• Beating About the Bush

  • An Agatha Raisin Mystery, Book 30
  • By: M. C. Beaton
  • Narrated by: Penelope Keith
  • Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,308 ratings)

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Beating About the Bush  By  cover art

Beating About the Bush

By: M. C. Beaton
Narrated by: Penelope Keith
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Publisher's summary

When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is about to become involved in a particularly gruesome murder. Looks, however, can be deceiving, as Agatha discovers when she is employed to investigate a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is quite what it seems.

The factory mystery soon turns to murder and a bad-tempered donkey turns Agatha into a national celebrity, before bringing her ridicule and shame. To add to her woes, Agatha finds herself grappling with growing feelings for her friend and occasional lover, Sir Charles Fraith. Then, as a possible solution to the factory murder unfolds, her own life is thrown into deadly peril. Will Agatha get her man at last? Or will the killer get her first?

©2019 M. C. Beaton (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Beating About the Bush

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Penelope is back!!

I'm so happy Penelope is back. Please keep her. I can listen to her all day

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Agatha at her best

Narration perfect. but this story has it all. Less obsessive , and a bit more matured, Agatha is a worthy friend, employer, and heroine.

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22 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Penelope Keith and Agatha Raisin are back

I did not realize how much I missed these two wonderful women. The story had a most original plot line and I am hoping for another great one soon. Please do not keep us waiting so long

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hooray we have our narrator back!

Having a new narrator is hard but after so many books by one it’s even harder. I felt at home with Ms. Keith! I was hesitant to buy the audio because I didn’t enjoy the last ones but once I saw her name I purchased! The book grabs you right in the beginning ....typical Agatha!

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11 people found this helpful

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5 Stars

I love the Agatha Raisin mystery series and I'm sad at the thought that it might be the last book. I'm even more sad about the author's death. Agatha Raisin is a well written an well developed character. I have enjoyed every book in this series and will be forever grateful for the books left behind by Ms. Beaton.

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10 people found this helpful

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Another hilarious Agatha Raisin story.

I am a big fan of Agatha Raisin. This was a great book to listen to. Several of Agatha's cohorts round out the story; Tina, Roy, and Bill. Looks like Agatha is again having trouble with romance, and gets herself into a real jam with her latest investigation. This story has some laugh out loud moments. Penelope Keith is a perfect narrator for this book.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Thank you for bringing back Penelope Keith!

So glad to see that you took the advice from the previous commenters on the previous books and brought back our FAVORITE A. R. narrator. Penelope Keith is the only true Agatha RAISIN!

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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One of Agatha's better cases!

"Raisin Investigations" has been called in by Morrison’s, a local engineering company, to look into the possibility of industrial espionage at their plant. The R&D division had recently experienced a fire of a suspicious nature that gutted their building and hampered their ability to move forward on developing a revolutionary new automobile battery.

Agatha Raisin and her business partner, Toni Gilmour, take on the case and immediately get the feeling that something is just not right at the place. Their primary contact, Mrs. Dunwiddy, Mr. Morrison’s right hand, is knowledgeable and helpful but is oddly afraid of the plant security detail. And when leaving the facility one afternoon, Agatha and Toni discover a severed leg, wearing a stocking and shoe similar to the ones worn by Mrs. Dunwiddy, tossed into the brushy undergrowth on the side of the road. Although the leg turns out to be a fake, the true meaning behind its being left for Agatha to find is clear: someone wants to discredit Raisin Investigations and frighten Mrs. Dunwiddy. But, rather than scaring anyone away, the incident only spurs Agatha on to greater effort.

Then one evening at the plant’s welcome back reception for the owner’s wife (she’d been at a facility to break an alcohol problem), Agatha finds Mrs. Dunwiddy’s body in the stable yard, apparently bashed in the head by the wife’s pet donkey. But Agatha, charmed by the frightened animal, realizes it didn’t trample the woman, and this is a case of murder.

Agatha is on her game in this adventure. She has all her quirks, but there’s a bit more reflection in her dealings with Toni (who shares many of Agatha’s traits) and Sir Charles Fraith. James Lacey is mentioned a few times, but it felt like Agatha has really come to terms with the real James and not the dream man she’s kept on a pedestal all these years. In addition, there are appearances by other well-known faces such as Mrs. Bloxby, Bill Wong, and Roy, and the introduction of a new nemesis and a new romantic interest as well.

The story is a solid what-the-heck-is-going-on one, and as usual, Agatha susses out some of the details and blunders into the others, making for a delightful book from start to finish. The things that happen to this woman go from funny to harrowing but never stray from being plausible. This is one of Agatha’s better cases. I recommend this series and this book, in particular, and I especially enjoyed the narration by Penelope Keith. (She’s terrific.)

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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What an improvement!

Much better than the last few books....good story, dialog...the old Aggie is back! Great narration.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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A bit underwhelmed

I was a bit underwhelmed. The donkey hijinks were a miss for me. Missing something.

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4 people found this helpful