Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

Agatha Raisin, Book 3

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Penelope Keith

Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

When Agatha returns home after a sojourn in the capital, she finds a new woman ensconced in the affections of her attractive bachelor neighbor, James Lacey. The newcomer, Mary Fortune, is superior to Agatha in every way, especially when it comes to gardening. With Carsely Open Day approaching, Agatha longs for some fascinating crime to remind James of her genius for investigation and to distract him from Mary. Soon a series of assaults on the finest gardens is followed by murder when Mary herself is discovered buried upside down in a terracotta pot....

©1994, 2003 M. C. Beaton. All rights reserved. ; 2012 AudioGO

Fickle Friends, Frosts, Flirts and Finagling

The more I listen, the more I like middle aged Agatha Raisin . . . retired from her public relations job in London . . . and expanding a bit around the waist, Agatha bounces back and forth between her desire to fit into that little black dress and an overwhelming need to feed her growling stomach . . . in this third book, Agatha has just returned from a long vacation, to find a new woman, Mary Fortune has moved to the village . . . and set her sights on her handsome neighbor, the retired Colonel James Lacey . . . everyone is busy preparing for the Carsely Garden Show . . . and so, not to be out done, Agatha decides to join the garden club, as well . . . the cast of characters gathering at the Red Lion, the vicar and his wife, the Carsley's Ladies Society, all have become welcome friends, all bringing their own personalities . . . and Agatha is no longer a new comer, she belongs there . . . so when another person turns up DEAD, they look to her to help Detective Bill Wong solve the case . . . a little old fashioned, a whole lot of funny, full of surprises, cat-loving Agatha will keep you entertained, while getting herself into plenty of trouble . . . and still solving the case . . .

I can't get enough of Agatha Raisin!

I'm a very fickle reader. I rarely read more than a couple of books in a series before moving onto another series. I switch my series a lot. However, I've now listened to three Agatha Raisin books almost back-to-back. This is a clear indicator that I'm loving this series so much!

In the third book in the series Agatha Raisin has returned from a holiday abroad to find that her neighbour, James Lacey, is dating newcomber, Mary Fortune. Mary seems to be perfect - a great baker, a fantastic gardener and everyone is talking about her. Not only has she stolen James from her (even though James and Agatha have not dated - yet!) and she is now the center of attention from all the villagers in Carsely. However, when Mary turns up dead it would seem that not everyone is Mary's biggest fan. James and Agatha join forces again to try and solve the mystery.

Agatha, Agatha, Agatha! She talks her mind, and has no problem swearing and saying "crap". Her emotions certainly go through through the ringer in this book. She has such strong affections for James and it breaks my heart that he doesn't return her affections. Instead he almost flaunts Mary in her face. Poor Agatha!! Because of his relationship with Mary, I almost despised James in this book. He wants Agatha as a friend, Mary as a lover and yet he seems excited by the fact that he knows that Agatha adores him. It will be interesting to see whether I like James in the next book.

This series is so perfect for me. There is village gossip, murder and the fabulous Agatha and I absolutely can't get enough of her!

I was so thrilled that Penelope Keith was back to narrate in this third book. She is by far the best narrator of this series. Her delivery is flawless and I can't ever imagine anyone else voicing the impetuous Agatha. I absolutely can't wait for the next book in this series.

Colorful and enjoyable

Agnes has quite a large personality. I found myself reacting aloud in disbelief/surprise a number times to her unfiltered comments and mannerisms. Her character was quite entertaining, and I felt like I knew her. The book moved along at a good pace. The characters were interesting and colorful yet not overdone. I enjoyed seeing her self-understanding evolve in bits according to her experiences - I was really rooting for her. Looking forward to the next in the series. I really loved the narration!

Brilliant!

Penelope Keith brings Ms. Beaton's wonderful stories to life! They were made for each other. Brilliant!

My Dear Agatha

Any additional comments?

I admit I adore this light and fluffy series starring our Agatha Raisin.

Ms. Keith's narration is amazing. She's perfect for the part, and I hope she remains the narrator for the rest of the books.

These mysteries are fun, if murder can be called 'fun', and while I've usually figured it all out well in advance of the end I continue to listen just to hear Agatha speak her mind again and again.

A delight, start to finish, without being taxing on the brain.

Always a pleasure!😄😄

Love this series and great narration from Ms.Keith. I plan to download all the audio books!

another good book. great narration too

Totally entertaining! Fun to read & puts me in a good mood too. What more can you ask for.

Wow!

This was a great book that kept my attention! I really enjoy books that takes place in London.i would recommend this series if you like mysteries!

Bret

Both delightful and tiresome

I'm so charmed by almost everything about these Agatha Raisin stories- the characters, the settings, the mysteries... all of them are wonderful. The village life is everything one hopes for in a cozy mystery and the culprit is always a surprise. What I find myself incredibly bored with is the romantic obsession with James Lacey. It's based simply on the fact that he's handsome and it wasn't cute at the end of book one and it's cringe-worthy at this point. I cannot tell if it's meant to be funny or relatable or what, but I find it unnecessary and overly drawn out. The percentage of "screen time" this obsession is given makes it hard to stay tuned into the story. However, if you can overcome that, I think you will absolutely love these stories and wish you lived in this village... despite the body count.

I made it up to chapter 4

Unfortunately, nothing is happening and, therefore, I got really bored. I was waiting for some development but it never came.