, however, I hope that M.C. Beaton is not becoming like [[Lilian Jackson Braun]], whose quality clearly declined as she got older.

*******SPOILERS*********

The one thing that I really did not like in the book was that Agatha finally gets together again with Charles Fraith, but it is apparently again a "one-night stand." Earlier in the book, it appeared that Charles and Agatha my actually care for each other, but the end of the book once again has Agatha swearing off men, but still hoping. Just as in M.C. Beaton's other series with Hamish McBeth, she is apparently not going to let the main character become attached, and find happiness romantically. show less

Poor old Agatha. When I left her at the end of the first novel, she was smooching over her neighbour. In this novel, she's got her eyes firmly fixed on at another ‘hunk’. Unfortunately for them both, he ends up in the compost heap having come off badly against a poisonous viper. How he came to be there, is the question Agatha must answer.
Agatha comes across as much more likeable in this novel than in earlier novels of this series. Others must think so as well because her friends rally around and help her crack the case, unearthing a heap of vipers along the way.
I enjoyed reading this, it was particularly nice to find out how Agatha and the other characters have grown over time.
An absolute must for the many fans of the series, and a show more recommend for fans of the comic detective genre.

Nina Jon is the author of the newly released Magpie Murders, a series of short murder mysteries with a Cluedo-esque element.
She is also the author of the Jane Hetherington's Adventures in Detection crime and mystery series, about private detective Jane Hetherington. show less

I managed to acquire this book in audio format. It is read by the excellent Penelope Keith, who, several years ago, was my first introduction to the Agatha Raisin stories, when I chanced upon a reading on BBC Radio 4 Extra. She was, consequently, my first impression of Agatha but, I genuinely believe that it would have been Ms Keith's voice that I would have put to the feisty detective even were I to have encountered the books, prior to the radio series. I might well have had the actress in my mind's eye too, even allowing for the fact that she is rather more attractive than the description of our eponymous sleuth.

If you are new to this series of crimes, you will soon decide as to whether they are to your taste, or no: they are gently show more humorous tales without graphic detail of horrendous torture, mutilation and painful death, as seems almost a pre-requisite of most modern day crime fiction. Police procedure is also noticeable by its absence. The characters, whilst exaggerated versions of real people, are much more important, and the crime is, inevitably, solved by Raisin's understanding of the criminals mindset. Do not buy these books if you are after glamour, fast moving World wide trips to the exotic and explicit scenes of a sexual nature because, you will be seriously disappointed. Mrs Raisin has a very different temperament to Agatha Christie's Marple, but the idea of events unfolding within a quite St Mary Mead type village are very similar.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, as I have other books in the series. Ms. Beaton has that ability, shared with the best detective fiction writers, of being able to lead the reader up the garden path and then, allowing him/her to arrive at a solution, a paragraph or so before the detective. I shall not give any details herein as to whom the murderer of George Marston, the philandering gardener, might be; I would be amaze, however, were you to rumble the denouement ahead of the final chapter.

Personally, I should have bought the paper version of this work, as I prefer to read than to listen but, the six one hour discs are superbly narrated, as one would expect, by Penelope Keith (I haven't let slip my attraction to this actress, have I?) and the inclination to spend an entire day listening to them, one after another, was almost, too great to resist. I must, guiltily admit that I shall listen to these discs more than once - I am blessed with a brain that can remember all sorts of trivia, but which manages to obliterate all reminiscence of the last few pages of a whodunnit within a few days!

A good entertaining read/listen - first class! show less

A friend loaned me this book to read while I was in the hospital. I was hoping for a cozy mystery with a bit of humor but didn't get it from this book. It took me a long time to get into the story, but I finally did once Marston's body was discovered. I didn't think Raisin or her staff was very professional and wondered how she managed to stay in business.

I used to love the Agatha Raisin series, but the last few books have been less than stellar. I don't like the way the plot quickly moves from thing to another with really no lead up. The first part of this book had a tight plot and was centred around an English country summer. The atmosphere was wonderful, hot, dry with a storm finally coming to break the tension. But the tension of the book itself didn't follow the weather scenario. Then in the last half of the book we jumped 9 months, then a year and then almost 2 years with no plot to sustain this swift passage of time. I realize that cozy mysteries work on their own timeline, but this one was ridiculous. I felt like I was running to catch up to what was happening to Aggie and her show more crew. And Aggie's neediness for a man is getting old and tired too. We didn't get to see much of the wonderful Mrs. Bloxby either, so that in itself is a disappointment. I would give this one a miss unless you're a die hard Agatha Raisin fan. show less

This is my first in the Agatha Raisin series and I found it to be a light, fun, entertaining read. I enjoyed Agatha's character and her entourage, as well as the side tales and background shenanigans. The main plot was well done although the end could have been shortened with the story stopped at the culprit's trial.
All in all, a good read. I will be tempted to read more of the series.