AGATHA RAISIN AND THE WIZARD OF EVESHAM

Agatha Raisin, the author’s self-absorbed heroine, gets trouble from all sides this time out (Agatha Raisin and The Wellspring of Death, 1998, etc.). Living now in the village of Carsely after retirement from a p.r. career in London, Agatha finds her love life in shreds. James Lacey, her neighbor and onetime suitor, has left town without a goodbye. Detective Bill Wong, her friend and sometime fellow sleuth, is on holiday and hasn’t bothered to call. Even the off/on interest of Sir Charles Fraith is casual and tepid. On top of all this, Agatha discovers gray in her hair. So it’s off to Evesham and the salon of Mr. John, called a wizard by his customers, although some of them seem almost afraid of him. Agatha is the willing target of Mr. John’s blue-eyed charisma, to the point of discussing a possible partnership with him. Then one day in his salon Mr. John collapses and dies—of an exotic poison, as it turns out. Agatha grabs the chance to steal his keys and search his house, looking for clues, and barely escapes with her life when the place goes up in flames. Now Charles joins Agatha in a round of nosy interviews with Mr. John’s customers, one of whom becomes a second murder victim. Agatha finally pinpoints the killer, but Sir Charles gets the credit—a final cruel blow. Agatha grows ever more charmless, and Beaton’s plotting ever more absurd. Perhaps this heroine would benefit from a long, very long vacation.