I first read the romance novels by M.C. Beaton and from there I stumbled on to Agatha Raisin Mysteries, featuring an ex-PR person Agatha Raisin. I read two of them over the weekend (I purchased them at the book fair)- i) Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet; and ii) Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death.
The reviewers describe Agatha Raisin as a quirky person who is socially inept. She sells off her PR agency and moves to Cotswolds to settle down in a village. She is abrasive, blurts out whatever is on her mind, and moves from one disastrous love affair to another. In between she gets embroiled in murders and gets to solve them. There are some fairly constant characters- the policeman Bill Wong who possesses really obnoxious parents, Mrs. Bloxby who is the Vicar's wife, and James Lacey the next-door neighbour whom Agatha wants to marry.
The mysteries were nothing great to speak off. It was fairly clear from the first murder who had done the murder. I read them hoping to understand what the reviewers had liked about Agatha Raisin. I gave up. She is really an unattractive and unpleasant character. I understand that is supposed to be the selling point of the book but this feature became monotonous and tedious.
In fact, that is the major complain I have about M.C. Beaton's books. Her characters- whether in Agatha Raisin or in romance novels- are really unpleasant. She also specializes in creating unpleasant parents (at least the romance novels I read contain unpleasant parents). Maybe there are books with pleasant characters. I do not know. I do not think I have patience to read through the rest of her books in an attempt to find it out.
I also picked up Brother Cadfael Mysteries. And the Emperor of Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. But I will have to really pluck up courage to read the book. Working on cancer cells in a lab is different than to encounter real cases.
The reviewers describe Agatha Raisin as a quirky person who is socially inept. She sells off her PR agency and moves to Cotswolds to settle down in a village. She is abrasive, blurts out whatever is on her mind, and moves from one disastrous love affair to another. In between she gets embroiled in murders and gets to solve them. There are some fairly constant characters- the policeman Bill Wong who possesses really obnoxious parents, Mrs. Bloxby who is the Vicar's wife, and James Lacey the next-door neighbour whom Agatha wants to marry.
The mysteries were nothing great to speak off. It was fairly clear from the first murder who had done the murder. I read them hoping to understand what the reviewers had liked about Agatha Raisin. I gave up. She is really an unattractive and unpleasant character. I understand that is supposed to be the selling point of the book but this feature became monotonous and tedious.
In fact, that is the major complain I have about M.C. Beaton's books. Her characters- whether in Agatha Raisin or in romance novels- are really unpleasant. She also specializes in creating unpleasant parents (at least the romance novels I read contain unpleasant parents). Maybe there are books with pleasant characters. I do not know. I do not think I have patience to read through the rest of her books in an attempt to find it out.
I also picked up Brother Cadfael Mysteries. And the Emperor of Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. But I will have to really pluck up courage to read the book. Working on cancer cells in a lab is different than to encounter real cases.
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