| Title | : | Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Agatha Raisin, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0312961863 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780312961862 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 196 |
| Publication | : | First published December 1, 1996 |
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Agatha Raisin, #5) Reviews
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Read them! All of them. All 23. They are simply fabulous! I love them and love Agatha Raisin. The stories are set in the English Cotswolds - which is where I'm from, so that makes them extra special, but I cannot recommend them highly enough. If you want to read about an opinionated, outspoken, headstrong single woman in her middle years with no money worries, but men worries and murder at every turn, then you too will love Agatha Raisin. Just make sure you buy more than one at a time, because you will regret it otherwise!
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I have devoured 4 Agatha Raisin novels today, they are that good! I have listened to the BBC audio books from my library. I am enjoying them so much that I must find the tv series to watch them as well. Agatha Raisin is a delightful, snarky, sassy, comical character that stumbles into mysteries accidentally.
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Oh, Agatha...tut tut tut.
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage is probably the best installment yet. Emotions are high, bodies are piling up, and Agatha herself has some near misses with the grim reaper. Though it was the pleasant, easy read I've come to expect from Beaton, the pace was faster and the characters better represented.
This book accomplishes something the previous four did not: it gives James Lacey a more distinct personality. Previously, he came across as a cardboard cutout of the attractive yet distant bachelor. Though those descriptors still apply, Beaton manages to flesh him out more. Interesting that this coincides with Agatha's rose-coloured glasses losing a bit of their tint.
The mystery here is of a personal nature for Agatha, leading her to elaborate on her downtrodden past. I already knew she was ambitious and determined, but her backstory proves she's quite the survivor.
As always, village life plays a major role in the story. At times in this series I think it is the story, with the mysteries merely providing structure for the residents' conversations. This is shored up by the fact that Agatha does more blundering than investigating. As friend and police officer Bill Wong comments:
"I don't know if she exactly solved those last crimes, but she made things happen by poking her nose in; otherwise we'd never have got to the murderers." (p.89)
My opening line is in response to the final pages. For all her business aptitude and ballsy attitude, Agatha makes some disastrous decisions - never more apparent than in this volume. She makes a fabulously horrible one towards the end, setting us up for more emotional turmoil and mayhem. What one earth will she be poking her nose into next? -
3.5 stars
Agatha esta decidida a casarse, a pesar de no estar del todo segura de si su ex realmente esta muerto o no como deberia por como fue la ultima vez que lo vio y el silencio de estos años... pero en forma muy dramatica sus deseos no se cumplen.
Con James enfurecido, su casa ya vendida, y todos creyendola una asesina, Agatha se ve perdida y desmoralizada.
Bueno, cuando llega James de vuelta con renuencia decide investigar el asunto junto a ella, y asi llegamos a conocer bastante más del pasado del infame Jimmy Raisin y tambien algo más de Agatha, que ha tenido una vida dura y uno ve de donde sale toda su tozudez por superarse, aunque no comprendamos como es que se ha encaprichado tanto con James (que es de lo que huyen al menor problema y la deja botada en el polvo.)«Se puso en pie y lanzó una mirada asesina a su alrededor. James, totalmente ajeno al guión romántico que ella había escrito para él, estaba abriendo la puerta de la cocina. Entonces Agatha se recordó que ya no lo amaba. Lo que pasaba es que se había acostumbrado a estar enamorada, a tener la cabeza tan llena de sueños chispeantes que, sin ellos, se sentía sola. Y no se tenía a sí misma por muy buena compañía.»
Entrevistas a testigos siguen siendo como otras novelas (ellos irrumpiendo y haciendo preguntas y metiendose en más problemas y más muertes). En tanto que lo de la relación de Bill Wong nos deja con el mismo deseo de que este fuera unos cuantos años mayor para emparejarla con Agatha que es el tipo mas decente por alli y un buen amigo (Suspiro)
Al Roy hay que darle ostias.
Se lee rapidisimo y entretiene. -
Another good entry in the Agatha Raisin series and this book differs considerably with the TV Episode. We have Agatha getting ready to marry James, and at the last minute her first husband shows up! Oops!!! She never got a divorce and thought he had died of drink many a long year ago. But he is back for a brief appearance and then turns up dead!!!! Agatha is a prime suspect, and then she goes into full sleuth mode. Lots of different possibilities exist as to who could have killed Jimmy Raisin, and after numerous near catastrophes the police ask her to please "butt out" for her own safety. Right!
So we have a very interesting murder and a very ambivalent James after the wedding ends.
One of the biggest difference between the book and TV show is that Roy, her old advertising pal, is not nearly the sweet character in the books as he is on TV. Also Agatha keeps going back and forth as to whether she is a British village gal or a Londan exec. This waffling has to come to an end shortly.
