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Book Summary and Reviews of A Spoonful of Poison by M. C. Beaton

A Spoonful of Poison by M. C. Beaton

A Spoonful of Poison

Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 19

by M. C. Beaton

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  • Published:
  • Sep 2008, 288 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Cranky but lovable sleuth Agatha Raisin’s detective agency has become so successful that she wants nothing more than to take quality time for rest and relaxation. But as soon as she begins closing the agency on weekends, she remembers that when she has plenty of quality time, she doesn’t know what to do with it. So it doesn’t take much for the vicar of a nearby village to persuade her to help publicize the church fete - especially when the fair’s organizer, George Selby, turns out to be a gorgeous widower.

Agatha brings out the crowds for the fete, all right, but there’s more going on than innocent village fun. Several of the offerings in the jam-tasting booth turn out to be poisoned, and the festive family event becomes the scene of two murders.

Along with her young and (much to her dismay) pretty sidekick, Toni, Agatha must uncover the truth behind the jam tampering, keep the church funds safe from theft, and expose the nasty secrets lurking in the village - all while falling for handsome George, who may have secrets of his own.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Beaton's sly humor enhances the cozy-style plotting ... the open-ended resolution points to more madcap mayhem to come." - Publishers Weekly.

"Agatha remains as resolutely unlovable as ever. Perhaps that makes her believable as a person, if not as a crime solver." - Kirkus Reviews.

This information about A Spoonful of Poison was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

M. C. Beaton Author Biography

M. C. Beaton has written over twenty Hamish Macbeth mysteries (starting with Death of a Gossip 1985). She is also the author of the Agatha Raisin series (starting with Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death 1992) and is a film commentator on BBC television. She lives in a Cotswolds cottage (mid-west England) with her husband, journalist Harry Scott.  A former journalist for daily newspapers, she now devotes her time to writing fiction.  Under her own name, Marion Chesney, she also writes Regency romances, and has also written under a variety of other pseudonyms: Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Marion Gibbons, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward.

Link to M. C. Beaton's Website

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