Rating: 
Summary: Poor Agatha, poor reader....
Review: I've read every book in the series as well as the H. MacBeth series.I haven't finished this title yet but agree with other reviewers regarding the lack of proofreading. I was even stymied as to why this book would be listed under "Women-detectives-England-NORFOLK and not Glous. or Warwickshire." A.R. and the Love From Hell is a bit darker than the others in the A.R. series and so far (up to p. 172) there is no humor at all.
Rating: 
Summary: M.C. Beaton does it again
Review: If you're a fan of M.C. Beaton and Agatha Raisin, you will heartily enjoy this book. Agatha is one of the most unique heroines in the history of mystery fiction, maddening and endearing at the same time, and she never ceases to make me laugh out loud.I never understood what she saw in James Lacey and thankfully James has decided to leave Agatha for life as a monk in France. Hopefully, he'll stay there. My only quibble with this series is that some of the supporting characters were getting a bit stale. Beaton has made a good move in ending Agatha's obsession with James and hopefully she will develop some new intriguing characters to bring this series further along.I'd like to see the character of Mrs. Bloxby developed further. There must be a skeleton in her closet somewhere! All in all, Beaton continues to do an excellent job at entertaining her target audience.
Rating:
Summary: Why did she ever marry James?
Review: In this 11th book in the Agatha Raisin series, Agatha finally seems to have it all, but is once again miserable. She has finally married the man of her dreams (or so she thinks), James Lacey, but marriage is not all that she thought it would be. It seems that Agatha is not the kind of housewife that James had been hoping for (she turns his laundry pink, serves him microwave meals, and smokes in the house) and she soon begins to feel lonely and depressed. Just when Agatha thinks she cannot tolerate him for another second, James disappears leaving only blood behind. Frantic, Agatha turns to friend, Sir Charles Fraith, to help her discover what has happened to her new husband. Her chief suspect is James' ex-lover, but when she turns up murdered, James becomes the prime suspect. Determined to not only find her man, but also to prove him innocent of murder, Agatha sets out on a suspenseful mission of murder and mayhem. Every book in this series just gets better and better! Even though I find the character of James Lacey despicable, I feel that he is one of those characters that we just love to hate. He is mean, selfish, and hard to please, but yet Agatha tries to win his affections and attention over and over again. This may shed an unkind light on Agatha for some, but I believe that this goes along with her inherit character flaw of having low self-esteem. To combat this, Agatha puts herself in many precarious situations and butts her nose in other people's business at every turn. She is so successful at her blundering that each time Agatha solves the mystery and catches a murderer! She picks up more depth of character with each book, and readers of this series quickly become fans of this high-spirited, yet warm-hearted soul. The first book in this series is "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death". Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Why did she ever marry James?
Review: In this 11th book in the Agatha Raisin series, Agatha finally seems to have it all, but is once again miserable. She has finally married the man of her dreams (or so she thinks), James Lacey, but marriage is not all that she thought it would be. It seems that Agatha is not the kind of housewife that James had been hoping for (she turns his laundry pink, serves him microwave meals, and smokes in the house) and she soon begins to feel lonely and depressed. Just when Agatha thinks she cannot tolerate him for another second, James disappears leaving only blood behind. Frantic, Agatha turns to friend, Sir Charles Fraith, to help her discover what has happened to her new husband. Her chief suspect is James' ex-lover, but when she turns up murdered, James becomes the prime suspect. Determined to not only find her man, but also to prove him innocent of murder, Agatha sets out on a suspenseful mission of murder and mayhem. Every book in this series just gets better and better! Even though I find the character of James Lacey despicable, I feel that he is one of those characters that we just love to hate. He is mean, selfish, and hard to please, but yet Agatha tries to win his affections and attention over and over again. This may shed an unkind light on Agatha for some, but I believe that this goes along with her inherit character flaw of having low self-esteem. To combat this, Agatha puts herself in many precarious situations and butts her nose in other people's business at every turn. She is so successful at her blundering that each time Agatha solves the mystery and catches a murderer! She picks up more depth of character with each book, and readers of this series quickly become fans of this high-spirited, yet warm-hearted soul. The first book in this series is "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death". Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Cozy Mystery
Review: In this installment of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin mystery series, Agatha has finally married James Lacey. But the honeymoon doesn't last long, since Agatha is a terrible housekeeper, can't cook, or do the laundry properly. After Agatha and James have a loud, public fight, James disappears and his mistress, Melissa Sheppard, is found dead. James is a suspect in her death, so with help from her friend, Sir Charles Fraith, Agatha tries to find James and clear his name, while also trying to find out who really killed Melissa.
Agatha Raisin continues to be one of the most realistic characters in cozy mysteries. She is deeply flawed, insecure, cantankerous, and lonely. At times I want to shake her, especially with her marriage to James, who hopefully will not return in future books. The other characters continue to grow, especially Sir Charles, Bill Wong, and Mrs. Bloxby, my favorite character in this series.
The mystery itself is okay, but I enjoy these books more for the characters than the mystery itself. Fans of cozy mysteries, especially those set in small, English villages, will enjoy this series.
