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

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...

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..

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

Not Quite Agatha

After reading all Agatha Raisin books I was thrilled there was going to be one last Agatha mystery after losing this great author. If you have read all or many in this series, Agatha Raisin has a very distinct personality as do all the characters down to Hodge and Boswell the cats. Those personalities and characteristic behaviors were notably off in this book. I was hoping for some closure to the series but the one Agatha ends up with was not what I had expected! I unfortunately was also able to work out the conclusion far sooner I would have liked. I have enjoyed Penelope Keith's narration throughout the series she really brings Agatha to life for me. I understand that no one will be able to write exactly like M C Beaton but since when does Agatha Raisin drink wine? If another is published after this one I don't know if I will be waiting in antipation.

I so wanted Agatha to be with Charles.

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

Hot To Trot

An Agatha Raisin is always a fun read. However, the storyline had potential but was mediocre. Some of the scenes were silly and did nothing to enhance the characters. Agatha in each of the previous books grows in confidence but in this book Agatha takes a step back acting ridiculous at times.

Shift in Charles's Character

The book was good. Not quite as good as MC Beaton but good. However, I found it very distressing how much Sir Charles was changed. I just don't buy it. He seemed very predatory and Mercenary in a way that he did not seem in other books. He has more depth and this book seemed to take away his depth. I was disappointed in that.

Agatha is Brilliant in this Book! Soooo is Penelope Keith. 🤩

This book is really, really fun. It was jam packed with all the things that make Agatha and assorted characters so much fun to read. Hearing the dedication caused me to learn of M.C. Beaton’s death. Somehow I think of her as Agatha Raisin. Godspeed Maureen C. Beaton. You left the world a better place. A happier place. A more fun place. Thank you for that!

A fitting final? novel

As explained in the first chapter or prologue this novel was written by another author with some oversight by Marion. In general the tone and actions of the characters was true to their personalities with a few caveats. I can’t recall James ever calling Agatha “Aggie” that is Charles’ thing so that bothered me a bit. Picky I know. Also I felt like James and Agatha seemed to have grown up, Agatha in particular. It is a good thing mainly because I was getting a bit tired really of her obsession with James and his often boorish behavior, it wasn’t entertaining anymore. They both seemed more mature. Roy was a delight. Something is wrong with Mrs Bloxby though. I can’t quite put my finger on it. One thing I think is that we usually only see her at Agatha’s, at the Vicarage, or at the Ladies Society meetings or a fair. Meeting her in the street seemed odd. Sorry but there it is. :D I still very much enjoyed the story and the characters. I think it is a tribute to Marion really that someone else could pick up the mantle and carry on, her characters are so well imagined—how they think, what they say, how they react. Marion refined that over years. I would be happy to read another novel written by the new author (I apologize I don’t remember his name and if I leave to look I might have to start again!) It was also great to have Penelope Leach reading the book as it gave a touch more familiarity to the players.

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.