"Devil's Delight" An Agatha Raisin Mystery By M.C. Beaton/R.W. Green: Review/Giveaway 

Review by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

“Raisin Investigations. How Can I Help You?”

Agatha Raisin, once a top PR wiz in London, is still exacting control not only in her successful private investigation firm based in the Cotswolds, but also in her private life. Personally, however, she does find herself torn by the strained interactions with ex-husband James Lacey and struggling somewhat with the amorous, yet noncommittal, advances by Sir Charles Fraith, but she is single and eager to navigate her attractions to a detective, a nudist, and the new choir director. Professionally, there is less gray area as she manages a full caseload and mentoring a crew who seem eager to have more autonomy attracting and leading their own cases. Simon Black and Patrick Mulligan have received the green light to do some undercover work: one at a brewery investigating an escalation in thefts, the other at a sixth form college with a drug problem. Toni Gilmour has become someone Agatha relies on, but even she wants to stretch her wings beyond sidekick mode. Agatha has pondered the idea of having more “me” time and recognizes her PI team just might be ready for more independence.


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Image Source Minotaur
Devil's Delight
Earns 5+/5 Scoops of Ice Cream…Brilliantly Clever; Top Notch!

You wouldn’t expect to see a totally naked man running down any country road in the Cotswolds; it’s definitely not a common occurrence. And it’s even more unlikely to have the disrobed young man frantic and saying he’d found a dead body. But, this is the type of day Agatha Raisin finds herself! She and Toni don’t want to be late to the wedding of their dear friends DS Bill Wong and DC Alice Peters, but they are detectives. The naked man, Edward Carstairs, directs them to a pavilion where he puts on some clothes, then leads them out to the scene of the crime. However, on top of the ancient “Lone Warrior” stone there is nothing. No body and no evidence one had ever been there. Agatha is intrigued, and as everyone knows, she loves a mystery!

The 9-9-9 call had been made, so when Chief Inspector Wilkes arrives, he is furious to find Agatha present, the reported murder victim has vanished, and the looking loos and possible witnesses, all members of the Mircester Naturist Society, standing about in their birthday suits. It gets more complicated when later a body is discovered and identified with a connection to the Society, followed by a stalker, several threats, a car accident, and … ice cream! Could there be a “cover-up” among these “nudies”? Is frozen dessert really a cutthroat business? St. Jude may be the patron Saint of difficult cases, but Agatha is the one that solves them.

Brilliant Doesn’t Seem Adequate! Be not leery, although this is the thirty-third Agatha Raisin mystery, it is the third book for R.W. Green who has continued to stay true to M.C. Beaton’s original vision of her fashionista PI with a caseload that offers creative murder mysteries, clever details, quirky characters, and potentially life-threatening situations. Agatha’s ideas about the murder, the thefts, and drug trafficking are slowly revealed, but the excitement is in “how” the perpetrators are exposed and arrested. Along the way Google-worthy elements are incorporated about the legend of the Rollright stones, the Whispering Knights, the King Stone, and the Lone Warrior, the Italian opera Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, and even unique ice cream flavors…chili peppers?

Green’s writing style is definitely entertaining with a descriptive narrative, clever quips, snarky responses, and continued conflicts with DI Wilkes. Agatha also continues to ponder relationships of all kinds from close friends to employees, but mostly her thoughts are about romance, love, and marriage. James? Charles? John? The conclusion doesn’t resolve the issue, but with its status quo comes a possible answer. Despite fans of the television show seeing many key differences in the book from characters’ ages to ethnicity to personality and some characters only found in one or the other, it is unique and an absolute must read for M.C. Beaton and Agatha Raisin fans as well as any fanatic of murder mysteries, British detective dramas, or just humor!

Audio “Delight” I am a big fan of audiobooks regularly listening to a wide range of genres. And, here, I was thrilled to pick up, through my membership, the audio version of Devil’s Delight in large part due to discovering that my favorite actress once again is the narrator. Dame Penelope Keith narrates many of the Agatha Raisin books with a very pleasant natural voice and performance style. She is also talented at performing various accents or regional dialects and adding a lisp that is not obvious in the eBook or print version. She also does well supporting personalities related to gender, age, and level of education. If you’re aware of any of her acting roles, my favorites being The Good Life and To the Manor Born, you might agree with me that she was Agatha Raisin before Agatha Raisin was Agatha Raisin. I highly recommend the audio!

Be a Big M.C. Beaton Fan!

From historical romance to murder mystery penned under various incarnations, the New York Times bestselling author M.C. Beaton is one of my absolute favorites. Her Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series are at the top of my “must read” list, and I am lucky to have also read, or listened, to some of the books in her Edwardian Murder Mystery series starring Lady Rose Summer, the stand-alone mystery The Skeleton in the Closet, and fifteen historical romance series varying in era, status, and romantic complication. Her death was a blow to the literary world, but her already vast library of entertaining work lives on, and with R.W. Green, her own choice to take up the pen for her most popular series, brings us fans more to enjoy.

Facebook: M.C. Beaton, Author

Website: M.C. Beaton/ U.S. version

To enter to win a copy of Devil's Delight, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "Delight,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 7, 2023. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! 

You can use this link to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Comments

  1. I love reading Marion's books and am glad that R W Green is continuing this series.
    L. Nason
    Dlcnason1@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds delightful. Please enter my name in the draw. Thanks ! crs(at)codedivasites(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love discovering new ro me authors. This sounds like a fun read. aprilbluetx at yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'd like to be included! tWarner419@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great series. Would really like to read.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. We have a winner!
    Lorie Ham

    ReplyDelete

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