Love,
Lies and Liquor
An
Agatha Raisin Mystery
M.
C. Beaton
St.
Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-34910-6 (0312349106)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34910-3 (9780312349103)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $22.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Agatha Raisin is lonely. Busy as she is with her
detective agency and the meetings of the Carsely Ladies' Society, she
still misses her ex-husband, James Lacey, so she welcomes his return to
the cottage next door with her usual triumph of optimism over
experience---especially when he invites her on holiday at a surprise
location that was once very dear to him. With visions of a romantic
hideaway in Italy or the Pacific dancing in her head, Agatha goes off
happily with James to ... Snoth-on-Sea, in Sussex.
While James may have fond memories of boyhood holidays there,
Snoth-on-Sea has seen better days, as has the once-grand Palace Hotel,
now run-down and tacky and freezing cold. Nor do the other guests have
much to recommend them, especially the brassy honeymoon couple, Mr. and
Mrs. Jankers, who pick a fight with Agatha in the dining room. But
trouble has a way of following Agatha even if romance does not: Just as
she and James are preparing to flee to warmer climes, Geraldine Jankers
is found dead on the beach---strangled with Agatha's scarf. So much for
Agatha's holiday fantasies: Not only is it time to put her detective
skills to work, but the police are not even sure that she'll be allowed
to leave town.
Review:
Love,
Lies and Liquor is the 17th
mystery in this long-running mystery series by M. C. Beaton featuring
private investigator Agatha Raisin.
Agatha thinks she's off on a romantic holiday with ex-husband James,
but the resort town on the south English coast to which he takes them
has seen better days and the hotel at which they are staying seems to
be literally falling into the sea. After one of the guests is murdered
in the middle of the night, Agatha finds herself initially accused of
the crime when her scarf is used as the murder weapon. Hired by the
dead woman's husband to locate the killer, Agatha learns there is no
shortage of suspects who would have liked to see the obnoxious woman
dead.
Love,
Lies and Liquor is more about
Agatha lamenting the sad state of her love life than about Agatha
discovering the circumstances surrounding a mysterious death. The
important men in her life take her for granted, and what's worse, she
seems to allow it to happen. For an investigator who should know
better, she agrees to meet a total stranger for dinner, a good-looking
man who happens to be dressed smartly, and even that date ends with
disastrous results. To say she has problems with the opposite sex would
be an understatement.
But there's still that unsolved murder, and though the police are
willing to close the case, Agatha isn't. Through sheer determination,
and what seems to be more than a little bit of good fortune, she
manages to name the guilty party.
Beaton is among the best authors of the traditional mystery and Agatha
Raisin typifies the modern English village sleuth. But Love, Lies and Liquor
strays a bit too far off course here. Agatha needs to spend more time
thinking about her case than considering when, where, and with whom
she'll be able to wear her filmy clothes.
Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a copy of Love, Lies and Liquor for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Love, Lies and Liquor? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Agatha
Raisin and the Quiche of Death
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), December 1992
ISBN-10: 0-312-08153-7 (0312081537)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-08153-9 (9780312081539)
Agatha
Raisin and the Vicious Vet
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), August 1993
ISBN-10: 0-312-09242-3 (0312092423)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-09242-9 (9780312092429)
Agatha
Raisin and the Potted Gardener
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), August 1994
ISBN-10: 0-312-10927-X (031210927X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-10927-1 (9780312109271)
Agatha
Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), April 1995
ISBN-10: 0-312-11738-8 (0312117388)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-11738-2 (9780312117382)
Agatha
Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), December 1996
ISBN-10: 0-312-14538-1 (0312145381)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-14538-5 (9780312145385)
Agatha
Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), October 1997
ISBN-10: 0-312-16761-X (031216761X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-16761-5 (9780312167615)
Agatha
Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), August 1998
ISBN-10: 0-312-18523-5 (0312185235)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-18523-7 (9780312185237)
Agatha
Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), March 1999
ISBN-10: 0-312-19822-1 (0312198221)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-19822-0 (9780312198220)
Agatha
Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 1999
ISBN-10: 0-312-20494-9 (0312204949)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20494-5 (9780312204945)
Agatha
Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), June 2000
ISBN-10: 0-312-20496-5 (0312204965)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20496-9 (9780312204969)
Agatha
Raisin and the Love from Hell
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), December 2001
ISBN-10: 0-312-20766-2 (0312207662)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20766-3 (9780312207663)
Agatha
Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), July 2002
ISBN-10: 0-312-20767-0 (0312207670)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20767-0 (9780312207670)
Agatha
Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), February 2003
ISBN-10: 0-312-20768-9 (0312207689)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20768-7 (9780312207687)
Agatha
Raisin and the Haunted House
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2003
ISBN-10: 0-312-20769-7 (0312207697)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-20769-4 (9780312207694)
The
Deadly Dance
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2004
ISBN-10: 0-312-30436-6 (0312304366)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30436-2 (9780312304362)
Agatha
Raisin and the Perfect Paragon
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), July 2005
ISBN-10: 0-312-30448-X (031230448X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-30448-5 (9780312304485)
Love, Lies and Liquor
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-10: 0-312-34910-6 (0312349106)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34910-3 (9780312349103)
Kissing
Christmas Goodbye
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2007
ISBN-10: 0-312-34911-4 (0312349114)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34911-0 (9780312349110)
A
Spoonful of Poison
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), September 2008
ISBN-10: 0-312-34912-2 (0312349122)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34912-7 (9780312349127)
There
Goes the Bride
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), September 2009
ISBN-10: 0-312-38700-8 (0312387008)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-38700-6 (9780312387006)
Omnimystery
keywords for Love, Lies and Liquor
...
Location(s) referenced: Brighton, Sussex, Cotswolds.