Rating:
Summary: thank the lord for Agatha Raisin
Review: Just when the gloom is about to set in, when the world news is set to depress even the most cheerful of us, when one more day at work seems one to many the miracle happens....a new Agatha Raisin book to kick away the clouds, the blues, and raise the spirits. Please Mrs. Beaton, keep them coming. They may not be the most challenging of reads but they are always so satisfying
can't wait for the next one..
Rating:
Summary: Death of A Proofreader?
Review: Please don't over-analyze Agatha - the charm of Agatha Raisin lies in her utter lack of it. Pugnacious and relentless Agatha loves life as she sees it and changes what does not suit. Her ambition to marry her neighbor James Lacey has been realized but happily ever after has not. This reader has often thought a duplex or the house next door might be an excellent aid to domestic harmony, but Agatha manages to annoy and isolate herself and drive her new husband into the arms of another woman. Or, did she? When James turns up missing, the overly thrifty Sir Charles Firth joins Agatha to solve the mystery. As they chase about the lovely Cotswolds, Agatha and Charles come upon some amazing characters as she investigates and simultaneously handles a successful PR campaign, makes a new rock band famous and raises a bundle for the Carsley Church. Ms. Beaton delivers a light hearted anti-romance-mystery, sketches a wonderful sense of place, some totally odd ball characters, gets the dialogue just right and does it neatly and concisely - with humor and delight. However, the book could have been proofed a lot better. Or is that just an idea for the next book?
Rating:
Summary: Agatha Takes A Trip to Hell and Back
Review: The beloved Agatha Raisin has her hands full in this 11th installment of her cozy adventures. Two psychopaths, a wayward husband, and a battle with God Himself spice up Agatha's life as she runs the gamut of emotions from grief to anger. As a devoted fan of this rascally British matron since she made her first appearance in "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death," I felt for her as she suffered through an incredibly disastrous marriage to longtime love James Lacey, anguished over his disappearance, and didn't know if he were dead or alive. In order to solve the mystery surrounding James, Agatha teams up with friend Sir Charles Fraith who retains all the gentlemanly charm yet outright stinginess readers have come to expect. Old friends like Mrs. Bloxby, Bill Wong, and Ron Silver also appear as Agatha tries to come to terms with the mess James has made of her life. Be prepared for some laugh-out-loud moments as Agatha's rudeness and irritability lead to some comic moments with suspects as well as the parents of Bill Wong whom we met in earlier adventures. Longtime fans will stand up and cheer as a stronger, more secure Agatha emerges at book's closing. The only question I had while reading was the same one I have had in all the books so far....just what does she see in James Lacey?
Rating:
Summary: The title is right
Review: The title says it all--Agatha and James DO have a love from hell. Beaton foreshadowed their bad marriage in the previous book, but I still wasn't prepared for it.
I didn't find this book funny; instead I found it consistently depressing. That Agatha and James would never take even the smallest attempts to communicate. That they both turned to the attentions of others IMMEDIATELY when their marriage was troubled. That James went into hiding without any consideration for the emotional, nor the legal, burden he put on his wife. And how quickly Agatha plunged into the self-recriminations of the emotionally battered.
The only thing I respected about this plot was that, when you think about it, it is completely believable the two would have a good marriage. However, both characters were intelligent and plucky enough to have made an exciting and adventuresome pair of sleuths, on equal footing. I agree with a previous reviewer who wondered why Agatha hasn't grown more as a character. It would be nice to see her recover her charm in any future books, but it will still be somewhat disappointing that she's back to the same old lifestyle as 10 previous stories.
What's so bad about a good marriage that writers can't seem to find it entertaining? You would think with the history of detective teams consisting of two MEN, that a writer could stretch the idea to fit a happy marriage--as in the Thin Man.
Rating:
Summary: Woe is Agatha!
Review: This entry opens with our Agatha newly married at long last to her handsome neighbor James Lacey. Agatha's fans will not be suprised that James's explosive temper and fault-finding only increase after the marriage, and that Agatha's low self-esteem will only allow her to take so much verbal abuse before she explodes in defense and starts breaking dishes. Of course, some Carsely villagers overhear their rows, and see Agatha shriek at James when she finds him canoodling sexy new villager Melissa Sheppard in the pub. So Agatha is the natural suspect when James disappears suddenly and Melissa is found murdered shortly thereafter. Lightweight baronet Sir Charles Fraith returns here, and is unexpectedly attentive and thoughtful (could he actually be growing up?), and helps Agatha investigate. Greed and madness prevail in the solution. Of course, the main point is not the mystery (although it's a rattling good plot, and could stand alone without the added delight of Agatha's personal misadventures). Regular readers will want to know that James is NOT dead, but was suffering from a brain tumor (is this supposed to excuse his swinish behavior?), which is miraculously cured when he stumbles into a French monastery. Even the brain tumor isn't enough for me to develop any affection for the chilly James, who over the past books in the series has developed into just another sexy jerk. Personally, I'm delighted Agatha may get out of this disastrous marriage, and I'm eager to see if younger man Charles develops enough as a mensch to qualify as a legitimate future love interest for my favorite affection-starved heroine. As with each previous entry, I simply could not wait for the next installment in Agatha's adventures! Keep 'em coming fast, dear Ms. Beaton!
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