Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

by MC Beaton

I came across the world of the magnificent and eccentric Agatha Raisin quite by chance. I was looking for a light quick read and intrigued by the title, I picked it up and decided to buy it. I’d recently joined the WI and having discovered some of the very strict rules involved in entering baking competitions, I found the premise of this book rather funny. (I think it may also have been used in the film Calendar Girls too.)

Agatha Raisin has been working in London as a successful PR agent. In her early 50s, she is looking for a quieter life and imagines that life in the country will provide her with peace and relaxation. Agatha settles on the village of Carsley in the Cotswolds – a beautiful idyllic looking village filled with thatched cottages and gentle people – or is it? Life doesn’t quite work as Agatha assumed.  Seen as an ‘incomer’ she finds it difficult to make friends and quickly becomes bored and lonely. In her efforts to fit in with the locals, Agatha enters a baking contest, the only problem being that Agatha has never baked in her life and wouldn’t know where to start.

On a trip to London, Agatha purchases a quiche from a deli and enters that into the contest under her own name. Much to her disgust, she doesn’t win and is in fact snubbed by one of the judges by the name of Cummings-Browne. He obviously quite likes it though as he takes it home to eat later – a bad decision to have made. He is found dead the next morning by his wife and Agatha becomes the prime suspect when her quiche is found to contain poison.

Desperate to prove her innocence, Agatha begins investigating the crime herself in an attempt to clear her name from cheat and potential poisoner and so begins the Agatha Raisin Detective Agency.

Agatha is the perfect imperfect heroine. She enjoys the high life, getting dressed up and can come across as bossy but there is something about her that you just can’t help liking. We are introduced to a selection of eclectic characters including Sir Charles Fraith, a close friend and occasional lover of Agatha, James Lacey her love interest, the outrageous PR friend Roy Silver, DC Bill Wong who is still dominated by his parents, Toni Gilmour who ends up working for Agatha but is the cause of lots of jealous feelings and Sarah Bloxby, the vicar’s wife who becomes a close friend.

This is the first in a series of approximately 34 titles so far, each one more outrageous than the rest! They are light hearted village whodunnits, easily devoured, uncomplicated but with enough detail to maintain interest.

MC Beaton was a pseudonym for the writer Marion Chesney who also wrote the Hamish MacBeth books. Beaton sadly died in December 2019 but Agatha lives on through writer Rod Green. Rod, the husband of Marion’s publisher, stepped in when Marion fell ill, finishing his first book in 2020 with her approval.

There has been a TV series made starring Ashley Jensen who portrays the character fairly well though I always thought a young Penelope Keith would fit the bill perfectly. Some of the characters ethnicity and ages have been changed which I found disappointing.  I much prefer the books and have amassed quite a collection.

If you are looking for a light hearted read, an idyllic country setting, a cast of eccentric villagers and a likeable main character, then you could do worse than pick up an Agatha Raisin novel – and there are plenty to choose from!