All in all, another solid effort by MC Beaton and despite having a lot of books in my Goodreads queue I will probably start Book Six of the series in the near future. -
I'm dangerously close to od'ing on these as I'm starting to feel like I could quote the upcoming lines before they are uttered. Still these sorts of books are the ones I turn to when I'm doing something else that really requires concentration. They are more than a bit silly, weirdly obsessed with the way that people look, and very samey after a while. Perhaps don't binge listen like I've been doing as the repetitiveness really stands out, but on the whole, really good for people looking for something less confrontational that many crime fiction listens. (And don't expect these to match up with the TV series - even when the plot co-incides the characters are so different you'll either be terminally confused, mildly disappointed, or oddly relieved that the perky is well and truly not part of the books).
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There are three reasons why I think this book does not merit one star. The beginning, the shortness of the book, and the lateness of the divulging of the culprit. However there are a couple of reasons why I am giving it the lowest score...Goodwill from other books in the series wasted, waste of opportunity for not taking advantage of the superb opening few paragraphs, bringing James and Agatha back to square one as if nothing has happened. I also think that the dreary, boring investigation of the book, which already feels like a tired 20th entry in the series, plus the lack of brains throughout damned the book as a failure. My patience is wearing thin with the series and if the next 3 books don't deliver I'm through with it.
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Darker than the earlier books, this installment of Agatha Raisin includes treachery and near marriage.
Second reading, this book really describes the selfishness of James Lacey.
Third reading tells me I return to the book for the recurring characters. -
Agatha and James are about to get married and then Agatha's presumed dead husband shows up....this one was lots of fun.
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Another fast-paced, funny, warm yet poignant adventure in the crazy life of Agatha Raisin. Just as she is about to make all her dreams come true by marrying James Lacey, up turns her not-so-dead husband. Agatha is more in love with the idea of being in love, though she does hold genuine emotions for James. She, as Sir Charles Frith observed in the previous books, deserves so much better than Mr Lacey.
I very much enjoyed this episode of the "comedy-drama" that is life in the Cotswolds. There are countless crazy adventures, several near misses, jealousy, drama, discontent and in the middle of it all our irrepressible Agatha. For a very light-hearted series, this book touched on some much deeper emotions. If only Agatha had met a "Bill" instead of Jimmy, or there was not such a large gap in their ages. Until she met Bill and Mrs Bloxby, Agatha hadn't ever known love, of any form, in her life. Whilst theirs is the love of friendship, I'm hoping Agatha eventually finds someone who showers her with utter adoration and the kind of romantic love that she so thoroughly deserves. -
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage is the 5th book in M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin, cozy... ish mystery series set in the Cotswolds of England.
In episode 5, Agatha is finally about to marry the man she's fallen in love with since she retired from the advertising business and moved to her small town in the Cotswolds, her neighbour James Lacey. Unfortunately her life will take a harsh step backwards when her ex-advertising friend, Roy Silver, in a spiteful move hires a detective to find her ex-husband Jimmy Raisin. Agatha left Jimmy many years ago when she discovered him to be an alcoholic, violent husband. She has assumed that he is probably dead, but Roy's detective finds Jimmy and Roy tells him that Agatha is about to marry. Roy immediately feels bad about this, but Jimmy still turns up at the wedding to ruin Agatha's life.
Thing begin to fall to pieces very quickly. James Lacey in a fit of depression heads off to northern Cyprus to hide out from the fiasco and Jimmy is found dead in a ditch. The police, including Agatha's friend, Bill Wong, bring James back and both he and Agatha are immediately suspected of the murder. When they are determined to be innocent, the duo decide that they have to find the killer so their lives can return to some sort of normalcy. Agatha is forced to room with James as she had sold her house due to the impending nuptials. The new owner gives off a bad first impression, being irascible and off-putting.
As Agatha and James begin their investigation, they also re-examine their lives together as either a couple or just friends, or... what? Bill Wong is in lust with a new female police officer but she tests his friendship with Agatha. As bodies begin to crop up the tension mounts and while the police tell the duo to stop interfering, Agatha and James expand their investigation.
All in all, it's an entertaining story. Agatha is a neat character, strong at times but also nicely emotional. She must examine her feelings deeply in this story, feelings for James, feelings for her decision to retire and move to the Cotswolds. It's a nice, quick moving story and well-written with a satisfying ending. I'm glad there a still a few more books to read in this series as it's always a joy to delve into Agatha's life and those of her friends. (4 stars) -
Smagiai susiklausė, mėgstu kartais tokius lengvus detektyvus. Prie progos klausysiu/skaitysiu tęsinius.
