Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

Rating:
Summary: Ultimately a dissapointment
Review: This installment in the Agatha Raisin series is quite enjoyable. Agatha has decided to holiday (off-season) in a seaside town while her hair grows out. She ends up meeting some truly eccentric octogenarians, and of course murder occurs. This time it is the village "witch", and it turns out that she had quite a few enemies. In her blundering way, Agatha sets out to solve the murder and becomes involved with the village police inspector. He's a treat, but true to form, Agatha can't let things take their natural course and precipitates a breakup. Anyway, the mystery is solved, and Agatha has to go back to her life in Carsley (with a new cat in tow).

Rating:
Summary: Another Charming Little Mystery!
Review: This installment in the Agatha Raisin series is quite enjoyable. Agatha has decided to holiday (off-season) in a seaside town while her hair grows out. She ends up meeting some truly eccentric octogenarians, and of course murder occurs. This time it is the village "witch", and it turns out that she had quite a few enemies. In her blundering way, Agatha sets out to solve the murder and becomes involved with the village police inspector. He's a treat, but true to form, Agatha can't let things take their natural course and precipitates a breakup. Anyway, the mystery is solved, and Agatha has to go back to her life in Carsley (with a new cat in tow).

Rating:
Summary: Good addition to the series.
Review: This was an enjoyable book, though not the best in the series. Unlike, most of the other reviewers, I think Agatha ought to get back with James Lacey and dump Sir Charles(or bump him off). The game Agatha and James play of seeing what one can do to hurt the other is getting juvenile and tedious. Overall, the plot itself was good, though I didn't care much for any of Wyckhadden's residents. I also liked the book because M.C. Beaton stayed true to the real Agatha: always out of her element. I look forward to the next book in the series in June.

Rating:
Summary: Fun? Not.
Review: This was my first--and last--Agatha novel. While the mystery was mildly interesting, the seaside hotel residents portrayed by the author were weak, petty, vicious, and generally unpleasant. I'm sorry I spent more than an hour in their company. What a bunch of whiners! The depressing finish of the love affair between Agatha and the local cop was sad and ugly. Where was the supposedly strong and clever heroine?

Rating:
Summary: Fun? Not.
Review: This was my first--and last--Agatha novel. While the mystery was mildly interesting, the seaside hotel residents portrayed by the author were weak, petty, vicious, and generally unpleasant. I'm sorry I spent more than an hour in their company. What a bunch of whiners! The depressing finish of the love affair between Agatha and the local cop was sad and ugly. Where was the supposedly strong and clever heroine?

Rating:
Summary: It's a Mystery to Me!
Review: This was the second Agatha Raisin mystery that I have read...and I'm sorry to say that it will be my last. I thought that having a middle-aged, former professional woman as the sleuth was a nice twist, but M.C. Beaton apparently hates middle-aged women. The uniqueness of the plots of both the Witch of Wyckhadden and the Wizard of Evesham is spoiled by the author's depiction of a mean-spirited, self-centered, whining and grassing woman. If it were only Agatha that comes across as grossly unsympathetic and unlikeable, the other characters might have seemed more interesting by comparison and story line might actually have been enhanced. Beaton, however, does a remarkable job of causing you to dislike nearly every character and to become totally indifferent to their fate. I was actually rooting to have more of the odious creatures knocked off just so that I wouldn't have to read any more about them before coming to the solution! Agatha has been criticized for stumbling upon solutions before, and this "triumph" is not any more a matter of detection than the others. I love the cozy genre, but there is nothing cozy, comfortable, or challenging in this series of books. Do yourself a favor and pick up a Catherine Aird story instead...she's not prolific, but every book is a gem.

Rating:
Summary: It's a Mystery to Me!
Review: This was the second Agatha Raisin mystery that I have read...and I'm sorry to say that it will be my last. I thought that having a middle-aged, former professional woman as the sleuth was a nice twist, but M.C. Beaton apparently hates middle-aged women. The uniqueness of the plots of both the Witch of Wyckhadden and the Wizard of Evesham is spoiled by the author's depiction of a mean-spirited, self-centered, whining and grassing woman. If it were only Agatha that comes across as grossly unsympathetic and unlikeable, the other characters might have seemed more interesting by comparison and story line might actually have been enhanced. Beaton, however, does a remarkable job of causing you to dislike nearly every character and to become totally indifferent to their fate. I was actually rooting to have more of the odious creatures knocked off just so that I wouldn't have to read any more about them before coming to the solution! Agatha has been criticized for stumbling upon solutions before, and this "triumph" is not any more a matter of detection than the others. I love the cozy genre, but there is nothing cozy, comfortable, or challenging in this series of books. Do yourself a favor and pick up a Catherine Aird story instead...she's not prolific, but every book is a gem.