Agatha Raisin Mysteries
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(361)
Agatha's First Case
An Agatha Raisin Short Story
by M. C. Beaton
read by Alison Larkin
Part 0.5 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
At age twenty-six, Agatha Raisin has already come a long way. She has clawed her way up since leaving the Birmingham slum where she was born. She's lost her Birmingham accent, run away from her drunken husband, and found a job at a public relations office as a secretary. Then her boss asks Agatha to go to the home of Sir Bryce Teller to tell him that he is soon to be arrested for the murder of his wife and that the agency no longer wants to represent him. Teller, impressed with the pugnacious Agatha, asks her to handle PR for him and even offers her an office and tells her she can hire a staff. Certainly the best thing Agatha can do for her first client is to find out who really murdered his wife and clear his name. And with her wits and gumption, Agatha sets out to do just that.New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's character Agatha Raisin is beloved by millions, and this brand-new short story takes us back to where it all began with Agatha's first case.
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(773)
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 1 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest. Surely a blue ribbon for the best quiche will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry, but falls over dead! After her quiche's secret ingredient turns out to be poison, she must reveal the unsavory truth. Agatha has never baked a thing in her life! In fact, she bought her entry ready-made from an upper crust London quicherie. Grating on the nerves of several Carsely residents, she is soon receiving sinister notes. Has her cheating and meddling landed her in hot water, or are the threats related to the suspicious death? It may mean the difference between egg on her face and a coroner's tag on her toe.
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(575)
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
by M. C. Beaton
read by Diana Bishop
Part 2 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha hasn't quite adjusted to the pace of village life, or to the failures of her overtures to her handsome neighbor, James Lacey. Since the new vet in town is young and good looking, Agatha's perfectly healthy tabby endures a nasty physical exam in the name of romance. When the vet is found dead, Agatha convinces James that playing amateur detective might be fun-until snooping becomes a motivation for murder …
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(602)
Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 3 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
When Agatha Raisin returns home after a sojourn in the capital, she finds a new woman ensconced in the affections of her attractive bachelor neighbor, James Lacey. The newcomer, Mary Fortune, is superior to Agatha in every way, especially when it comes to gardening. With Carsely Open Day approaching, Agatha longs for some fascinating crime to remind James of her genius for investigation and to distract him from Mary. Soon a series of assaults on the finest gardens is followed by murder when Mary herself is discovered buried upside down in a terracotta pot. Agatha immediately starts digging up all the dirt she can on the victim-but she has a secret of her own.
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(554)
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 4 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
After six months in London, Agatha Raisin returns to her beloved Cotswold village-and her dashing neighbor, James Lacey. Well, sort of. James might not be so interested in Agatha. But soon enough, Agatha becomes consumed by her other passion: crime solving. A woman has been found dead in a lonely field nearby. Her name is Jessica Tartinck, a hiker who infuriated wealthy landowners by insisting on her hiking club's right to trek across their properties. Now it's up to Agatha, with James' help, to launch an investigation. Together, they will follow no shortage of leads-many of Jessica's fellow Dembley walkers seem all too willing and able to commit murder. But the trail of a killer is as easy to lose as your heart-and your life. So Agatha and James had better watch their every step.
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(486)
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 5 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Almost bigamy and absolute murder-Agatha Raisin's life is never dull.The morning of Agatha's longed-for marriage to James Lacey dawns bright and clear. But her luck runs out in the church when Jimmy, the husband she had believed long dead, turns up large as life and twice as ugly. Agatha has a go at strangling him. It's all too much for James, who breaks off the engagement. So when Jimmy is found murdered the next day, Agatha and James are both suspects. And they'll have to work together in order to clear their names.
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(508)
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 6 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin, retired PR supremo, has been spurned at the altar by the man of her dreams-her attractive neighbor James Lacey. So temporarily deserting the sleepy Cotswold village of Carsely, she pursues her fleeing fiancé to north Cyprus, where, instead of enjoying a romantic honeymoon, they witness the killing of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Can the duo forget their differences and resume their strangely successful sleuthing partnership?
