Agatha Raisin

Agatha Raisin retires from London PR to the Cotswolds village of Carsely and stumbles into solving murders. Brash, competitive, and surprisingly lonely, Agatha becomes an unlikely amateur detective in a series that blends humour with genuine mystery.

By M.C. Beaton · 35 books · 1992–present

By The Editorial Team

What is Agatha Raisin about?

Agatha Raisin spent decades building a successful public relations business in London. Then she sold it, took early retirement, and moved to the Cotswolds village of Carsely, convinced she would finally be happy. She was not ready for how quiet it would be, how much she would miss being needed, or how quickly someone would end up dead.

M.C. Beaton created Agatha as an anti-cosy cosy heroine — competitive, sometimes dishonest, frequently rude, and absolutely terrible at being a gracious neighbour. The books work because Beaton never lets Agatha become charming. She is good at solving murders largely because she is too stubborn to drop things and too suspicious of everyone to accept obvious answers. The Cotswolds setting is beautiful and Beaton describes it with genuine affection, but she never lets the prettiness paper over the pettiness, the class anxieties, and the surprisingly dark undercurrents that run through English village life.

Do you need to read Agatha Raisin in order?

Each book solves its own mystery and can be read as a standalone. However, the series rewards reading in order. Agatha’s relationship with her neighbour James Lacey — which runs through the early books as a will-they- won’t-they underpinning — only makes sense from the beginning. Her gradual integration into Carsely life, and the small circle of friends she builds despite herself, develops over many books. The emotional payoff of the later novels depends on time spent with these characters. Start from book one.

Who will enjoy Agatha Raisin?

Readers who find traditional cosy mysteries a little too wholesome. Agatha is not a kindly amateur with a gift for people — she is prickly, status- conscious, and often wrong. If you liked the Thursday Murder Club but want something older in the series, sharper in its social observation, and set in one of the most over-murdered fictional villages in England, Agatha Raisin is the obvious next read. Fans of British regional crime who also enjoy Ann Cleeves or who liked the village-based mysteries of classic crime fiction will feel at home.

What happened to the Agatha Raisin series after M.C. Beaton died?

M.C. Beaton died in December 2019. The series has continued under the authorship of R.W. Green, who was authorised to continue writing Agatha Raisin by the Beaton estate. Green has maintained the character’s essential qualities — the bluntness, the loneliness masked by busyness, the Cotswolds atmosphere — while developing his own voice within the series. Long-term readers will notice the difference, but the books remain solidly in the spirit of what Beaton built across more than two decades.

Publication Order

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.