BLURB:

High-flying public relations supremo Agatha Raisin has decided to take early retirement and she’s off to make a new life in a picture-perfect Cotswold village. To make her mark, she enters the local quiche-making competition. To make quite sure of first prize, she secretly pays a visit to a London delicatessen specialising in quiche to secure her “winning” entry.

Alas, the competition judge succumbs after tasting her perfect quiche, revealing Agatha as a cheat and potential poisoner! Oh dear, definitely not the best start. To save face – and her new idyllic life – Agatha must turn amateur sleuth and track down the real killer.

MY THOUGHTS:

I didn’t know about this series of books until I heard on TV they were going to be showing some episodes based on the books. I got curious and, after investigating a little bit, I decided to order the first book. I love Agatha Christie, and the homage here resulted quite obvious. Also, cozy mysteries are fun to read most of the time.

Well, I have to say that Agatha Raisin didn’t disappoint me at all. I read the book in just a couple of days because it was hard to stop reading. You know how it goes…. One more chapter, just one more chapter… And the next thing you know is that you have finished the whole book.

Agatha is one of the most irritating and disagreeable characters I have read in a lot of time. However, either despite or because of that, I really liked her and started rooting for her. Agatha, Aggie for her friends, is a very strong woman. Used to being her own boss and boss people around, she has a hard time adjusting to her retirement. But her boredom gets forgotten when she gets involved in a murder. How can she prove she is not a killer without revealing she is a cheater? Oh, it’s not easy, but it makes for a very entertaining read.

Agatha is helped in her amateur sleuthing by a series of characters who add a lot to the story. From the priest’s wife to her former assistant or to her actual house cleaner, we get a whole array of interesting and really well developed characters that perfectly complement Agatha’s abrasive personality. And let’s not forget about Bill Wong, the young DS in charge of investigating the murder, who will develop a very cute friendship with Agatha.

The plot keeps twisting and thickening until the very end. It’s really well-written, and I will continue reading the rest of the series, because these books make for the perfect companion for a boring weekend.

To sum up, it was a great story and I cannot wait to read more from this author. I give this book… 5 TEA CUPS!