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(414)
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 7 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin's neighboring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral water company-which intends to tap into the village spring-sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps. When Agatha, who happens to be the PR person for the water company, finds the council chairman murdered at the spring, tongues start wagging. Could one of the council members have silenced the chairman before he could cast the deciding vote? It is up to Agatha, still nursing a bruised heart from her broken engagement, to investigate the councilors, solve the crime-and promote the water company in the face of all this scandal.
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(444)
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 8 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
He was a hairdresser to dye for …The local ladies all deem Mr. John a wizard, so when Agatha finds a few grey hairs on her head-and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair purple-she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. And as well as sorting out her hair it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart-but their budding romance is cut short when Mr. John is fatally poisoned in his salon. Once again Agatha finds herself embroiled in a murder case. Was it one of Mr. John's many lady clients, all of whom divulged to him their darkest secrets? It's time for Agatha to get to the root of this hair-raising mystery!
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(443)
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 9 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Suffering from bald patches thanks to a hair conditioner spiked with depilatory cream-supplied by the murderess in her last investigation-Agatha escapes to the coastal resort of Wyckhadden to allow her crowning glory to recover in privacy. A local witch provides her with hair tonic and Agatha's lost locks begin to grow-but then the witch is found bludgeoned to death. The elderly residents at Agatha's faded hotel seem innocuous enough, if a little odd. But, as she inquires into the murder she turns up an alarming number of secrets.
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(442)
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 10 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
When a fortune teller from a previous case informs Agatha Raisin that her destiny-and true love-lies in Norfolk, she promptly rents a cottage in the quaint village of Fryfam. No sooner does she arrive than strange things start happening. Random objects go missing from people's homes and odd little lights are seen dancing in the villagers' gardens and yards. Stories soon begin circulating about the presence of fairies. But when a prominent village resident is found murdered, and some suspicion falls on her and her friend Sir Charles Fraith, Agatha decides she's had enough of this fairy nonsense and steps up her sleuthing for a human killer. The prickly yet endearing Agatha will have fans dangling in suspense: Will she catch her crook-and a husband?
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(430)
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 11 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Recently married to James Lacey, the witty and fractious Agatha Raisin quickly finds that marriage, and love, are not all they are cracked up to be. Rather than basking in marital bliss, the newlyweds are living in separate cottages and accusing each other of infidelity. After a particularly raucous fight in the local pub, James suddenly vanishes-a bloodstain the only clue to his fate-and Agatha is the prime suspect.Determined to clear her name and find her husband, Agatha begins her investigation. But her sleuthing is thwarted when James' suspected mistress, Melissa, is found murdered. Joined by her old friend Sir Charles, Agatha digs into Melissa's past and uncovers two ex-husbands, an angry sister, and dubious relations with bikers. Are Melissa's death and James' disappearance connected? Will Agatha reunite with her husband, or will she find herself alone once again?
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(457)
Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 12 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Crankier than ever, Agatha Raisin wants to forget that her husband left her to enter a monastery-a turn of affairs more humiliating than when she caught him with a mistress. She feels abandoned, fat, frumpy, and absolutely furious. What are her options? She takes an island vacation and joins a Pilates class. But what finally lifts her spirits is finding a corpse. The dead girl is a member of Agatha's exercise class, afloat in a rain-swollen river, dressed in a bridal gown, and clutching a wedding bouquet. Agatha's policeman friend Bill Wong suggests she leave this macabre murder to the Worcester CID. Pah! What do they know? Once she enlists the aid of the bachelor mystery writer next door, puts on a disguise, and interviews some likely suspects, Agatha will be her brash, redoubtable self again-unless she becomes the killer's next victim first …
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(414)
Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 13 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin is going through a man-hating phase after being left by her husband, is bored with tottering around Carsley, and wishes men would just sod off, so she is unmoved by news of a captivating new curate. But when she meets the golden-haired, blue-eyed Tristan Delon, she is swept off her feet-along with every other female in the village. She is positively ecstatic when he invites her to dine with him, but the next day Agatha is left with a hangover from hell-and the curate is found dead. Carsley is whisked from time-warp monotony to a hotbed of murder and intrigue, and Agatha Raisin is back on track. As the corpses multiply, ever-obstinate Agatha trails clues from Lilac Lane to London, unmindful that someone wicked is arranging that Mrs. Raisin's cats never again hear their mistress' footfall on the path.
