Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet – M C Beaton

After having read Agatha’s debut novel Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death I knew this was a character I would have to read more about, so I promptly hunted down a copy of Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, again not one my library had so had to request it.  Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet is the second instalment of Beaton’s infamous amateur detective Agatha which was published in 1993 and there are still nineteen more instalments after this one, so plenty more cosy crime reading in the foreseeable future . Agatha isn’t Beaton’s only crime creation she also the Hamish Macbeth series but crime isn’t where Beaton stops either oh no, M C Beaton is merely a pseudonym for Marion Chesney who is best known for having written over a hundred historical romance novels under her own name and many other pseudonyms. Just a little warning that in all my reviews I aim never to give away enough detail to ruin any book, to be honest these books stand very well alone and I have been told you could read them in pretty much any order, however if like me you like to read series in order than in may be best to pop up to my link to the review of the previous book.

Agatha Raisin a stylish, successful and independent fifty something woman has thrown in the cut throat business world to live her childhood dream of dwelling in a little stone cottage in the blissful Cotswold’s countryside. However the transition from PR manager of her own company in London to retirement in a country village is anything but blissful for our Agatha. It all starts badly again for Agatha after trying and failing many times to woo her neighbour the dashing James Lacey a retired military man for many months, she decides to mend her broken heart by going on a date with the new handsome vet Dr Paul Bladen, who she thinks has taken a real shine to her. Unfortunately for Agatha love is not to be when Dr Bladen is  accidentally killed while attending to Lord Pendlebury’s horse, an accident is however far too mundane a way to go for amateur sleuth Agatha who instead believes it must be murder. It turns out that Agatha is not the only one to be devastated by the loss of the attractive vet it appears that many of the village ladies harboured hopes which only heightens Agatha’s suspicions. She is however not the only one with suspicions, oh no, so does the dashing James Lacey, and so Agatha and James set out together to get to the bottom of this dirty mess…may be love will be in the air after all!

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet was one thoroughly enjoyable read that I polished off comfortable one afternoon. It was a great blend of humour, mystery, money, clues and even a bit of sex! Agatha as always was stubborn and often rude but you can’t help loving her as she interviews her fellow Carsely Ladies’ members about their relationship with the recently departed Dr Bladen which makes for some awkward, some funny and some downright rude moments. The added bonus in this second instalment was the men and potential love interests for Agatha, first you have the dashing and reserved James Lacey who might be wary (and for good reason) of Agatha but for it all his heart is always in the right place. I don’t think you could actually have a bigger juxtaposition in Dr Bladen who yes from the description was very handsome but just seemed creepy and moody underneath that bright smile, yes he was a very well written rogue just not a loveable one for me.

Overall a must read if you enjoy the cheeky and cosy crime genres the Agatha Raisin mysteries are a great example of both genres. So if you haven’t tried them I recommend you do, if you have carry on reading! Have you read this/what did you think?

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