Agatha lets sleeping vets lie...Retired PR boss Agatha Raisin is enjoying life in her pretty Cotswold village of Carsely. It even seems likely that the attractive new vet, Paul Bladen, has taken a shine to her. But before romance can blossom, Paul is killed in an accident with Lord Pendlebury's horse. Only the circumstances are rather suspicious. Agatha decides she must once more play amateur investigator. And this cloud has a silver lining - she can persuade her usually stand-offish neighbour, James Lacey, to become her partner in the quest. As usual, Agatha is quite prepared to rush in, heedless of the lurking menace to both James and herself. Praise for the Agatha Raisin series: 'Agatha is like Miss Marple with a drinking problem, pack-a-day habit and major man lust. I think she may be living my dream life' - Entertainment Weekly. 'Clever red herrings and some wicked unfinished business guarantees that the listener will pant for a sequel' The Times Audiobook Review.
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
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"- 'Anyone interested in a few hours' worth of intelligent, amusing reading will want to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Agatha Raisin.' - The Cleveland Pain Dealer - 'Agatha Raisin is sharp, witty, hugely intelligent, unfailingly entertaining, delightfully intolerant and oh so magnificently non PC. M C Beaton has created a new national treasure... the stories zing along and are irresistible, unputdownable, a joy. If you buy one book a year, let it be this. Agatha Raisin is The Strongest Link.' - Anne Robinson - 'Beaton's dry sense of humour and her unflattering but affectionate portrait of gruff, often adolescent acting Agatha make this... tale a bloom worth picking.' - Publishers Weekly - 'Engaging' - Booklist
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
M C Beaton worked as a Fleet Street journalist. She is the author of now 20 Agatha Raisin novels, the Hamish Macbeth series, which Constable & Robinson also publish, and an Edwardian murder-mystery series. She divides her time between Paris and the Cotswolds, where she lives in a village very much like Agatha's beloved Carsely.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Second in the Agatha Raisin series by Marion Chesney (writing as M.C.Beaton). Agatha, retired PR guru (and she would emphasise that she retired early), returns to her archetypal Cotswold village from an abortive Caribbean holiday to discover a dishy new vet has set up shop there. Perhaps he'll prove an easier catch than James, her nextdoor neighbour. However, life expectancy in the archetypal villages of cosy mysteries can be somewhat abruptly concluded.
Agatha Raisin is an ironic take on Miss Marple - she's less syrupy than Christie's sleuth, more abrasive, and she's decidedly sexually predatory. Agatha is a determined but gauche sexual being - she devotes more attention to dressing right, slapping on the right amount of warpaint, getting the ambience right, than to actual detection. She likes her food, she likes her booze, and she likes her cats. She's bright and resourceful and quite likeable. Bur her detective skills are hardly the cerebral powers of detection exemplified by Holmes, Marple, or Poirot - determination and bloody mindedness are more her forte, with just a soupcon of intuition. Agatha has her police collaborator, in the form of Bill Wong - I confess to feeling let down by the description of his home and family. And there is an ensemble cast of village folk, from vicar's wife to unmarried mother, ironic little sketches of characters who contrast with their counterparts in a Marple mystery.
It's an entertaining book - the Agatha Raisin series is written with genuine humour and charm - and there is an intriguing mystery to be unravelled here, with plenty of suspects and not a few red herrings. Where the book falls down, however, is in the method of deduction. The way some of the evidence is obtained is just too far fetched - it's a bit deus ex machina, 'with one bound he was free' simplicity. The strength of the Agatha Raisin series lies in the humour and insightful characterisation which trips off the pages - the weakness is in the detection side. With the detection side made a touch more real and gritty, this would be a very fine series - but maybe this is partly satirising the superhuman powers of deduction and convenient presentation of evidence found in many cosy mysteries?
Agatha Raisin is an ironic take on Miss Marple - she's less syrupy than Christie's sleuth, more abrasive, and she's decidedly sexually predatory. Agatha is a determined but gauche sexual being - she devotes more attention to dressing right, slapping on the right amount of warpaint, getting the ambience right, than to actual detection. She likes her food, she likes her booze, and she likes her cats. She's bright and resourceful and quite likeable. Bur her detective skills are hardly the cerebral powers of detection exemplified by Holmes, Marple, or Poirot - determination and bloody mindedness are more her forte, with just a soupcon of intuition. Agatha has her police collaborator, in the form of Bill Wong - I confess to feeling let down by the description of his home and family. And there is an ensemble cast of village folk, from vicar's wife to unmarried mother, ironic little sketches of characters who contrast with their counterparts in a Marple mystery.
