Genre:
Cozy Mystery
Format:
Audio
Publisher
Blackstone Audio
Release Date:
December 2012
Agatha Raisin is back again for her third adventure. She returns from vacation only to find her little Cotswold village is enamored with a beautiful new arrival, Mary Fortune. In particular, Agatha’s handsome single neighbor James Lacey is obviously very taken with her, much to Agatha’s dismay. Agatha has spent quite a bit of time trying to snag James for herself, but nothing seems to be working. Having this new beautiful woman in town does nothing to help her situation.
Agatha comes up with the idea of competing in the Carsley Horticultural Contest. James loves gardening and Agatha intends to impress him with her garden. Of course Agatha knows nothing about gardening and her seedlings die. She calls for the help of her former assistant, Roy. He agrees to restore her garden, but she must give him something in return. He asks her to return to London for six months to work in her old public relations firm. She agrees and the plan is put into action.
However, strange things happen to everyone’s garden and many are destroyed. Mary is one of the prime suspects, but when she’s murdered, things really heat up. Agatha and James work together to find a killer.
Agatha is an intriguing character. She still has those hard edges around her and she’s definitely not the sweetest person around, but there’s something that’s endearing about her. Sometimes she’s a bit full of herself, other times she’s insecure and just looking for friendship.
I can feel for this 50 something year old woman who is attracted to her neighbor, although he apparently has no real interest in her. Sometimes she comes off like a teenager with a crush and other times I just feel bad that he isn’t a bit more receptive to her.
I love the setting in the English Cotswold village. It’s so quaint and sweet. Each mystery follows the previous one. So, if you were going to listen to or read these, you should really start with the first book. The mysteries themselves are contained in each book, but the character’s relationships grow and carry through each one.
I already started the next one. I’m getting a sudden urge to read more British cozy mysteries.
For reading challenges:
2015 I Love Library Books Reading Challenge
Disclosure: I borrowed this one from my library. All opinions expressed are my own.
I have never read a British one :)
ReplyDeleteI've read and enjoyed pretty much all of these. If I remember right though, I was a little disturbed about how they found the body in this one!
ReplyDeleteYvonne, this Cotswold village cozy sounds captivating. Wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun mystery with a quaint setting.
ReplyDeleteI've requested the first book from the library; your reviews convinced me.
ReplyDelete