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(456)
Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 14 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin, snug in her Carsley cottage, is overwhelmed by boredom-until a report of a haunted house sends her to investigate. Suddenly, middle-aged Agatha is aglow with romance and excitement.But the glow fades fast. It turns out the victim of the haunting is a universally disliked old biddy, and the ghost is most likely someone playing a practical joke. Then an old lady is murdered, and, for Agatha, solving a homicide is more fun than hunting a ghost. Very soon she's up to her usual tricks, involving the villagers, local police, and, naturally, her handsome new neighbor.
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(460)
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 15 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Can the feisty Agatha Raisin cut it as a private investigator? She soon learns that running her own detective agency in the Cotswolds is not quite like starring in a Raymond Chandler movie. But then in walks wealthy divorcée Catherine Laggat-Brown, and presents Agatha with her first real case. Death threats, blackmail, and worse quickly follow, and once again Agatha is off scouring the countryside for clues and showing friends and enemies alike what Raisin Investigations can do!
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(427)
Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 16 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
After being nearly killed by both a hired hit man and her former secretary, Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks through the door of her detective agency, determined to prove that his wife is cheating on him, Raisin Investigations immediately offers to help. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the perfect wife: young, pretty, and a regular volunteer at church. But just as Agatha is ready to give up, Smedley is poisoned with weed killer, leaving Mabel, the prime suspect, poised to inherit a fortune. With no one left to pay her, Agatha has to drop the investigation-that is, until her old friend Sir Charles Fraith turns up again to rekindle her curiosity in the case.
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(370)
Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies, and Liquor
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 17 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin thinks she's in for a treat when her ex-husband, James Lacey, invites her on a holiday. But to her horror, his idea of an exotic destination is a small, rundown resort in Snoth-on-Sea. Needless to say, the break doesn't go as planned. When a fellow guest in their hotel is found murdered, Agatha herself becomes a suspect-and it looks as if she will be solving this particular case from the confines of a prison cell.
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(388)
Kissing Christmas Goodbye
An Agatha Raisin Mystery
by M. C. Beaton
read by Wanda McCaddon
Part 18 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Unlike quite a number of people, Agatha has not given up on Christmas. To have the perfect Christmas had been a childhood dream while surviving a rough upbringing in a Birmingham slum. Holly berries glistened, snow fell gently outside, and inside, all was Dickensian jollity. And in her dreams, James Lacey kissed her under the mistletoe, and like a middle-aged sleeping beauty, she would awake to passion once more...Agatha Raisin is bored. Her detective agency in the Cotswolds is thriving, but she'll scream if she has to deal with another missing cat or dog. Only two things seem to offer potential excitement: Christmas and her ex, James Lacey. This year Agatha is sure that if she invites James to a splendid Christmas dinner, their love will rekindle like a warm Yule log. But that fantasy will have to wait for now. A wealthy widow - who had sent Agatha a letter saying a member of her family intended to kill her - has been found dead. Now Agatha must set out to find the murderer, even though, in her heart, she's still dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones she and James used to know.
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(341)
A Spoonful of Poison
An Agatha Raisin Mystery
by M. C. Beaton
read by Wanda McCaddon
Part 19 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin's detective agency has become so successful that now all she wants is some R&R. But as soon as she cuts back her hours, Agatha remembers that when she has too much quality time, she doesn't know what to do with it. So it doesn't take much for the vicar of a nearby village to persuade her to help publicize the church fete, especially when the fair's organizer, George Selby, happens to be a gorgeous widower. The problem is that several of the offerings in the jam-tasting booth turn out to be poisoned, and the festive family event soon becomes a murder scene. Now Agatha must uncover the truth behind the jam tampering and expose the nasty secrets lurking in the seemingly innocent village-all while falling for handsome George, who just may have some secrets of his own.
