Book Review: Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet by M. C. Beaton (1993)

Synopsis: When a new veterinarian, Paul Bladen, sets up shop in Carsley, the village women swoon over him and even Agatha Raisin, still hurting after her neighbor, James, rejected her, falls for his charms. She's even willing to go on a date with him despite his obvious dislike and cruelty toward dogs and cats. When Bladen dies while performing surgery on a horse, the authorities believe it is an accident but Agatha, believing it is an opportunity to get closer to James, convinces her neighbor to help her investigate it as a murder.


Review: Even though there was part of me that was still a bit skeptical about this series, I did enjoy the first Agatha Raisin book enough to at least try a second one and wound up checking this one out from the library a few days ago. I have to admit, after reading this book, I am now hooked.

I honestly am not sure what I enjoyed more about this book, the mystery or the comical investigation being conducted by Agatha and James, which consisted of Agatha trying to make him fall in love with her while James, a confirmed bachelor, was willing to keep as much emotional distance as possible.

OK, that's actually not that hard of a decision, it was definitely the mystery. The list of potential suspects in his death seemed almost endless, especially when the book reveals both a financial and emotional motive shared by several people in the village. And, while Agatha was convinced Bladen was murdered, she didn't have any way of proving it wasn't just an accident, even after there is a second death.

The book even manages to build up a bit of suspense involving Agatha's cats toward the end, adding a whole other element to the story. In fact, I started out reading the book a chapter at a time but, when things started heating up, finished the last few in one sitting just to see what would happen.

My only real complaint about the book is the way it describes Bladen's death as it happens, making it obvious to the reader he was murdered. While not a huge deal, I think the book would have been slightly better had that been left up in the air, creating some doubt about whether or not Agatha wasn't just imagining things.

Final Opinion: This was a fun and interesting murder mystery that I enjoyed reading from the first page. I'd recommend taking the time to read it.

My Grade: A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After being raised in Kenya and homeschooled by her mother, high school junior Cady Heron is given the opportunity to attend classes at an American public school. As she tries to adjust, she is invited to join the Plastics, a girl clique headed up by the beautiful but vicious Regina George. Despite her friends, Janis and Damian, warning her about Regina and her fellow clique members, Karen and Gretchen, Cady tries to see the good in Regina. That changes when she falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and sees just how cruel Regina can be. Her acts of revenge, however, result in Cady assuming many of Regina's less-than-desirable traits and ultimately becoming a pariah. All while breaking out into song and dance because this is a musical. Who's in it? The movie stars  Angourie Rice ,  Reneé Rapp ,  Bebe Wood ,  Tim Meadows and Tina Fey . Review: I've seen the original Mean Girls multiple times, first when it originally came out then again with eac
Read more

Movie Review: Upgraded (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After running up a ton of student loan debt as an art history major, Ana's dreams of owning her own gallery hinge on being able to make an impression with her new boss, Claire, at a prestigious auction house. She gets that opportunity when she's invited to serve as an assistant on a trip to London, where a rare collection is about to be auctioned off. After receiving a surprise upgrade to first class, Ana meets William, the son of a British actress, and when he mistakenly believes she has her boss' job, she doesn't correct him. This creates complications as she begins to fall for William and learns his mother is the one selling the art collection. Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Mendes , Archie Renaux , Marisa Tomei , Lena Olin and Anthony Head. Review: I came across this movie on Amazon Prime yesterday and since it sounded like something my wife and I would both like, I added it to my list. We watched it tonight and, overall, I thought it wound up
Read more

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when my wi
Read more