Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body
Agatha Raisin – Book XXI

By M C Beaton
   

      There is a new Health and Safety officer serving the village of Carsely and environs – the overzealous Mr John Sunday. Christmas trees might fall down and hurt somebody, the shelves in the village stores have to go, as they are wooden and might contain splinters, even the gravestones in the cemetery are deemed dangerous. Agatha Raisin is attending a boring meeting of the Carsely Ladies Society when she sees Sunday’s final moments, and the cause of death can only be murder…but whodunit?

This is an absorbing read full of twists and turns and no, I didn’t guess most of them. I can only say that Ms Beaton certainly knows how to fill what is actually quite a slim volume to bursting point, and that once again she has come up trumps with a teasingly tortuous tale. The above is how the book starts, but there is much more to come and we get to say hello to at least one new character.

We also get to renew our acquaintance with the usual suspects, and this is perhaps the chief joy when reading a long-running series. This one shows no sign of running out of steam and I found this particular book to be one of my favorites as there is just so much in it to enjoy. If you like a good whodunit with a light touch and entertaining characters (and who doesn’t) you will find it in here…although if this is the first of her books you have noticed you need to go back and read the other twenty first as this is very much a serial, as well as a series.

Reviews of other titles in this series

The Agatha Raisin Companion   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell    [review 1 ] [review 2]
Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance   [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon   [review]
Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor   [review]
Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye   [review]
Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison   [review]
There Goes the Bride     [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body   [review]
Agatha Raisin: As The Pig Turns   [book] [audio]
Hiss and Hers #23 [review]
Christmas Crumble (Novella) [review]
Something Borrowed Someone Dead #24 [review]
The Blood of an Englishman #25 [review]
Agatha Raisin and the Witches’ Tree #25 [review]