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 Cotswolds 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, just small things, a teapot here, a set of silverware there. So it's quite the shock when she is found dead, murdered by a poisoned bottle of elderberry wine. Afraid the murder will be a blight on the small town, Parish councillor, 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![summary via Amazon]
Something Borrowed, Someone Dead is the 24th book in the Agatha Raisin mysteries. After 23 previous mysteries, M.C. Beaton continues to do something remarkable.... she keeps every mystery fresh and interesting. With long-running mysteries I find I can easily get bored of the same characters. The thing that M.C. Beaton does right in both this series and the Hamish Macbeth series is that every now and then she takes the mystery away from its small village and to another small village. After all slowly killing off everyone in Carsely wouldn't be interesting!!
This time Agatha and her fellow detective, Toni Gilmour, are investigating a mystery in Piddlebury. Piddlebury is a odd sort of village and Agatha and Toni have to keep their wits about them to solve the mystery!
For fans of the residents of Carsely there is frequent trips back to Carsely, and all our favorite characters are ever present, including James Lacey and Sir Charles Fraith. I delighted at all the going ons with the regulars, and trying to figure out what the residents of Piddlebury were up to as well.
Something Borrowed, Someone Dead was another wonderful adventure in a series that keeps getting better and better! Penelope Keith is back to narrate this installment in the series, and as ever I was thrilled to hear her narration. For me, Penelope Keith is the voice of Agatha Raisin, and I really hope we will see her back for future audiobooks. She does such a marvelous job narrating the various residents and makes an already wonderful series, fabulous!
No comments:
Post a Comment