Customer Reviews
Enjoyed.... but expected more? - By: Priscilla, 21 Apr 2008 
Agatha Raisin & the potted Gardener was the first book I have read in this series. I enjoy cosy mysteries & thought I would reallly enjoy this book, I was slightly let down. Although I enjoyed getting to know Agatha & her friends, I have to say the actual murder story was very weak. Although Agatha's gardening escapades & searching for clues are entertaining, I feel I reallly missed out on what I actuallly read the book for............. the murder mystery!
When the murderer is revealed the reason behind it is very, very weak, you get no history, no explanation. There is no real reason for murder! I cant go into why as I would give it away, but the murderer could have been anybody! If everyone killed someone for the reason this murderer had there would be no one left in the world. So was the murder crazed or out for revenge? No not reallly they had a reason it was just so poor I can not believe a book was themed around it.
The murder was such a sub plot. That is why I am rating it so low, although the book was interesting for alll that was in it, I feel the murder story should be a large part & it just wasn't in this book..........
Priscilla x
MUCH POTTING IN THE BACK GARDEN! - By: M. Drake, 26 Dec 2007 
M C Beaton has managed the difficult feat of creating an irascible character with few redeeming features who still manages to retain our sympathy & even win our affection. Agatha`s attempts to enage postively with village life & her next door neighbour James Lacey seemed doomed to failure & her machinations to create a show garden are hilarious!
Mick Drake author of the comic novel All`s Well at Wellwithoute
love agatha? - By: love reading, 03 Nov 2007 I just think the Agatha Raisin books are great. They are very cosy & remind me of the Enid Blyton books I read in my childhood. Don't read them if you're looking for depth as there is none. They are so light but not entirely stupid like chick lit. I do think though that they lose their appeal slightly after the first one. They remind me of No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in that respect.
Agatha Takes Her Place as a Village Character - By: Donald Mitchell, 22 Jun 2007 Like many readers, I found Agatha Raisin to be irresistible as a character when she first appeared in Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death. Here was a blunt, high-powered, but lonely, woman who wanted to start a new life amid her fantasy of what life is like in a Cotswold village. Her pushy instincts in that book worked well (when employed to raise funds for charity) & backfired when aimed at self-promotion (entering a store-bought quiche in a baking contest). Where would M. C. Beaton take this fascinating character?
In Agatha Raisin & the Vicious Vet, Agatha began to overcome her tendency to pursue James Lacey, her handsome bachelor neighbor, enough to attract him as a sleuthing partner. With Bill Wong as her advisor in the pursuit of the proper male, can she learn to be more reserved?
Agatha Raisin & the Potted Gardener combines both perspectives into one story. Agatha returns from an extended trip to find that James Lacey seems totallly taken with a beautiful incomer, Mary Fortune, who has looks, money, & the same gardening interests as James. Agatha is stirred into action & decides to become a horticulturalist. Naturallly, she doesn't know the first thing about what she's doing. Despite a warning from Mary that a frost is coming, Agatha puts out her seedlings. The result is a bare garden. Will Agatha cheat again to get her way?
Before the story is over, there's another murder in Carsely & Agatha is immediately in hot pursuit . . . with James Lacey soon enticed into joining her investigation. Before she's done, Agatha even braves the Boggles (the hard-to-satisfy older couple who like free trips from Quiche of Death) to get information.
This story is a more complex character development than either of the first two books in the series. Agatha becomes much more nuanced in her perspectives & responses . . . & becomes more like a real person rather than a mystery book character. I was particularly pleased to see the careful development of Mary Fortune as a character. It is very well done & adds a lot to the story. Unfortunately, James Lacey is developed in only one dimension, a predictable one. He becomes a bit tiresome before the end of the book.
The mysteries in the book are pretty easy to solve which reduces the book's interest for those who like puzzles. But the crimes themselves are certainly imaginative & enrich the story.
The book's main weakness is that the motives & actions of the characters seemed a little off to me. They didn't quite ring true. See what you think.
Any Agatha Raisin fan, however, would be foolish to skip this book. It's quite entertaining.
Agatha Takes Her Place as a Village Character - By: Donald Mitchell, 22 Jun 2007 Like many readers, I found Agatha Raisin to be irresistible as a character when she first appeared in Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death. Here was a blunt, high-powered, but lonely, woman who wanted to start a new life amid her fantasy of what life is like in a Cotswold village. Her pushy instincts in that book worked well (when employed to raise funds for charity) & backfired when aimed at self-promotion (entering a store-bought quiche in a baking contest). Where would M. C. Beaton take this fascinating character?
In Agatha Raisin & the Vicious Vet, Agatha began to overcome her tendency to pursue James Lacey, her handsome bachelor neighbor, enough to attract him as a sleuthing partner. With Bill Wong as her advisor in the pursuit of the proper male, can she learn to be more reserved?
Agatha Raisin & the Potted Gardener combines both perspectives into one story. Agatha returns from an extended trip to find that James Lacey seems totallly taken with a beautiful incomer, Mary Fortune, who has looks, money, & the same gardening interests as James. Agatha is stirred into action & decides to become a horticulturalist. Naturallly, she doesn't know the first thing about what she's doing. Despite a warning from Mary that a frost is coming, Agatha puts out her seedlings. The result is a bare garden. Will Agatha cheat again to get her way?
Before the story is over, there's another murder in Carsely & Agatha is immediately in hot pursuit . . . with James Lacey soon enticed into joining her investigation. Before she's done, Agatha even braves the Boggles (the hard-to-satisfy older couple who like free trips from Quiche of Death) to get information.
This story is a more complex character development than either of the first two books in the series. Agatha becomes much more nuanced in her perspectives & responses . . . & becomes more like a real person rather than a mystery book character. I was particularly pleased to see the careful development of Mary Fortune as a character. It is very well done & adds a lot to the story. Unfortunately, James Lacey is developed in only one dimension, a predictable one. He becomes a bit tiresome before the end of the book.
The mysteries in the book are pretty easy to solve which reduces the book's interest for those who like puzzles. But the crimes themselves are certainly imaginative & enrich the story.
The book's main weakness is that the motives & actions of the characters seemed a little off to me. They didn't quite ring true. See what you think.
Any Agatha Raisin fan, however, would be foolish to skip this book. It's quite entertaining.
