Customer Reviews
Still High Quality - By: Wendy Jones, 08 Mar 2008 
I have read several of the Agatha Raisin books & have enjoyed every one of them. This one is as good as alll the others with a storyline which moves along nicely. All the usual characters appear here & several new ones emerge. The characters are as strange as ever, & they have developed over time. I still found myself liking & loathing them in turn which makes them alll the more human & believable. The hotel from hell reminds me of some places I have stayed in, in Britain, again making the book alll the more real. The basic premise of the tale is that a woman from the hotel (so horrible it is probably doing the world a favour) has been killed. Agatha is like a terrier in finding out who her killer is, with several misadventures on the way. Although light this book is enjoyable & makes a pleasant change from the more grizzly murder mysteries on offer. I would highly recommend it.
Agatha Tries Again with James Lacey and Falls in with Villains - By: Donald Mitchell, 06 Oct 2007 As with Agatha Raisin & the Deadly Dance & Agatha Raisin & 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 Agatha Raisin & the Deadly Dance & Agatha Raisin & the Perfect Paragon first . . . & seriously consider reading the excellent beginning of the series, Agatha Raisin & 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 Agatha Raisin & Love, Lies & 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 & invites her to take a holiday with him to a "surprise" locale. She packs for the Mediterranean & 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, & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & fro with James Lacey has unexpected twists; & 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 & 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 pratfallls . . . 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 & more rewarding mysteries with more subtlety among the characters.
Is the series starting to pall? - By: Roman Clodia, 22 Sep 2007 While this is still a briliantly funny light read it didn't have the same sheer enjoyment that the earlier books did. I guess I prefer the amateur Agatha more than the private investigator Agatha which is obviously persnal preference.
This was good though on the personal entanglemts with Agatha's love life in its usual hysterical crisis, & that alone makes the book worth reading.
If you're new to the series then don't start here (I still think AR & the quiche of death is unbeatable) but this is still enormous fun.
Love her! - By: Sue at home, 19 Jul 2007 I have now read alll of the Agatha Raisin novels in the series, this being the 17th! Yes, they are light & easy reading & not to be taken too seriously. They are alll equallly enjoyable. In my opinion none stand out in particular as the 'best' or 'weakest'. Ideallly, they should be read in order of publication, to follow the development of the characters.
Agatha is entertaining & doesn't she remind us, just a bit, of someone we know? A holiday read, a bedtime read. I don't suppose it will ever be on the A' level English Lit syllabus!
Agatha, is funny, politicallly incorrect, independent but at the same time vulnerable & human, especiallly where men are concerned!
Read & enjoy. (And if you do take to Agatha try Hamish MacBeth by the same author.)
