Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

Oh yes, I, too, get exasperated with Agatha’s obsession with James Lacey. “WHY?!?!?” I cry, along with Mrs. Bloxby and Bill Wong and all the rest.

So, yes, traipsing off to Cyprus after this dreadful man almost buggers belief.

Still, though, Ms. Beaton is SUCH a masterful writer, and her books are such a delight, I am thoroughly in love. And truly, Agatha herself is so expertly crafted, so sympathetically created… I am completely addicted.

Another delicious tale that offered the perfect entertainment and escape and left me licking my chops for more!

After their broken engagement James Lacey leaves for Cyprus and Agatha Raisin decides to follow him and get him to forgive her and take her back. While searching for James Agatha takes time out for a sail and meets an odd group of British tourists. There are 2 groups of 3; each a couple with an extra male traveling companion from different strata of life who clearly disdain each other. But the next day she sees them all like best friends. When Agatha does find James he is distant. The tourist group invites them to join them for dinner and during the festivities one of the women is murdered. Agatha and James decide to investigate.

This typical Agatha and James, sniping and collaborating. Throw in an amoral English friend to heighten the show more jealousy and a few more murderous attempts and you have a typical Agatha mystery. Not sure why I like these; Agatha is not always nice and she gets herself into the worst jams and embarrassing situations. But I keep coming back for more. show less

Agatha Raisin isn't a particularly nice person. Given the time period when this was written, I think the author was experimenting with a number of stereotypes by turning them backward. For example, Agatha loves James, but she spends loads of time with (& not surprisingly ends up sleeping with) Charles. If a male detective character did this in a novel in the late 80's to early 90's, it would be fairly normal, if he was the protagonist. If he was a love interest acting this way, then the reader would expect the (female) detective / protagonist to punish and/or drop him immediately. Neither happens to Agatha, although she is emotionally tangled up a lot.

The mysteries around this dynamic are pretty incidental. They are something for show more Agatha to run around finding out about so we can watch her be nosy & clever & not clever & embarrass herself & pretty much be Agatha Raisin, whom I can't seem to help liking in spite of her double standards & tendency to isolate herself with murder suspects & other silly behaviors. The murderer is usually just insane, which means the clues don't give us a logical puzzle to solve anyway. show less

2 Stars
This was by far my least favorite book in the series that I’ve read so far. I’ve praised the series for the humor, and there was not a laugh in the book. I’ve also praised the quirky cast of characters and this book had no likable characters at all. Agatha made one bad decision after another and just seemed to feel sorry for herself over and over again. She lost her fire. James acted like an unfeeling idiot. Charles was the least objectionable character in the book. While selfish he at least seems to like Agatha and was a little protective of her. But the main thing the book was missing was the Cotswolds, the oppressive heat of Cyprus and the feeling of being trapped on the island while the investigation dragged out.

Agatha Raisin is traveling abroad when she is present during the suspicious death of a fellow British tourist. Like Agatha, I missed her life in the Cotswold village of Carsely while she struggled to regain her old independent self and stop chasing James, whom she followed to Cyprus, where they were supposed to have their honeymoon.

I like this series (and the TV series) but this, the sixth title, was pretty darn boring. It takes place in Cyprus and that's part of the problem, Agatha's a more interesting character when she's in her little village where she's not always welcome,

Started out well but turned boring. Missing the usual humor that is a highlight of this series. Agatha's obsession with James is tiresome, and James himself is beyond rude. But the book does stand out as marking the real beginning of the longstanding relationship between Agatha and Charles, though of course he was introduced a few books back.