Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell

An Agatha Raisin Mystery, Book 11

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Penelope Keith

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

Recently married to James Lacey, Agatha quickly finds out that it’s not all "happy ever after" - before long the newlyweds are living in separate cottages and accusing each other of infidelity. After a fight down the local pub James vanishes completely, leaving a bloodstain as the only clue to his fate. Naturally, Agatha is Prime Suspect. Determined to clear her name and find her husband, Agatha begins her investigation - and promptly finds a murdered mistress....

©2001, 2006 M. C. Beaton (P)2012 AudioGO, Ltd.

Brain Cancer doesn't disappear by becoming a monk

Having lost a brother to primary brain cancer and a cousin to non cancerous brain tumor the Forest Gump approach to curing malignant illness wasn't entertaining. Chemo is not the first treatment of choice either. Author obviously hasn't seen this cancer close up.
Should have been a more fun book.

The personal life part really drags now

I have enjoyed the cozy mystery series. It is my version of binge and escapism. It is not Agatha Christie, but I like the “cozy” aspects: English village, nosy neighbors, people who got killed are always horrible...Raisin is a bull in a china shop, but l like her for it too.
Alas she has the emotional maturity of a teenager. Her relationship with James has to be one of the most toxic I know either in life or on paper. At first it might have been amusing. After all, unhappy people are more interesting subjects. Agatha making bad choices in such a bad way was supposed to humanize her, I guess? Though not very convincingly. Maybe more because of lazy writing. Then this abusive relationship has become a black hole that just suck the energy out of the book. I cannot help notice that the few books without James (therefore without the pair hurling insults at each other) are much tighter. Charles is amoral, vapid and cheap, but he is way more interesting a character.
Not sure whether I will finish this book even it comes free with membership. Maybe time to take a break.

I never tire I of agatha.i smoke and drink coffee

liked it Charles especially, does he love Agatha, let
James go. he's not for you.

Love Penelope Keith and series, but not this one

I enjoy the Agatha Raisin franchise and think the choice of Penelope Keith as narrator is inspired, but this one is a disappointment. Is MC Beaton really a male who doesn't like his female characters, or females in general? And the deux ex machina of getting James out of his predicament was quite loathsome.
I hope the next one won't disappoint on either account.

Another good Aggie mystery

I know that some people didn’t care for this installment in the series, but I found it very enjoyable. Agatha was again embroiled in a tangle of love, anguish, confusion and murder. The plot was well done. Penelope Keith is a marvel. I can absolutely picture these people in my mind through her narration.

Bad recording

It seems that the recording is not as good as it was. lots of empty space. Very long pauses, and some of the story is missing.

Laughing so hard

She is a riot and so mumbly. Her love life cracks me up and how does she ever solve mysteries.

No relief

Spoilers! As much as I want to enjoy the progression of these books, I’ve only found that here, Agatha insists on regressing without reason. At times in other books, she seems to mature while maintaining her brusque manner, and yet here… I had to take a break in listening because she seems to be so much a shell of herself that I honestly have begun to not like her. James is intolerable, full-stop. Charles is mercurial and now even the vicar’s wife loses her moral compass? It’s all too toxic of a combination to bear.

The “ending” (because of course there are 20+ more books in the series) is lazy, and unless there’s some sort of redemption for Agatha & James where he leaves the monk-hood & begs forgiveness for being an absolute ass without logic (what was he working on in Cyprus? Was it the cancer? Why was he so secretive through the first 10 books??), it simply renders every character half-baked.

Agatha CAN mature, and still maintain her charming quirks—hopefully the author sought to relieve her readers in the next book, otherwise this level of wreck-less interaction without accountability reduces its quality to cheap soap opera theatrics. And everyone deserves better than that kind of direction-less drama. Everyone.

Agatha always makes me laugh

This series is usually good for an afternoon: familiar characters, village life, a death
and a 'laugh out loud' performance by Penelope Keith. There are too many series where the
author just follows the 'formula'... which can bore the socks off the reader. Agatha, although
sometimes obnoxious and agonizing, shows great growth here: without spoiling the plot,
I must say she shows maturity and acceptance. Good on M. C. Beaton for this!
I will continue this series because... change is good.

Enjoyed

This story is different as it brings to the forefront the relationship between Agatha and James. Love the character of Charles and what he brings to the story. Enjoyed!