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(366)
There Goes the Bride
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 20 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Bossy, impulsive, yet hopelessly romantic, Agatha is dreading the upcoming marriage of her ex-husband, James Lacey. Although she has set her sights on a handsome and beguiling new Frenchman, she can't quite stop obsessing about James. Her best intentions to move on with her life are put on hold when James's young bride is shot to death just minutes before saying "I do" and Agatha is named the prime suspect. Agatha's sleuthing sidekick Toni stands ready to help find the real killer, but the case proves trickier than ever. Will her name be cleared, or has the outrageous Agatha finally had her last romp?
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Busy Body
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 21 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin has never been one for forced holiday cheer, but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. But this year the bells will not be ringing out, as Mr. John Sunday, an officer with the Cotswold Health and Safety Board, has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down on safety hazards all around the community. But he goes too far when he rules that there cannot be a Christmas tree atop the church tower this year. Mr. Sunday is soon found facedown in the petunias, very much dead. Agatha is instantly on the case, but with so many people having threatened the life of the victim, it's almost impossible to know where to start!
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(331)
As the Pig Turns
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 22 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
The picturesque Cotwsold village of Winter Parva has decided to warm the post-Christmas season by roasting a pig in the town square. Agatha, always one for a good roasting, organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. But as the rotary spit is placed over a bed of fiery charcoals and the pig is carried toward its final resting place, Agatha realizes that things are not as they seem ..."Stop!" she screams suddenly. The "pig," in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the good people of the village. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police, everything changes when Gary's ex-wife hires Agatha's detective agency to investigate-and then is murdered too. With that provocation, how could any sleuth as vain and competitive (and secretly insecure) as Agatha do anything other than solve the case herself?
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(316)
Hiss and Hers
by M. C. Beaton
read by Davina Porter
Part 23 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of everyone's favorite sleuth, M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin is as feisty as ever and armed with her famous wit and biting sense of humor. This time, though, there's some biting of a whole other sort going on. Agatha has fallen head over heels in love. Again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man, including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up! Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon, a poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike. Rising to the occasion, Agatha rallies her little detective agency to find the killer, only to learn that George had quite a complicated love life. But murderously complicated? Well, if she can't have George, at least Agatha can have the satisfaction of confronting the other women and solving the crime.
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Something Borrowed, Someone Dead
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 24 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Gloria French was a jolly widow with dyed blonde hair, a raucous laugh, and rosy cheeks. When she first moved from London to the charming Cotswold hills, she was heartily welcomed. She seemed a do-gooder par excellence, raising funds for the church and caring for the elderly. But she had a nasty habit of borrowing things and not giving them back. They're just small things-a teapot here, a set of silverware there-so it's quite the shock when she is found dead, murdered with a poisoned bottle of elderberry wine. Afraid the murder will be a blight on the small town, Parish councilor Jerry Tarrant hires private detective Agatha Raisin to track down the murderer, but the village is secretive, and the residents resent Agatha's investigation. Of course, that doesn't stop the ever-persistent Agatha from investigating and sticking her nose where no one wants it-especially as the suspect list grows. And, as if it isn't enough that Agatha's ex has reentered the picture, the murderer is now targeting Agatha! With M. C. Beaton's Something Borrowed, Someone Dead, the bossy, vain, and absolutely irresistible Agatha Raisin continues to be a fan favorite.
