Love, Lies and Liquor (Agatha Raisin Mysteries) [Hardcover]

 

 

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As with The Deadly Dance and The Perfect Paragon, this book can be read as a standalone if you haven't read the earlier books in the series. I do think, however, that your enjoyment will be increased if you read at least The Deadly Dance and The Perfect Paragon first . . . and seriously consider reading the excellent beginning of the series, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.

If you are a long-time fan of the series, you may be ambivalent about the reappearance of James Lacey in Agatha's life. But in Love, Lies and Liquor (the 17th book in the Agatha Raisin series) there's a shift in the relationship that makes his character somewhat less tiresome than before.

James is living next door to Agatha again and invites her to take a holiday with him to a "surprise" locale. She packs for the Mediterranean and he takes her to the rundown seaside resort of Snoth-on-Sea where the weather is lousy. While James has fond memories of boyhood trips there, today's Snoth-on-Sea has nothing to recommend it. The hotel is rundown, and the guests seem like louts. In fact, there's a shouting match in the hotel dining room that leads to James punching out one of the other guests.

When a woman that Agatha threatened, Geraldine Jankers, is found strangled with Agatha's scarf, the "lucky" pair from Carsely are stranded as they seek to clear Agatha. Clearing Agatha isn't too difficult, but James wants to flee and Agatha feels that she must investigate to find the murderer. Agatha draws on her Mircester detective agency's resources to scout out the suspects.

Before long, Agatha draws the ire of some dangerous characters and finds her very life at stake.

Several things make this book different from others in the Agatha Raisin series that improved its appeal for me: Agatha and her colleagues make some amazing mistakes that would be hilarious if they didn't have serious consequences; the danger level is high throughout much of the book; there are more mysteries to be solved that are related to the murder than one might expect; the to and fro with James Lacey has unexpected twists; and Agatha's signature vulnerability for handsome men she just meets isn't central to the story for a change. Her detectives are proving to be more able than in the past which provides for some better procedural aspects to the story. The change of scene is also good for the series by providing lots of new characters as well as the opportunity to reprise old characters in new ways.

The pacing of the story is very good. Major shoes drop at regular intervals without much warning that take the mystery and its implications in new directions. My interest was sustained at a high level for almost the entire story. The humor is well developed in the story as many characters take the equivalent of pratfalls . . . but in each case there are serious consequences which gives the mood of the book an interesting feel than a more unrestrained comic mystery would provide.

I look forward to the next entry in the series. I hope it will continue to the trend towards better stories and more rewarding mysteries with more subtlety among the characters.

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