The Quiche of Death

Even though I'm an avid reader, there are still many authors who have slipped by me in years past, so I've decided to introduce myself to some of their work. One of those authors was M.C Beaton so I recently read this first book in her popular Agatha Raisin series to get acquainted.

Sadly, I cannot say I'll be jumping on the old Agatha bandwagon any time soon because this book was a laborious trudge of a read for me. Agatha wasn't just a socially inept curmudgeon; she was thoroughly unlikable and grating. Let's just say that Beaton has left a LOT of room for improvement in Agatha's personality. I liked the descriptions of village life in the picturesque Cotswolds but the secondary characters were a dull and cliched bunch (with the exception of Detective Wong - him I liked).

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if the first part of the book didn't solely focus on Agatha trying to acclimate to life in a rural village (and by 'acclimate' I mean ticking off some of the locals, detailing how she microwaved every meal and lying her way into a pie contest). There were too many extraneous details leaving the mystery, which ended up being a bit of a snore, feeling unstructured, convoluted and a bit ignored.

This series is clearly popular since there are 31 books in the series to date, but it is not for me. But I haven't totally written off M.C Beaton and may still pick up her Hamish MacBeth series. 

My Rating: 2 stars

Author: M.C Beaton

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: #1 in the Agatha Raisin series

Type and Source: Paperback from public library

Publisher: St Martin's Press

First Published: 1992

Opening Lines: Mrs. Agatha Raisin sat behind her newly 

cleared desk in her office in South Molton Street in 

London's Mayfair. From the outer office came the hum of voices 

and the clink of glasses as the staff prepared to say farewell to her.

Book Description from GoodReads: 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 ...