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(306)
The Blood of an Englishman
by M. C. Beaton
read by Alison Larkin
Part 25 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
In this irresistible new mystery from New York Times bestselling M. C. Beaton, the adorably cranky Agatha Raisin investigates when a local baker is murdered while performing in a seemingly harmless pantomime."Fee, fie, fo, fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman …"Even though Agatha Raisin loathes amateur dramatics, her friend Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar's wife, has persuaded her to support the local pantomime. Stifling a yawn at the production of Babes in the Woods, Agatha watches as the baker, playing an ogre, struts and threatens on the stage. Then a trapdoor opens … followed by a scream and then silence.Surely this isn't the way the scene was rehearsed? When it turns out the popular baker has been murdered, Agatha puts her team of private detectives on the case. They soon discover more feuds and temperamental behavior in amateur theatrics than in a professional stage show-and face more and more danger as the team gets too close to the killer.The Blood of an Englishman is Agatha's twenty-fifth adventure, and you'd think she would have learned by now not to keep making the same mistakes. Alas, no-yet Agatha's flaws only make her more endearing. In this sparkling new entry in Beaton's New York Times bestselling series of modern cozies, Agatha Raisin once again "manages to infuriate, amuse, and solicit our deepest sympathies as we watch her blunder her way boldly through another murder mystery" (Bookreporter.com).
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(307)
Dishing the Dirt
by M. C. Beaton
read by Alison Larkin
Part 26 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin is back and finds that she must prove her own innocence when a local therapist turns up dead. When therapist Jill Davent moved to the village of Carsely, Agatha Raisin was not a fan. Not only was this therapist romancing Agatha's ex-husband, she dug up details of Agatha's not-too-glamorous origins. Jill also counsels a woman, Gwen Simple, that Agatha firmly believes assisted her son in some grisly murders, although there is no proof. Not one to keep her feelings to herself, Agatha tells anyone who will listen that Jill is a charlatan and better off dead. Agatha can only sigh with relief when the therapist takes an office in Mircester. When Agatha learns that Jill had hired a private detective to investigate her background, she barges into Jill's office and gives her a piece of her mind, yelling, 'I could kill you!' So when Jill is found strangled to death in her office two days later, Agatha becomes the prime suspect. But Agatha, along with her team of private detectives, is determined to prove her innocence and find the real culprit. This time Agatha must use her skills to save her own skin.
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(285)
Pushing Up Daisies
by M. C. Beaton
read by Alison Larkin
Part 27 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin is back on a case and poking around where she doesn't belong. When Agatha Raisin left behind her public-relations business in London, she fulfilled her dream of settling in the cozy British Cotswolds where she began a successful private detective agency. Unfortunately, the village she lives in is about to get a little less cozy. Lord Bellington, a wealthy land developer, wants to turn the community garden into a housing estate. When Agatha and her friend Sir Charles Fraith attempt to convince Lord Bellington to abandon his plans, he scoffs, 'Do you think I give a damn about those pesky villagers?' So when Agatha finds his obituary in the newspaper two weeks later, it's no surprise that some people in town are feeling celebratory. The villagers are relieved to learn that Bellington's son and heir, Damian, has no interest in continuing his father's development plans. But the police are definitely interested in him-as suspect number one. His father's death, it seems, was no accident. But when Damian hires Agatha to find the real killer, she finds no shortage of suspects. The good news is that a handsome, retired detective named Gerald has recently moved to town. Too bad he was seen kissing another newcomer. But when that woman is also found murdered, Gerald is eager to help Agatha with the case. Agatha, Gerald, and her team of detectives must untangle a web of contempt in order to uncover a killer's identity. Pushing Up Daisies continues the tradition of this beloved mystery series.
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(403)
The Witches' Tree
by M. C. Beaton
read by Alison Larkin
Part 28 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Cotswolds inhabitants are used to inclement weather, but the night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, drive slowly home from a dinner party in their village of Sumpton Harcourt. They strain to see the road ahead―and then suddenly brake, screeching to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow in the headlights, a body hangs from a gnarled tree at the edge of town. Margaret Darby, an elderly spinster, has been murdered―and the villagers are bewildered as to who would commit such a crime. Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion (a little glad for the excitement, to tell the truth, after a long run of lost cats and divorces on the books). But Sumpton Harcourt is a small and private village, she finds―a place that poses more questions than answers. And when two more murders follow the first, Agatha begins to fear for her reputation―and even her life. That the village has its own coven of witches certainly doesn't make her feel any better.
