Silly but enjoyable escapism.
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This is the sort of book you can whip through in a day or so. It makes very light bedtime reading and although it's very silly in places I'm more than happy to take all that tongue in cheek and enjoy it's froth. If you enjoy Midsomer Murders on a Sunday night then you'll probably enjoy this book.
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Fun read but very contrived
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This is the first Agatha Raisin book I managed to get hold of, and I was originally quite keen to read them all. Having read this one, however, I'm not so sure. While I really like some of the characters, the situations Agatha finds herself in are completely ridiculous.
**Slight spoiler alert**
Agatha breaks into a bank, attempts to change a light bulb in a public toilet using a handy pack of light bulbs she just HAPPENS to have in her car, and discovers a body while snooping round a neighbour's house and deciding she needs to use the bathroom (as you do). She also finds herself wearing unsuitable footwear on several occasions, and being cringingly crude ("There's a tide of pee rising up to my eyeballs") every time she meets the man she's interested in.
It does have some redeeming features if you like the "cosy, village mystery" genre, but I'll be borrowing my next one from the library rather than spending money on it.
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Agatha Acquires a Detecting Partner
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Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (Veterinarian) is the second book in the Agatha Raisin series of mysteries by M. C. Beaton, author of the highly acclaimed Hamish Macbeth mysteries. If you haven't yet read the first book in the series, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, I suggest you read that book before taking on Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet. The earlier book is a very strong introduction to this series: You'll like Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet much better if you have read the earlier book first.
As Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet opens, Agatha Raisin is frustrated by her unsuccessful pursuit of James Lacey, her handsome bachelor neighbor. Having heard that Lacey was off to the Bahamas for a vacation, Agatha headed there, too, only to find no James Lacey in situ. Returning to Carsely in the English Cotswolds, she's upset to learn that Lacey changed his plans for the Bahamas after learning that Agatha was scheduled to be there as well. He doesn't even answer his door when she stops by.
But she's mildly curious to learn about the new vet that the women at the Carsely Ladies Society are gushing over. Surely, her cat, Hodge, can provide an excuse. Imagine Agatha's surprise when a long wait to see Paul Bladen, the vet, leads to a dinner invitation. Her plans are foiled, however, by a winter storm, an accident, and a call to Bladen's home that encounters someone who claims to be his wife. But there is good news: James Lacey helps her after an accident.
In a separate story line, Agatha finds herself courted by James Pomfret who wants to open a new PR agency. Agatha is very impressed that Pomfret has two prestigious clients in tow . . . and must decide whether to invest her savings into this little venture. Disturbed by her failures with James Lacey and the setback with Paul Bladen, Agatha is seriously inclined to take up her old life in London. In the process, she finds herself acquiring a second cat.
Into the breach comes her good friend, Detective Sergeant Bill Wong, who wisely counsels a careful background check of Pomfret and taking it slower with James Lacey. On her own, she decides to confront Bladen about why he asked her out to dinner when he was married. Bladen offers an excuse and Agatha accepts a second dinner invitation. The date goes well (except for the wretched restaurant), and Agatha finds herself with the opportunity for romance. But before matters can progress much further, Bladen is found dead . . . having received an injection of a deadly poison that is used on horses. The police conclude it's an accident, but Agatha decides it would be fun to investigate anyway. In the process, she acquires a partner who enjoys turning over mysterious occurrences almost as much as she does.
Inevitably, this book will mostly be compared to Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. The character development in that story was much better than this one, and the mystery was a little more satisfying to solve. Also, the predicament of being an embarrassed incomer made for a better nonmystery story line in that book. Agatha as a pursuer of men in Vicious Vet is portrayed mainly a series of virtual pratfalls as her aggressive nature gets her into what are more annoyingly awkward than funny situations. Vicious Vet's main virtue is that the character of James Lacey is developed into what could become a whole person eventually.
Unless you hated Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, you'll probably find Vicious Vet to be an enjoyable, if somewhat disappointing, read.
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Agatha Acquires a Detecting Partner
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Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (Veterinarian) is the second book in the Agatha Raisin series of mysteries by M. C. Beaton, author of the highly acclaimed Hamish Macbeth mysteries. If you haven't yet read the first book in the series, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, I suggest you read that book before taking on Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet. The earlier book is a very strong introduction to this series: You'll like Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet much better if you have read the earlier book first.
As Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet opens, Agatha Raisin is frustrated by her unsuccessful pursuit of James Lacey, her handsome bachelor neighbor. Having heard that Lacey was off to the Bahamas for a vacation, Agatha headed there, too, only to find no James Lacey in situ. Returning to Carsely in the English Cotswolds, she's upset to learn that Lacey changed his plans for the Bahamas after learning that Agatha was scheduled to be there as well. He doesn't even answer his door when she stops by.
But she's mildly curious to learn about the new vet that the women at the Carsely Ladies Society are gushing over. Surely, her cat, Hodge, can provide an excuse. Imagine Agatha's surprise when a long wait to see Paul Bladen, the vet, leads to a dinner invitation. Her plans are foiled, however, by a winter storm, an accident, and a call to Bladen's home that encounters someone who claims to be his wife. But there is good news: James Lacey helps her after an accident.
In a separate story line, Agatha finds herself courted by James Pomfret who wants to open a new PR agency. Agatha is very impressed that Pomfret has two prestigious clients in tow . . . and must decide whether to invest her savings into this little venture. Disturbed by her failures with James Lacey and the setback with Paul Bladen, Agatha is seriously inclined to take up her old life in London. In the process, she finds herself acquiring a second cat.
Into the breach comes her good friend, Detective Sergeant Bill Wong, who wisely counsels a careful background check of Pomfret and taking it slower with James Lacey. On her own, she decides to confront Bladen about why he asked her out to dinner when he was married. Bladen offers an excuse and Agatha accepts a second dinner invitation. The date goes well (except for the wretched restaurant), and Agatha finds herself with the opportunity for romance. But before matters can progress much further, Bladen is found dead . . . having received an injection of a deadly poison that is used on horses. The police conclude it's an accident, but Agatha decides it would be fun to investigate anyway. In the process, she acquires a partner who enjoys turning over mysterious occurrences almost as much as she does.
Inevitably, this book will mostly be compared to Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. The character development in that story was much better than this one, and the mystery was a little more satisfying to solve. Also, the predicament of being an embarrassed incomer made for a better nonmystery story line in that book. Agatha as a pursuer of men in Vicious Vet is portrayed mainly a series of virtual pratfalls as her aggressive nature gets her into what are more annoyingly awkward than funny situations. Vicious Vet's main virtue is that the character of James Lacey is developed into what could become a whole person eventually.
Unless you hated Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, you'll probably find Vicious Vet to be an enjoyable, if somewhat disappointing, read.
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Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
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“The Vicious Vet” is the second instalment in the long running series of books to feature that indomitable retiree of a certain age, Mrs Agatha Raisin. This book opens with Mrs Raisin returning somewhat red faced from a Caribbean holiday after pursuing her dishy new neighbour James Lacey half way around the world. The fact that unbeknownst to Agatha, James went the other way round the world hasn’t gone down too well. Still there’s another man on the scene as the small village of Carsely is to get its own Veterinarian surgery and the vet in question is Paul Bladen. Agatha wastes no time in taking her cat, Hodge, along to the surgery and thinks nothing of cooking up an excuse to do so. When Paul then subsequently asks her to dinner Agatha is most thrilled and all thoughts of James disappear from her mind.
But tragedy strikes before any thoughts of further romance can enter Agatha’s mind as Paul is found dead in Lord Pendlebury’s stables having been injected with horse tranquilliser. It’s not long before Agatha has rejoined forces with James and is determined to yet again bring the murderer to justice. I really enjoyed this frothy and at sometimes rather silly English whodunit. Agatha is a great character and although not totally likeable you have to admire her for her pluck and courage and great sense of adventure. The pairing up of her and XXX really worked well and I loved the private insecurities that Agatha shows only to the reader. The reuse of characters like policeman Bill Wong and vicar’s wife Mrs Bloxby is similarly good fun and you start to get a sense of the faces that are going to become very familiar as we work through the series. The plot is, as I say, rather silly at times and some of the situations are pretty preposterous (i.e. the breaking in at the bank or the scene in the pub toilets) but at the end of the day it’s all good clean fun and all the more enjoyable for a little daftness. Great fun.
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