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Agatha Raisin und James Lacey wollen heiraten, doch kurz vor dem Traualtar taucht plötzlich Jimmy auf - Agathas erster Ehemann! Agatha hat geglaubt, Jimmy sei schon lange tot, doch nun ist er wieder aufgetaucht und lässt Agathas Hochzeit mit James platzen. Agatha ist außer sich. Als Jimmy dann am nächsten Tag ermordet im Straßengraben liegt, sind Agatha und James prompt die Hauptverdächtigen!
Mein Leseeindruck:
Ich mag die Reihe rund um Agatha Raisin und ihren Spürsinn total gerne. Agatha ist eine schräge, oft nervige Persönlichkeit, die nicht immer sympathisch erscheint, aber doch ihr Herz am rechten Fleck hat. Ich mag ihre Art einfach sehr gerne, und mir macht es sehr viel Spaß, diese Krimireihe zu lesen! Es sind Wohlfühlkrimis mit viel britischem Charme, in denen nicht unbedingt immer der Kriminalfall im Vordergrund steht, sondern einfach das Drumherum und die Charaktere.
So hat mir auch dieser Band wieder richtig gut gefallen! Ich hatte viel Lesespaß mit Agatha und James und ihrer Suche nach der Wahrheit. -
"I'm glad you've given up investigating murders, Agatha. Not that you weren't a help in the past, but mostly because of your blundering about and making things happen," says Detective Sergeant Bill Wong in the middle of this current mystery. And 'plus ca change plus la meme chose'!
How many more murders that Agatha and her amateur colleagues can unravel beggars belief ... but as long as they keep happening in sleepy little Carsely, she will continue, I am sure.
Thank goodness they happen and she does, because the books are always a jolly good read, amusing, full of red herrings, romantic even at times and this one is no different.
Once the first murder takes place, and one can never be sure more won't follow, the sleuthing begins but with a difference as Agatha and James Lacy are prime suspects. On this occasion it is very personal to Agatha so, of course, she is intimately involved in solving the crime(s). Another great read from Marion Chesney, aka M C Beaton. -
Agatha is way too naive and bad at reading people to have sucessfully run a pr agency, but the Raisin books are entertaining fluff so I'm willing to overlook that.
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Plutôt un 3,5. J'ai bien aimé ce tome même si je n'ai pas vraiment apprécié la relation entre James et Agatha.
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I really liked this Agatha Raisin book, even with the ridiculous relationship between James and Agatha. I do not understand her every changing love/obsession with him, he seems so boring and stuck up. I was interested in the mystery and I did
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Poor Agatha always in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I love her for it! I love her way of snooping out facts and keeping the story twisting and turning keeping the reader on their toes. The description of the characters is done so well that you can see them in your mind can see them acting everything out, as soon as you think you know who has done it, why and how you get thrown into another direction and get completely onto another track.
I never want the Agatha Raisin series to stop I absolutely adore her and look forward to reading many many more stories with her in.
M.C. Beaton is one of my favourite authors, an absolutely amazing author! -
3.5 Stars
Another light hearted episode in this very different series. Usually you are left not really liking Agatha, although in this one I did end up feeling rather sorry for her! Even if she did bring on herself by the most stupid of actions in agreeing to a marriage whilst the possibility that her husband may still be alive. Whilst not always liking the main character I do like the feel of this series, but do appreciate the series is not for everybody but I do intend continuing with the series. -
This one felt short or perhaps just read fairly quickly. Some fun mystery and hijinks here, but I’m coming to really dislike a number of characters in this series. James is an idiot and far too old to be so wishy-washy. And I can’t stand Roy and want to smack him. Fun read, but not my favorite of this series.
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Another nice story - I like reading these long series where you get to know the characters more and more as time goes on. It is like slipping on a comfy pair of slippers.
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Libro correcto, cortito y entretenido. Sin grandes pretensiones.
Agatha se vuelve a meter en lios. Al final se resuelve muy fácil. -
Me ha gustado cómo se ha solucionado lo que no me gustó del anterior, aunque me ha dado mucha pena.
Agatha Raisin tendrá sus cosas, pero es genial y me hace disfrutar y desconectar de la vida. -
Forse il migliore, finora, a livello di trama "gialla". Anche se, alla fine, quello che ci interessa è seguire le disavventure di Agatha e i suoi rapporti con gli altri abitanti del villaggio, diciamoci la verità!
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Listened to as an audiobook - 5 hrs, 58 minutes. Do you like English speaking voice overs? Because Penelope Keith (many know her from The Good Life, also, To The Manor Born) does an excellent job of being the narrator on this one.
