Agatha Raisin Mysteries
About the Series
Agatha Raisin is one of the most distinctive protagonists in cozy mystery fiction. She is not sweet. She is not modest. She is a retired London PR executive who moves to the Cotswold village of Carsely and proceeds to irritate, charm, and bulldoze her way into the community. She is vain, competitive, impatient, and frequently wrong about people — and readers love her for it.
M.C. Beaton created in Agatha a protagonist who breaks many cozy conventions. Agatha is middle-aged, not naturally likable, and does not have the domestic skills that many cozy heroines possess (she is a terrible cook). But she is tenacious, brave in a blundering sort of way, and genuinely cares about justice.
The Cotswold setting is beautifully evoked — the thatched cottages, the village green, the church, the pub. Agatha's on-again, off-again relationship with her neighbor James Lacey is a source of both comedy and genuine emotion. The series eventually sees Agatha open her own detective agency, which provides a steady supply of cases.
Complete Reading Order
1. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (1992)
2. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (1993)
3. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (1994)
4. Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (1995)
5. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (1996)
6. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (1997)
7. Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (1998)
8. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (1999)
9. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (1999)
10. Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (2000)
11. Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (2001)
12. Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (2002)
13. Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate (2003)
14. Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (2003)
15. Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance (2004)
16. Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon (2005)
17. Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor (2006)
18. Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye (2007)
19. Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison (2008)
20. Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride (2009)
21. Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body (2010)
22. Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns (2011)
23. Agatha Raisin: Hiss and Hers (2012)
24. Agatha Raisin: Something Borrowed, Someone Dead (2013)
25. Agatha Raisin and the Blood of an Englishman (2014)
26. Agatha Raisin: Dishing the Dirt (2015)
27. Agatha Raisin: Pushing Up Daisies (2016)
28. Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree (2017)
29. Agatha Raisin: The Dead Ringer (2018)
30. Agatha Raisin: Beating About the Bush (2019)
31. Agatha Raisin: Hot to Trot (2020)
32. Agatha Raisin: Down the Hatch (2021)
Reading Notes: Best read in order. Agatha's character development, her relationships, and the evolution of her detective agency are best appreciated sequentially. M.C. Beaton passed away in 2019; later books were completed by Rod Green based on her notes.
Back to all reading orders. Learn more about M.C. Beaton.