- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (July 14 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031230448X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312304485
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #658,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Welcome back to Carsely, the charming Cotswolds village that's home to the 16th Agatha Raisin mystery. (If you've missed the first 15, just imagine a Barbara Pym novel with murder, mayhem and the sexual longings of a 50-something divorced lady sleuth.) A jealous husband hires Agatha to find out if his wife is two-timing him. Then, Agatha stumbles over the corpse of a teenage girl. Next, the jealous husband himself is offed, poisoned with weed-killer. The pursuit of justice leads Agatha to church fetes and shopping malls; eventually, our fearless detective connects the two crimes and chases down the culprits-though not in time to prevent a third murder. In her spare time, Agatha pines after a married man, gets a seaweed wrap and worries about her thickening waist-line. All in all, this is an entertaining installment in a cozy series.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Description
After being nearly killed by both a hired hit man and her former secretary, Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks through the door, determined to prove that his wife is cheating, Raisin Investigations immediately offers to help. Trouble is, Agatha hates divorce cases--especially when the client is as pompous as Smedley--but she has a business to run and she's not about to turn away a paying customer. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the perfect wife, young and pretty and a regular volunteer at church.
Although Smedley’s case doesn’t look promising, Agatha’s attentions are diverted when she stumbles across the body of missing teenager, Jessica Bradley. In a sudden gesture of kindness (and good public relations), Agatha offers to investigate Jessica’s death free of charge.
As Agatha juggles her two biggest cases, things are turned upside down when Robert Smedley is found poisoned in his office. The prime suspect, his sainted wife Mabel, immediately hires Agatha to find the real killer.
With the help of her old friend, Sir Charles Fraith, and some newly hired staff, Agatha Raisin sets off on another adventure solving crime in the English Cotswolds.
Although Smedley’s case doesn’t look promising, Agatha’s attentions are diverted when she stumbles across the body of missing teenager, Jessica Bradley. In a sudden gesture of kindness (and good public relations), Agatha offers to investigate Jessica’s death free of charge.
As Agatha juggles her two biggest cases, things are turned upside down when Robert Smedley is found poisoned in his office. The prime suspect, his sainted wife Mabel, immediately hires Agatha to find the real killer.
With the help of her old friend, Sir Charles Fraith, and some newly hired staff, Agatha Raisin sets off on another adventure solving crime in the English Cotswolds.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Agatha's Detective Agency Deepens Its Capabilities,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: The Perfect Paragon (Mass Market Paperback)
Although this is the 16th mystery in the Agatha Raisin series, you could enjoy this book as a stand-alone if you don't want to go back. Of those earlier books, I do especially recommend the first one, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.
Agatha Raisin had a rough start to her detective agency in The Deadly Dance. She learned she didn't really know all that much about detecting, that getting and keeping good help are hard, and that the police don't like amateur detectives who set up agencies any more than they like amateur detectives. As The Perfect Paragon opens, the detective business is operating more smmothly . . . if only there were more business to operate. The money is in divorces, but Agatha has tried to avoid those cases due to having been recently divorced. But when business is slow, she agrees to check on Robert Smedley's wife, Mabel, who has shown an unusual (for her) tendency to act independently of her husband. Who is she buying those new clothes for? At the same time, Agatha has the usual run of missing teenagers and dogs where she normally makes good progress. Agatha's agency soon makes a hash of the Smedley assignment, and after that she's off the case for other reasons. When a missing teenager turns out to be a murder victim, the obvious suspects seem to be unlikely killers, and Agatha is at a loss to figure out what happened . . . until Mrs. Bloxby gives her a hint as to motive. Before the story is over, crimes are spilling out in all directions. Agatha adds a new staff member who brings some pizzazz to Agatha's investigations, and Agatha gets occasional help from her old detective partner, Sir Charles Fraith. Being as insensitive as ever to others, she virtually destroys her relationship with Bill Wong in the process of trying to find the killer and accept Bill's hospitality. The story has a few weaknesses that are unfortunate: The investigation is turned into more of a circus than is really needed to make a good story, agency people make more dumb mistakes than seem likely, and there are a few too many coincidences in how the key facts are turned up. The actual mystery is better developed and hidden than in many earlier books. And Agatha mostly avoids being her most annoying self. I think these detective-agency cases will be the saving of this series, even though M. C. Beaton couldn't resist having Agatha fall for yet another handsome man. Consider all the circumstances if you want to get at the truth!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews) 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
another entertaning and enjoyable installment,
By tregatt - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Perfect Paragon (Hardcover)
Another enjoyable and amusing installment in a series I have a huge soft spot for. This time around, Agatha finds herself caught up in two perplexing cases -- that of an unpleasant client who, unexpectedly, end up being murdered, and the sad and cruel murder of a young sixteen year old girl.
