Rating: 
Summary: Not MC Beaton's best
Review: I am a fan of both Hamish McBeth and Agatha Raisin but this one was a disappointment. Agatha's relationship (or lack of one) with James was a little tiresome this time. I've also about had it with her insecurity concerning her age and looks and need for casual sex with younger men to make her feel better. She's a strong woman and I'd like to see her begin to come to grips with the aging process. The cast of characters were a nasty bunch and I found myself cheering for Mrs. Bloxey rather than our heroine in this installment. Let's hope the next one improves.
Rating:
Summary: Femme fatale
Review: I cannot understand why the young male characters in the Agatha Raisin series are so fascinated with this stocky, rude, overeating, heavy-drinking, middle-aged, promiscuous, immature, nosy woman. Her relationship with James is nowhere, and putting them together in book after book to solve crimes is getting a bit strained. James is growing more and more unbelievable. If he's not going to be developed, if his relationship with Agatha isn't going to be developed, get James out of there. This initially very appealing series is getting boring.
Rating:
Summary: Less James and more Agatha
Review: I do enjoy feisty Agatha and her self-doubts, but I am tired of James, though I do find Roy, who is transparent, amusing. I enjoy mystery stories, but I wonder how much longer I will read Agatha if I have to wade through her "relationship" with James. It's getting to be boring...bring on someone else for Agatha or kill off James or both.
Rating:
Summary: Easy read
Review: I like the character "Agitha Raisin", I thought she lost some of her independance in this story. However, she still is entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Wants to Buy This Water?
Review: In this 7th book in the Agatha Raisin series, Agatha is asked to come out of retirement to help a local firm promote its spring water, bottled from a historic village spring. The parish council members are divided on whether to agree to the deal, and one of the members soon turns up dead...in the spring! Agatha must put a spin on this P.R. disaster, and in the process once again steps in to blunder her way to solving the case.The Agatha Raisin series is one of my favorite cozy mystery series on the market, and I have enjoyed the character development of Agatha throughout the series. I like that Agatha was able to use some of her P.R. skills in this book, and the fact that the premise to the case was fresh and interesting. After reading several books in the series I began to wonder how Ms. Beaton would develop new cases for Agatha since it would be odd to have a village where everyone went around killing one another. (Who would want to live there?) However, I think that each case Agatha stumbles across (she always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!) is entertaining and somewhat believable. Agatha is a rich character that is not at all what she seems on the outside, and I believe that it takes several books to get to know the true goodness of this character. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you will find that this series is a humorous delight. The first book in the series is "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death". Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Who Wants to Buy This Water?
Review: In this 7th book in the Agatha Raisin series, Agatha is asked to come out of retirement to help a local firm promote its spring water, bottled from a historic village spring. The parish council members are divided on whether to agree to the deal, and one of the members soon turns up dead...in the spring! Agatha must put a spin on this P.R. disaster, and in the process once again steps in to blunder her way to solving the case. The Agatha Raisin series is one of my favorite cozy mystery series on the market, and I have enjoyed the character development of Agatha throughout the series. I like that Agatha was able to use some of her P.R. skills in this book, and the fact that the premise to the case was fresh and interesting. After reading several books in the series I began to wonder how Ms. Beaton would develop new cases for Agatha since it would be odd to have a village where everyone went around killing one another. (Who would want to live there?) However, I think that each case Agatha stumbles across (she always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!) is entertaining and somewhat believable. Agatha is a rich character that is not at all what she seems on the outside, and I believe that it takes several books to get to know the true goodness of this character. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you will find that this series is a humorous delight. The first book in the series is "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death". Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: My first Agatha
Review: it was the name "Agatha" that drew me to this book: my first Agatha Raisin and being a crime fan it is no puzzle to see how this came about. I enjoyed it so much I bought all the rest, spent many delicious summer weeks reading them all and now waiting for another one. They won't challenge the intellect but boy are they good for relieving stress. thanks Mrs Beaton
Rating:
Summary: Tiresome
Review: Once again, Agatha Raisin has shown herself to be rude, crude and promiscuous. She has a lot to offer if she could just grow up. I enjoyed the previous books but when this one just repeated her insecurities and immaturity, I wondered when she would grow up. Hopefully, the next book will show some growth in her personality. But keep the feistiness.
Rating:
Summary: Another satisfying Agatha and James mystery.
Review: Reading an Agatha book like AGATHA RAISIN AND THE WELLSPRING OF DEATH is like eating chocolate-covered jalapeno peppers while drinking grapefruit juice, followed by a nice, hot cup of sweetened tea. You don't see how all the different elements could go together, but they do! This is about the 7th in the series that features Agatha and her neighbor James. All the traditional Agatha elements are here: the cozy Cotswolds, the quirky local characters, some "incomers" to stir things up, James, Roy. And it's so funny I laughed out loud several times, usually at Agatha's biting sense of humor. ("That woman has halitosis of the soul," said Agatha.) I'm telling you, Agatha really grows on you. Where I once said she'd never be my best friend, I just love her now. And where else in literary circles do we find attractive women in their 50s with a hot sex life? Go, Agatha!
Rating:
Summary: The best in this series yet
Review: The Cotswold Village council is acrimoniously split as to allowing a company to bottle water from the town's historically famous spring. Acrimonious turns out to be not a sharp enough description as the corpse of the uncommitted council president is found inside the spring. Agatha Raisin, who has been hired by the Anacombe Water Company to provide public relations for the firm, decides to investigate. Her former fiancé, James Lacey also begins to inquire as to what happened to the president. James and Agatha are irate with one another and refuse to help each other on their independent investigations. Although James has hurt her deeply, Agatha misses James, but she is seeing a much younger man. At the same time, her investigation seems to be going nowhere as everyone has an alibi. When a second murder occurs, Agatha realizes that she needs to uncover the identity of a killer, who will do anything to win the argument over the spring. In the seventh Agatha raisin mystery, M.C. Beaton continues to keep her characters and their village fresh, especially as they struggle with the influx of major outside capitalism on a historical item. The story line is intriguing as the investigation by amateur sleuth extraodinaire Agatha is adroitly developed. This collection continues to be one of the best English cozy series on the market. Harriet Klausner
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