Kissing Christmas Goodbye

I don't normally start a series at the eighteenth book but I wanted something linked to Christmas and there it was. It turned out that being in the middle of everything was not a problem, it may even have skipped all that "who is Agatha Raisin and how did she get here?" stuff that can make the start of a series a little slow.

The Agatha Raisin I saw was someone who has started a second career, done well and become bored, Someone who sees herself as a tough cookie who has used sheer force of personality to climb from a bad home to being a successful woman, running her own small detective agency. Someone with an instinct to kindness and fairness that she hides, even from herself, with ex post rationalisations about return on investment show more that maintain her tough cookie self-image.

The story revolves around a new client, a rich old widow who lives in a stately home and owns the village around it, who asks Agatha to investigate who in her household is trying to poison her. Agatha imagines a sort Poirot investigation. A lot of the humour comes from how far away the reality is from Agatha's imaginings.

What I liked most about the book was Agatha's slow realisation of her changing desires. Hiring (rescuing might be a better description) a very young but brilliant (and lucky) detective from a background similar to her own, holds up a mirror to Agatha. It allows her to see that she's become older but that that isn't a bad thing. It lets her review her strengths and her achievements and puts her in a position to think about what she really wants.

At the beginning of the book, what she really wants is to have the perfect Christmas meal, in her cottage, with all her friends and to end up under the mistletoe in the arms of her ex-husband. By the end of the book, what she wants has changed as she slowly acknowledges who she is and how much she likes being who she is.

This was a light read with a funny and clever plot and engaging characters. A good book to settle down with before Christmas (or to bring Christmas back when you feel the need for it. show less

Opening Sentence:
‘…Agatha Raisin was bored…’

Christmas is coming and Agatha starts to plan a traditional Christmas Lunch. But is only October and she really needs to try and inject a little oomph into her life. Agatha decides to check out an invitation from Phyllis Tamworthy, an elderly woman who claims that her family is about to kill her. Agatha takes on the assignment of preventing the murder and ends up having one of the worst country weekends imaginable when it turns out that Mrs. Tamworthy is right – someone kills her.

Along with her newly hired assistant, Toni, who has a whole lot of issues of her own to solve, Agatha sets out to investigate Phyllis and her family, revealing a heap of skeletons in the Tamworthy cupboard show more in the process. And there is that Christmas party to be organised.

Agatha is a character that I really don’t like as a person – yet feel compelled to read as there is a nice person deep down inside, and her friends are fiercely loyal to her.

A cosy mystery, with a few chuckles the book is an easy to read, quick, fun,and enjoyable mystery that once you pick up you don’t want to put it down. I still prefer Hamish Macbeth – but Agatha is starting to grow on me. show less

Another winner! A much twistier, interesting plot than some, and plenty of red herrings. So much fun I was obliged to duck chores and other things, so I could gobble it down in record time.

The eighteenth installment of this series looks like an obvious Christmas gift as an introduction to the sharply funny world of Agatha Raisin but I counsel against this. Not because this is other than an entertaining read but because it lacks the characteristics that differentiate Agatah Raisin from any other English cosy. In this book, Agatha makes no crashing solecisms and is almost unstintingly kind. The main plot is solid and the key new character is sufficiently richly drawn to enhance future episodes. Likewise, the mischievous humor of the author shines through. Had I read this as my first introduction to Agatha, however, I would not have made the effort to seek out further volumes; nor would I be awaiting the next addition with show more the eagerness that I feel. If you know and love Agatha Raisin then you need no encouragement to read this book; if you want to get to know her then start at the beginning with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. show less

M.C. Beaton is the queen of British cozy mysteries. She has a number of long running series. My favourites are the Hamish MacBeth books.

But when Kissing Christmas Goodbye was recently returned at the library, I thought it would make a great seasonal listen for the drive back and forth to work. This book is the 18th entry in Beaton's Agatha Raisin series.

Agatha is a sharp tongued, opinionated private eye with her own detective agency in the Cotswolds. Christmas is coming and Agatha is focused on holding the perfect Christmas dinner, inviting her ex and winning him back. But when Agatha receives a letter from a wealthy widow Phyllis Tamworthy asking Agatha to suss out which one of her family members wants her dead, it piques her show more interest. She heads to a holiday dinner with the woman and her family. And yes, one of them is guilty.....

Cozies are all about the characters and setting. Beaton has created a wonderful character in Agatha. I liked the addition of a new young female detective to the firm - she gives Agatha a run for her money. I appreciated revisiting with characters from past novels - it's like settling in with old friends. The mystery isn't overly complicated, but it's the journey to the whodunit that is the most fun.

I quite enjoyed listening to this book rather than reading it. Penelope Keith was the reader and she was absolutely perfect. She perfectly captured the character of Agatha with her British accent and very expressive reading.

This was a perfect light-hearted cozy for the Christmas season. show less

Agatha's detective agency is doing very well, though the vast majority of the cases she's been handling are boring and routine. Lost pets, divorces, and an occasional bit of industrial espionage has Agatha yawning and daydreaming of other things, including some rather grandiose plans for a huge Christmas party. Then, one day the mail brings a rather interesting letter from a very rich old lady who thinks that someone in her family is going to try to kill her! Agatha takes her newly hired young detective, Toni Gilmour, and her old friend Sir Charles Fraith along to investigate. Sure enough, the old girl kicks it on the second night of Agatha's stay in the Manor House, along with all the sons and daughters of the old biddy. And the more show more Agatha investigates, the more she's convinced that old Phyllis Tamworthy was such a bitch that the biggest mystery is why in the world hadn't someone offed her long before this. The plot thickens and twists and Agatha blunders into the truth in her usual manner. And that Christmas party will be one to remember...

It's been a while since I visited with Agatha, and the same things that used to mildly bother me seemed almost glaringly obvious this time around. Agatha never "says" anything. She "howls," "snarls," "growls," or "slumps." Like all of Beaton's books, the writing is choppy and she tends to jump around from one scene to the next with very little to soften the transition most of the time. I didn't realize how much that bothered me until this time around. I have begun to feel that I have to follow Agatha through to the end of her adventures, and when I start feeling that way, it's just about time to stop. There is another Agatha Raisin mystery to be found, but I think I'll give it a miss. show less

I should probably trust my gut feelings - I have "read" another 2 titles in this series in the last 3 years and resolved after the last never to touch them again. But people on book lists keep telling me they like them! and so I thought I'd try the latest.

Phyllis Tamworthy, about to celebrate her 80th birthday, contacts Agatha Raisin because she thinks someone from her family will try to murder her at her birthday celebrations. And they do - Mrs Tamworthy dies of hemlock poisoning despite the fact that Agatha is on the case, and actually staying in the manor house! That's enough to raise any female PI's dander. Phyllis Tamworthy was universally hated by her family and all the villagers, so the list of suspects reads like the local show more telephone directory.

The author just managed to retain my interest in the whodunnit side of this story, but I came close to not finishing the book when it side-tracked to Agatha Raisin's plans for the best Christmas celebrations ever. I can't get away from the feeling that these books are meant to be a spoof on the village cozy, but there is so little in them that I find amusing. The author does far too much "telling". The reader is never in a position to solve the mystery because not all the salient facts are at their disposal. There are occasional glimpses of good characterisation - perhaps the fact that I find Agatha Raisin so detestable is evidence of that - but there are others who are mere caricatures. The fact that KISSING CHRISTMAS GOODBYE is the 18th in the series is probably indicative that someone out there likes them, buys them, reads them, but this little duck won't be looking for the 19th. show less