Agatha is beginning to feel her age and as a result is feeling quite depressed and blue about it. To top it all, her new detective agency is not doing all that well, and she's had to let a few employees go. But as a favour to Mrs. Bloxby, Agatha agrees to hire pensioner Phil Witherspoon, who brings in the extremely rich Robert Smedley as a client. Smedley thinks that his unassuming and dowdy wife, Mabel, is cheating on him, and he wants the evidence to prove it. And while Agatha dislikes Smedley on sight, finding him rude and boorish, she agrees to take on the case. But the saintly Mabel seems to be above reproach, and Agatha can't help shaking the feeling that she would be better served keeping an eye on her client instead. Her suspicions prove only all too true when first Smedley dismisses her, claiming that he had overreacted, and then ends up being poisoned at work. At the same time, Agatha also finds herself involved in another murder case when she finds the body of missing teen, Jessica Bradley, and decides to find the killer both for publicity and because the sight of Jessica's abandoned body really affected her. The more Agatha and her team uncover about both cases, the more they seem to be connected. But what is the thing that links the two? And who would have wanted to kill poor, harmless Jessica? And in such a brutal way? Agatha is determined to find out... This Agatha Raisin installment was a more sobering a read, mainly because the ironic humour that this series is famous for was quite absent. Also, Agatha's preoccupation with old age and loneliness tended to permeate the book. On the other hand, Agatha and her new team of investigators were fun to "watch" and they scurried around trying to figure what linked the two cases and how to bring the murderers to book. Agatha is in top detecting form, and her new team backs her up and complements her prefectly. So that if you're in the market for a well written and light cozy, featuring a tenacious and brusque middle-aged detective, you might just enjoy "The Perfect Paragon." 12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed,
By e. verrillo - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Perfect Paragon (Hardcover)
I am a long-time fan of Agatha Raisin, having read every one of the books in this series. What I liked best about this series-- the charm of the Cotswolds, the affectionate way in which the author portrays Agatha with all her foibles, the humor of her near disasters--has been gradually eroding ever since Agatha opened her own detective agency. I find the continual stream of irrelevant lost dogs and cats to be distracting. The change of setting is also a disappointment. With the recent addition of lurid murders, I am not sure I want to read the rest of Agatha Raisin's adventures. At this point she is turning into just another detective.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Entertaining Entry in the Agatha Raisin Series,
By Antoinette Klein - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Perfect Paragon (Hardcover)
For fans of the irascible Agatha Raisin, this is another entertaining episode in the life of the Cotswold detective. Though still a fiery, confrontational lady of "a certain age," Agatha appears to finally be developing some people skills. Once described as having the personality of a pit bull, Agatha is now doing favors for people and even saving the professional reputation of another out of the goodness of her heart. Yes, unbelievably, I was able to write "the goodness of her heart" when referring to Agatha Raisin. Agatha also hires some new people for her detective agency. Employees like Harry, a brainy but offbeat character, and Phil, a geriatric photographer smitten with a potential murderess, are developed adeptly by M.C. Beaton and they add fun and freshness to the series. Perennial favorites like Bill Wong, Mrs. Bloxby, Sir Charles Fraith, and Roy Silver also offer new dimensions to their characters which prevents the series from becoming banal and stale. However, it is the reappearance of someone else from the past that promises to make the next installment truly unforgettable. |
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