Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist [Mass Market Paperback]

In this, the sixth book of this cozy British mystery series, the irrepressible Agatha Raisin is still enthralled with her handsome neighbor and ex fiancé, retired colonel James Lacey, who has left the comfortable environ of their Cotswold village of Carsely for Cyprus to seek refuge from Agatha after their engagement came to an abrupt end at the altar.

The heartsick Agatha also takes off for Cyprus, which was where she and James were to have spent their honeymoon, hoping to catch up with him and make right what went wrong. Along the way, Sir Charles Fraith turns up and creates an interesting diversion for her. Unfortunately, by the time she meets up with James, she has also met up with a party of British tourists, and when one of them dies under mysterious circumstances, once again, she and James, as well as that entire party of tourists, are all suspects.

Of course, Agatha and James, despite their differences, once again team up to do some amateur sleuthing. Stung by James' observation that her previous sleuthing successes have been due solely to some happenstance bumbling, Agatha is determined to prove him wrong and show that she has the right stuff. When a second murder occurs, however, Agatha should be afraid, very afraid.

While I enjoyed this book, I did not enjoy it a much as the others, as I missed the goings on in the village of Carsely, which is part of the charm of the series. Still, fans of Agatha will definitely want to read this one, as the life and loves of Agatha Raisin are something they will not want to miss.

Stop reading right now if you haven't yet read Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembly and Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage. You should read those books before beginning this one. Otherwise the interactions between Agatha Raisin, James Lacey, and Sir Charles Fraith won't make as much sense as they should.

Better yet, go back to the beginning of the series and start with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death which is followed by Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener before you get to Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembly.

Agatha Raisin experienced a marital setback the likes of which I don't recall in fiction during Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage: Her husband showed up as she was about to say "I do" with James Lacey. Outraged, James Lacey decided he'd had enough of Agatha . . . except when she can help him clear his name. As soon as her husband's murderer is identified, James is off to Cyprus alone, the planned site of their honeymoon.

Dauntless, our Agatha finds out that James is on Cyprus and heads off to find him . . . which is no easy matter. Before she can locate James, she finds herself drawn into meeting two trios of English tourists. Each group contains a married couple and a single older man. It's most unusual. Since one group sees itself as higher class, Agatha is surprised when the two groups merge. Despite her best intentions, Agatha finds herself drawn into the merged group's activities.

James, when located, is about as warm to Agatha as an iceberg in winter. Despite this, they are soon sharing a villa . . . in separate rooms. Their privacy is at risk, however, when members of the merged group start to meet murderers. Agatha, herself, experiences to murder attempts against her life.

Much of the appeal of this story comes in Agatha attracting other men without any intent to do so. The effect of this is to complicate her life in ways she doesn't want . . . and to infuriate James Lacey. In the process of again sharing a roof with James Lacey, Agatha discovers even more reasons why this man may not be such good marriage material.

I commend M. C. Beaton for moving this story away from Carsely. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any people left in the village if murder keeps whittling away at the local population.

The murder mysteries aren't really up-to-snuff. You'll figure out who did it long before the characters do.

I also found much of the Agatha-James interaction to be painful to read rather than funny.

But if you are like me, you'll be rooting harder than ever for Agatha to make her way more positively into her new life as this entertaining series continues in Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death.

M.C. Beaton's devious evil twin must have written this instalment of the Agatha Raisin series. It has none of the charm, humor or delight of its predecessors. What's more, we are treated to heavy-handed pedantic descriptions of Cyprus' history, geography, and politics. It's a pretty dreary ride. I suggest that fans of Agatha Raisin give this one a miss. All one really needs to know is that both Agatha and James have liaisons with other people, James is still flint-hearted at the end, and Agatha realizes her obsession with James is just that. On to the next!