Hot to Trot

An Agatha Raisin Mystery, Book 31

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Penelope Keith

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

Beloved New York Times best seller M. C. Beaton’s cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin - now the star of a hit TV show - is back on the case again.

When private investigator Agatha Raisin learns that her friend and one-time lover Charles Fraith is to be married to a mysterious socialite, Miss Mary Brown-Field, she sees it as her duty to find out what she can about the woman. Coming up empty, Agatha - out of selfless concern for Charles, of course - does the only sensible thing she can think of: she crashes their wedding, which ends in a public altercation. Nursing a hangover the next morning, she gets a phone call from Charles, with even more disturbing news: Mary has been murdered.

Agatha takes on the case, and quickly becomes entrenched in the competitive equestrian world, in which Mary had been enmeshed - as well as the victim’s surprisingly violent past. Agatha finds no shortage of motives among a wide range of characters, from Mary’s old riding competitors, to enemies from her schoolgirl days, to her surly father, who threatens Agatha to mind her own business. 

Meanwhile, the police department has its money on another suspect: Agatha. Will she track down the criminal in time, or end up behind bars herself? 

©2020 M. C. Beaton (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Laughing my head off.

Agatha's fans will understand why I'm laughing my head off at 35:05. Her acerbic wit and fond relationships with those who irk her.

Good job!

I wasnt aware that Ms Beaton had passed away until listeni6to this. Very sad. I am not sure if any of this book was written by her but it had the flavor of her just right. I usually dont approve of someone else taking a beloved character and writing continuing stories but in this case I hope there will be more Agatha Raisin

I so wanted Agatha to be with Charles.

great read as usual. I was hoping Agatha would end up with Charles. Disappointed 😞

It's Really Agatha, Hurray

R. W. Green's collaboration is almost seamless in what may be the final Agatha Raisin mystery. The novel is a fine tribute to M. C. Beaton. If this is the last, then Green has filled out Agatha's character with a selection of believable little details, so we get to see her more fully and get to leave her more consoled at our loss. If it is not the last--if Green was persuaded or granted permission to use Agatha in future--Hot to Trot is a promise of more thoroughly enjoyable Agatha Raisin mysteries to come. Green and Beaton have made this novel one of the best four or five of the series. I think I've noticed a slight falling off in Beaton's sure-handedness in the more recent of her novels, and I was delighted at how excellent this one is. Penelope Keith's narration is part of that excellence, of course: she tells this story just as well as she's told any of the others, and that means she imparts a singular quality to the narrative and also manages to "disappear" so that we're in contact not with an expert actor's voice but with the world that Beaton's language creates. I realize I haven't said anything in detail about the usual literary elements of Hot to Trot, but I don't think I have to. This novel will be a treat for readers and listeners who've read/listened to others in the series, and I think it's good enough to convince new readers and listeners to enjoy more Agatha Raisin. I'm happy to have heard it, and I know I'll be listening to it again.

Ok but not great

There were elements of the story I enjoyed but it seemed empty and rushed at times. I.do understand the circumstances behind the writing of the novel but parts of it just fell flat. The narrator wasn't my favorite but she was fine. I do like the grown up version of Roy, his character had gotten really flat and stale.

My Beaton did not write this.

1. The cats were never “rapturous” to see Agatha 2. Charles never ran his hands through his hair when he was upset. He was never ruffled 3.Roy loved publicity not being in a “delicious”!murder which he would never call it 4. Omg...read a book before you try to rewrite the main characters 6. Quit yelling Penelope. Just quit. 7. So many issues...

Predictably okay

There were great parts, but it being the final book, I hoped for better. I know she was assisted in this book, as she passed away and there was a lot of collaboration, but it fell flat often. While I know Agatha isn't the type of character to have a happy ending, the case itself wrapped up too quickly for my taste.

A little off

I’ve enjoyed reading the Agatha raisin series for years. As I was reading this latest book, I kept feeling it was a little off. Rather like milk that is a couple days past the fresh date It wasn’t disgustingly bad, but it was just off. Throughout the story, characters acted and responded In an out of character manner. Not a huge difference, but it struck a foreign note. If this had been a standalone book, it would have been fine; but building on the work of decades, there were too many differences to make it a welcome continuation of the series..