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(264)
The Dead Ringer
by M. C. Beaton
read by Alison Larkin
Part 29 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin-now the star of a hit TV show-is back on the case again. The idyllic Cotswolds village of Thirk Magna is best known for the medieval church of St. Ethelred and its bells, which are the pride and glory of the whole community. As the bell-ringers get ready for the visit of the dashing Bishop Peter Salver-Hinkley, the whole village is thrown into a frenzy. Meanwhile, Agatha convinces one of the bell-ringers, the charming lawyer Julian Brody, to hire her to investigate the mystery of the Bishop's ex-fiancée: a local heiress, Jennifer Toynby, who went missing years ago and whose body was never found... Meanwhile, the bodies in the village just keep on piling up: The corpse of Larry Jensen, a local policeman, is discovered in the crypt. Millicent Dupin, one of a pair of bell-ringing identical twins, is murdered near the church. And Terry Fletcher, a journalist and (briefly) Agatha's lover, is found dead in her sitting room! Agatha widens her investigation and very soon her main suspect is the handsome Bishop himself. But could he really be behind this series of violent killings, or is it someone who wants to bring him-and his reputation-down?
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(537)
Beating About the Bush
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 30 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Agatha Raisin in Beating About the Bush. When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is about to become involved in a particularly gruesome murder. Looks, however, can be deceiving, as Agatha discovers when she is employed to investigate a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is quite what it seems. The factory mystery soon turns to murder and a bad-tempered donkey turns Agatha into a national celebrity, before bringing her ridicule and shame. To add to her woes, Agatha finds herself grappling with growing feelings for her friend and occasional lover, Sir Charles Fraith. Then, as a possible solution to the factory murder unfolds, her own life is thrown into deadly peril. Will Agatha get her man at last? Or will the killer get her first?
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(329)
Hot to Trot
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 31 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin-now the star of a hit T.V. show-is back on the case again.
When Private Investigator Agatha Raisin learns that her friend and one-time lover Charles Fraith is to be married to a mysterious socialite, Miss Mary Brown-Field, she sees it as her duty to find out what she can about the woman. Coming up empty, Agatha-out of selfless concern for Charles, of course-does the only sensible thing she can think of: she crashes their wedding, which ends in a public altercation. Nursing a hangover the next morning, she gets a phone call from Charles, with even more disturbing news: Mary has been murdered.Agatha takes on the case, and quickly becomes entrenched in the competitive equestrian world, in which Mary had been enmeshed-as well as the victim's surprisingly violent past. Agatha finds no shortage of motives among a wide range of characters, from Mary's old riding competitors, to enemies from her schoolgirl days, to her surly father, who threatens Agatha to mind her own business. Meanwhile, the police department has its money on another suspect: Agatha. Will she track down the criminal in time, or end up behind bars herself?
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(309)
Down the Hatch
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 32 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Beloved New York Times best-selling author M. C. Beaton’s cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin — the star of her own hit TV series — is back on the case again in Down the Hatch.
Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is striding along a path in Mircester Park during her lunch break when she hears a cry for help. Rushing over, she finds an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Swinburn, in the middle of the green — with the body of an old man lying at their feet.
The man, who the coroner determines died by poisoning, was known as “the Admiral,” a gardener notorious for his heavy drinking, and Chief Inspector Wilkes writes the death off as an accident caused by the consumption of weedkiller stored in a rum bottle. Agatha is not convinced that anyone would mistake weedkiller for rum but carries on with her work at Raisin Investigations, until she receives an anonymous tip that the Admiral’s death was no accident.
Local gossip points to the Swinburns themselves as the killers, spurred by a feud at the club where they, as well as the Admiral, were members. Distraught at this accusation, they turn to Agatha to clear their name, and she takes the case — despite the warnings of Chief Inspector Wilkes.
Agatha encounters one suspicious character after another, becoming further enmeshed in the Admiral’s own dark and shady past. And when she’s run off the road, narrowly escaping with her life, and then another attack occurs, it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want the case closed — and will stop at nothing to prevent Agatha from solving it
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Devil's Delight
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 33 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin―the star of her own hit TV series―is back on the case again in Devil's Delight.