It's an entertaining book - the Agatha Raisin series is written with genuine humour and charm - and there is an intriguing mystery to be unravelled here, with plenty of suspects and not a few red herrings. Where the book falls down, however, is in the method of deduction. The way some of the evidence is obtained is just too far fetched - it's a bit deus ex machina, 'with one bound he was free' simplicity. The strength of the Agatha Raisin series lies in the humour and insightful characterisation which trips off the pages - the weakness is in the detection side. With the detection side made a touch more real and gritty, this would be a very fine series - but maybe this is partly satirising the superhuman powers of deduction and convenient presentation of evidence found in many cosy mysteries?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the sort of book you can whip through in a day or so. It makes very light bedtime reading and although it's very silly in places I'm more than happy to take all that tongue in cheek and enjoy it's froth. If you enjoy Midsomer Murders on a Sunday night then you'll probably enjoy this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By H Davies
Format:Paperback
This is the first Agatha Raisin book I managed to get hold of, and I was originally quite keen to read them all. Having read this one, however, I'm not so sure. While I really like some of the characters, the situations Agatha finds herself in are completely ridiculous.
**Slight spoiler alert**
Agatha breaks into a bank, attempts to change a light bulb in a public toilet using a handy pack of light bulbs she just HAPPENS to have in her car, and discovers a body while snooping round a neighbour's house and deciding she needs to use the bathroom (as you do). She also finds herself wearing unsuitable footwear on several occasions, and being cringingly crude ("There's a tide of pee rising up to my eyeballs") every time she meets the man she's interested in.
It does have some redeeming features if you like the "cosy, village mystery" genre, but I'll be borrowing my next one from the library rather than spending money on it.
**Slight spoiler alert**
Agatha breaks into a bank, attempts to change a light bulb in a public toilet using a handy pack of light bulbs she just HAPPENS to have in her car, and discovers a body while snooping round a neighbour's house and deciding she needs to use the bathroom (as you do). She also finds herself wearing unsuitable footwear on several occasions, and being cringingly crude ("There's a tide of pee rising up to my eyeballs") every time she meets the man she's interested in.
It does have some redeeming features if you like the "cosy, village mystery" genre, but I'll be borrowing my next one from the library rather than spending money on it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!!!
This was brilliant - equally as good as the first book - Agatha is so realistic and human - highly recommended
Published 10 days ago by Nikkij
4.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't disappoint
A good speedy read, and not too taxing.
Great for new readers to Agatha Raisin
I have read two of these and enjoyed both
Great for new readers to Agatha Raisin
I have read two of these and enjoyed both
Published 2 months ago by Kf
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crime adventures
Usual high quality lackey action and good insight into characters all lovers of crime dramas would enjoy this well paced book
Published 2 months ago by Janet Kinloch
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vicious Vet
Really good read, very funny and easy to read, I am completely hooked on these books.
A really good page turner
A really good page turner
Published 3 months ago by Mrs K McIntyre
4.0 out of 5 stars
OK
Standard M C Beaton style - having read the entire Hamish Macbeth series, I thought I'd try this. OK but I'm not sure I'll read on.
Published 4 months ago by khj
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Vicious Vet
This is the second outing with Agatha and this time we see the death of a Vet who we find out has a bit of a reputation with the ladies. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. A. L. Maddocks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another triumphant addition...
...To the Agatha Raisin series.
This was a real joy to read. After quickly plowing through 'The Quiche of Death' I simply had to get the next installment. Read more
This was a real joy to read. After quickly plowing through 'The Quiche of Death' I simply had to get the next installment. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sophie Dewsnap
4.0 out of 5 stars
Easy read
Agatha is a good companion to take on holiday, share a journey or spend an evening or two with. Light hearted amusing in places and easy to pick up. Read more
Published 4 months ago by William
5.0 out of 5 stars
Agatha raisin and the vicious vet
This book was very interesting and enjoyable. I like how the series is connected. It makes easy very easy reading.
Published 4 months ago by Janet Stone
4.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasing reintroduction to the world of Agatha Raisin
It's been a while since I enjoyed the first Agatha Raisin novel Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for no other reason than real life getting in the way of the many, many books... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Timothy Done
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