The Agatha Raisin Companion
Agatha Raisin Series

by M C Beaton

      If you are a fan of M C Beaton (aka Marion Chesney) and her delightfully cozy yet satirical Agatha Raisin series, this is the book for you. Now you can refresh your memory about who’s who, what happened where and when, and even find out the story behind the series’ creation.

Out in time for Christmas, this is a good stocking filler for the fan among your family and friends. You won’t be able to resist having a surreptitious peek first, of course, but it won’t take you long, as this is a well laid out book.

In the introduction, Ms Beaton reminisces about her experience in the bookselling world, her life as a crime reporter in Glasgow, as a fashion reporter in London, and how all this inspired her work. There is a good description of Agatha herself and something about her personality, tastes and life so far. Descriptions follow of the Cotswold locations both real and fictitious, a list of all the books, in helpful order, and what occurs in them. She warns you before this chapter about the spoilers, so if you haven’t read all the books yet, skipping this might be a good plan! However this is handy to be able to recap what happened and in what order. The list goes up to book twenty, There Goes The Bride (also reviewed on this site), and omits the most recent title, but you can’t have everything, and presumably this would mean more spoilers for a lot of readers. There are lists of Agatha’s close shaves, a dramatis personae of all the series characters, a list of “Agatha’s men,” Mrs Bloxby’s words of wisdom, notes on the detective agency and, at the back, a handy index and some recipes, among other things. This is one of those books that exist to be dipped into at odd moments, and there is plenty to chuckle over. Recommended for all keen fans of this long running but inventive series.