Another good one from M.C Beaton, Agatha Raisin.
When Agatha gets to almost marry James, her ex shows up, well you can imagine what an up roar that would make, then to top it all off, the very next day her ex is murdered and everyone suspects James and Agatha.
Sounds Intriguing? Oh it most certainly is! -
2.5
And this series still frustrates me.
So, what I thought about the STUUUUUPID ending of the previous book came to life... no one can avoid the consequences of lies and moronic decisions. It was so OBVIOUS the whole thing was done for drama from the author's side...
I had enough of the drama and bickering between Agatha and James. They both acted like two 13 year olds from the stupider kind. I was especially frustrated with Agatha... I mean, she EXPECTED James to forgive her... not even forgive her, but forget her shit in one snap and proclaim his everlasting love? Come onnnnnn... James was equally as bad. He waited for Agatha to show her emotions more (begging even???) but he was flirting with multiple women and even going on a semi-date with one? Let alone what he did at the end???
I also did not understand why Agatha and James still take a dump on the police's work. Police usually does better work than two amateurs... we could see the results of their "great" work. Plus thnking that a friend from a police is betraying you because he is interrogating you? Cut poor Bill some slack, he is doing his job!
The investigation part I liked, there were enough suspects and all, but it was a bit rushed for my liking. I also liked Roy's part in this whole situation, I can kind of see someone doing something similar on a whim to what he did for personal gains but feel remorse when things get out of hand... -
Primo libro che leggo di questa autrice, il primo di tanti che ne seguiranno anche poichè lo stile che ha unico nel suo genere, disarmante, scorrevole e pieno di colpi di scena a livello umanistico e sentimentale. I casi che Agatha Raisin, la protagonista di questa serie, la coinvolgo sempre in primo piano nonostante abbia una certa età quasi pensionistica e se decide di ritirarsi in un paesino come Carsley, beh, gli omicidi la seguono fino a lì. Finalmente il signor James le ha chiesto la sua mano e, spacciandosi vedova, lei accetta di sposarlo ma in realtà il suo primo marito non è mai morto anzi, il giorno delle tanto amate nozze con James, Jimmy Raisin entra in scena guastando il matrimonio che si interrompe immediatamente. Ovviamente Jimmy cerca poi di estorcere del denaro da Agatha ma presto, il desiderio che suo marito fosse morto diventa realtà che la coinvolgerà nel caso in prima persona come sospettata ma anche come detective, il suo lavoro.Scavando nel passato di Jimmy per poter scovare l'assassino, James cercherà di sostenere la donna che continua ad amare tra alti e bassi, segreti e passati che fanno di iniziare a conoscersi realmente a vicenda.Mi ha piacevolmente tenuta in compagnia e sicuramente leggerò altri libri della serie, curiosa di sapere come andranno le cose con James Lacey.
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Agatha and the Attempted Bigamy
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (December, 2012) of the original St. Martin's Press hardcover (November, 1996)
Agatha almost gets crush James Lacey to the altar in this one, but unfortunately her un-deceased first husband Jimmy Raisin shows up to stop the proceedings. Jimmy is murdered shortly afterwards and Agatha becomes the main suspect, so she has to solve the crime again with now reluctant bridegroom Lacey in tow.
Most (28 of 32) of the Agatha Raisin audiobooks are free on Audible Plus. Book 32
Down the Hatch is yet to be released, and is expected to be published in October 2021.
Trivia and Link
The Murderous Marriage was adapted as the concluding Episode 8 of Season 1 of the currently ongoing Agatha Raisin TV series (2016-) and a teaser trailer is available on YouTube
here. -
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by
M.C. Beaton is another installment in Beaton's Agatha Raisin series. Having finally gotten her next door neighbor to marry her, Agatha gives up her home only to have her husband, Jimmy, who she thought/hoped was dead turn up the wedding. She now finds herself sans both husband and home.
This is the story of how she attempts to get them back, as well as solve a few murders along the way.
If you like Agatha & her adventures (and I do), you'll like this one (I did). -
He's dead, he's not dead, he's dead. That's the tale of Aggie Raisin's first husband Jimmy who she thought was dead and then he turns up to spoil her wedding plans with James her handsome neighbor, current sleuthing and romantic partner. Then Jimmy is found dead, then begins the real trouble for Agatha and for James Lacey too! As usual Aggie has help from a veritable cast of characters and there are plenty of mishaps along the way to hopefully solving the crime. Will James and Agatha ever end up "Happily Ever After" ? The answer remains to be seen, but readers can certainly enjoy a chuckle or two along the way.