Toni and Agatha are in the car on the way to Officer Bill Wong's long-awaited wedding when, much to their shock, a naked young man bursts through a hedge on the side of the road and comes running toward them.
Terrified, he explains that he has just seen a dead body in the woods. Toni lends him an old t-shirt to cover himself, Agatha calls the police, and the young man takes them to the spot where he saw the body, across from a meadow where the Mircester Naturist Club is due to have its annual summer barbecue.
The young man, Edward, explains that he is the club's social convener and had arrived early to set things up. He says he found the body at the edge of the woods, near an ancient stone known as The Lone Warrior and said to have once been used as a sacrificial altar.
When they reach the spot, however, there is nothing on the large, flat rock except a small wet patch. Even that has dried up by the time the police arrive, and Chief Inspector Wilkes accuses Agatha of wasting police time on a prank.
But Agatha and Toni grow suspicious after meeting some of the club's members, whose diverse interests range from artisanal ice cream to ancient curses. And when another disappearance occurs, it's up to them to put together the pieces … or end up on the altar themselves.
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(161)
Dead on Target
An Agatha Raisin Mystery
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 34 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin, the star of her own hit T.V. series, is back on the case again.
A visit to the local village fete for a spot of fun and relaxation turns into a nightmare for Agatha Raisin when she discovers the body of the local landowner in the woods with an arrow in his chest and trousers round his ankles.
Agatha's old adversary, Detective Chief Inspector Wilkes, declares the death a tragic accident, believing the victim has been hit by a stray arrow from an archery demonstration. Agatha is convinced of foul play, however, and is shocked when Wilkes eventually agrees... with her as his prime murder suspect.
Determined to clear her name and find the real killer, Agatha launches her own investigation, quickly becoming involved with a family at war, an unscrupulous gangster, and a killer who is determined to make her the next victim...
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Killing Time
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith
Part 35 of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin, the star of her own hit TV series, is back on the case again.
Agatha Raisin's private detective agency is working flat out on a series of shop burglaries. The break-ins seem to have taken a violent turn when a friend of Agatha's is murdered during a raid on his shop. Although determined to nail the villains, Agatha still makes time to help Sir Charles Fraith prepare to stage a massive, hugely glamorous, promotional event in the grounds of his ancestral home, Barfield House.
When Agatha begins to receive death threats and narrowly avoids being abducted by kidnappers, she takes advantage of a previously arranged trip to Mallorca to lie low for a while. There she meets her partner, former police officer John Glass, who is now working as a dance instructor on a cruise liner. Their relationship founders over John's apparent closeness to his stage dance partner, Louise. Putting her love life on hold, Agatha heads home, having worked out who has been threatening her life.
Can Agatha track down whoever it is that wants her dead, nail her friend's murderers, and rescue her romance with John Glass? Everything comes to a climax at the Barfield Extravaganza when Agatha also manages to solve a 400-year-old Cotswold murder mystery!
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(162)
Introducing Agatha Raisin
Books 1 & 2: The Quiche of Death and The Vicious Vet
by M. C. Beaton
read by Penelope Keith, Diana Bishop
Part of the Agatha Raisin Mysteries series
* Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death: Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely, and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest. Despite the fact that Agatha has never baked a thing in her life, she is sure the pie she has secretly bought from an upper-crust London quicherie will make her the toast of the town. But her recipe for social advancement sours when the judge not only snubs her entry-but falls over dead!
* Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet: Agatha Raisin hasn't quite adjusted to the slow pace of village life, or to the failure of her overtures to her handsome neighbor, James Lacey. Since the new vet in town is young and good looking, Agatha's perfectly healthy tabby endures a nasty physical exam in the name of romance. Unfortunately, his sacrifice is all for naught when the vet is soon found dead. The police call the death a freak accident, but Agatha convinces James that playing amateur detective might be fun. Unfortunately, just as curiosity killed the cat, Agatha's inept snooping is soon a motivation for murder ...
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