M.C. Beaton

Name: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
Author: M.C. Beaton

British · 1 series

Amateur sleuth Small town mystery Community led

By The Editorial Team · Last reviewed April 2026

Who is M.C. Beaton?

M.C. Beaton was the pen name of Marion Chesney, born in Glasgow in 1936. She was a prolific writer in a way that makes “prolific” feel like an understatement — she published over 200 books across multiple pen names including Marion Chesney, Helen Crampton, and Ann Baxter. She worked as a journalist and theatre critic before turning to fiction full time, and you can feel that background in her prose: quick, opinionated, never dull.

The two series she is best known for, Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth, are set in very different corners of rural Britain but share the same essential quality. The villages feel lived-in rather than quaint, and the protagonists are flawed in ways that make them oddly loveable. Agatha Raisin — brash, competitive, London-shaped — arrives in the Cotswolds and cannot help stumbling into murders. Hamish Macbeth — lazy, clever, allergic to promotion — polices a small Scottish Highland village on his own quiet terms. Both became television adaptations. Agatha Raisin ran on Sky1 from 2014. Hamish Macbeth starred Robert Carlyle from 1995 to 1997. Neither quite captured what makes the books work, which is usually the case.

“I love writing about people who don’t fit in, who are too prickly or too ambitious or just too much — because those are the interesting ones.”

Beaton was sharp about social class, about the particular snobberies of rural English life, and about women who refuse to be what a village expects them to be. She was funny without being cosy in the comfortable sense of the word. She died in December 2019. The Agatha Raisin series has continued since with R.W. Green picking up the baton, maintaining the character’s voice while adding his own sensibility. The Hamish Macbeth series remains as Beaton left it — 35 books, complete, and more than enough to keep you occupied.

Quick facts

Born Marion Chesney, Glasgow, 1936
Died December 2019
Over 200 books published across multiple pen names
Agatha Raisin: 35+ books (series ongoing with R.W. Green)
Hamish Macbeth: 35 books
Both series adapted for television
Worked as journalist and theatre critic before writing fiction

What order should I read M.C. Beaton’s books?

Start with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, the first book in the Agatha Raisin series, published in 1992. It introduces Agatha freshly arrived in the Cotswolds village of Carsely, immediately making a fool of herself at the local quiche competition, and immediately stumbling into a murder. The character needs that origin story. Jumping in mid-series means missing the particular pleasure of watching someone this abrasive slowly, reluctantly, become part of a community she originally had no respect for. Read it in order.

Agatha Raisin

1
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (1992)
Agatha enters a village quiche competition with a shop-bought quiche. The judge dies. Agatha investigates.
2
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (1993)
The village vet dies under suspicious circumstances, and Agatha — motivated partly by her crush on him — starts digging.
3
Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (1994)
A gardening competition brings a beautiful newcomer to Carsely, stirring jealousy and eventually murder.
4
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (1995)
A rambling club leader is found dead on a country walk, and Agatha joins the group to investigate from the inside.
5
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (1996)
Agatha's wedding day goes badly wrong when her estranged husband Jimmy turns up — and then turns up dead.
6
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (1997)
Fleeing to Cyprus after a disastrous wedding, Agatha finds a murder there too — she cannot seem to escape them.
7
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (1998)
A battle over a local spring turns deadly when a parish council member opposing a water company deal is murdered.
8
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (1999)
A charismatic hairdresser with a mysterious past is found dead, and his secrets drag Agatha into real danger.
9
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (1999)
Recovering from a bad haircut at a seaside hotel, Agatha encounters a local witch — and another murder.
10
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (2000)
Agatha rents a cottage in Norfolk to get over James Lacey, finds fairy lights in the garden, and a body.
11
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (2001)
Agatha's marriage to James Lacey falls apart fast, then James becomes the prime suspect in a woman's disappearance.
12
Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (2002)
On a package holiday to escape her failed marriage, Agatha investigates a honeymooner's suspicious drowning.
13
Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (2003)
A charming new curate arrives in Carsely, Agatha develops a crush, and he is promptly murdered.
14
Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (2003)
A supposedly haunted manor, a medium, and a very real corpse keep Agatha occupied through the Cotswold autumn.
15
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance (2004)
Agatha investigates threats against a local businessman who has received a series of sinister anonymous notes.
16
Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon (2005)
A perfectly competent new secretary at Agatha's PR agency is murdered, and no one can work out why.
17
Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor (2006)
James Lacey persuades Agatha to holiday at a grim seaside hotel where a woman is soon found strangled.
18
Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye (2007)
An elderly woman begs Agatha to investigate threats on her life. Agatha arrives just after she is poisoned.
19
Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison (2008)
A village fete produces jam laced with LSD and a body, leaving Agatha and the whole village in chaos.
20
Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride (2009)
A runaway bride, a murdered groom, and Agatha convinced she might be in love again — the usual complications.
21
Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body (2010)
A sanctimonious village busybody is murdered — the suspects list includes nearly everyone in Carsely.
22
Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns (2011)
A travelling funfair comes to the Cotswolds and a man is roasted in the hog roast — murder most rural.
23
Agatha Raisin: Hiss and Hers (2012)
A local reporter who was working on a big exposé turns up dead, and Agatha inherits the dangerous story.
24
Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer (2013)
A woman who looks remarkably like Agatha is found dead in the Cotswolds, raising the question of mistaken identity.
25
Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate (2014)
Church politics and a suspicious death draw Agatha back into a web of village secrets and long-held grudges.
26
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (2015)
Village superstition and a poisoning case combine as Agatha investigates rumours of witchcraft in the Cotswolds.
27
Agatha Raisin and the Blood of an Englishman (2015)
A panto performance of Jack and the Beanstalk ends with a real death, and the cast are all suspects.
28
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (2016)
Agatha's past comes back to haunt her when a figure from her marriage resurfaces with dangerous consequences.
29
Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree (2017)
Two people are found dead near the village's ancient witches' tree, and local folklore turns genuinely sinister.
30
Agatha Raisin and the Stockbroker's Wife (2018)
The wife of a wealthy stockbroker is found dead, and her husband's alibi seems far too conveniently solid.
31
Agatha Raisin and the Village Vicar (2019)
A well-liked local vicar is found murdered and the village is convinced it must be an outsider — Agatha disagrees.
32
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance (2020)
Old enemies resurface when a local dance competition ends in violence and Agatha is drawn into a cold case.
33
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (2021)
A 30th anniversary edition brings Agatha back to where it all started, with new material by R.W. Green.
34
Agatha Raisin and the Beating of the Drum (2022)
A summer music festival in the Cotswolds turns ugly when a band member is found dead after the final night.
35
Agatha Raisin and the Cat, the Mouse and the Mason (2023)
A Masonic dinner, a missing cat, and a very dead treasurer keep Agatha and her team fully occupied.

If you enjoy M.C. Beaton, try...

Richard Osman — British village cosy crime with humour
Ann Cleeves — British regional mysteries