Author: M C Beaton
Published: October 2nd 2018 by Minotaur Books
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 272 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Agatha Raisin #29
As the series continues, the books are getting worse. The latest, the Dead Ringer, is so jumbled and incoherent in parts, I wondered if they went to publication with chapter notes and not with a completed project. Some parts, subject matter, and wording will definitely offend those who have been reading this series for the simplicity and will make others wonder what Marian Chesney (MC Beaton) is thinking with the direction the books are taking.
There are parts of this book which are familiar, as if the author pulled subject matter from previous books and tried a new spin. Weren’t bell ringers, with Agatha being one, used in a previous book? Maybe it was the television series. Which will put on a completely different rant since the books and the series have very little in common.
With the handsome Bishop heading to Thirk Magna, the Dupin twins are beside themselves with anticipation. The bells must be perfect but no less flawless than their appeal to the man himself. With stress high and bickering amongst the ringers, threats and insults thrown, one of the twins is dead. With this being an Agatha Raisin, soon more dead bodies show up and it is not until Agatha herself is left for dead that the clues come together. Of course, it is not only a body count type of book; Agatha once again is drawn between the men in her life and her fear of becoming a lonely and depressed old maid. Why does she do this to herself in each book? It is becoming quite redundant, but during the epilogue, there is a curious twist. A new character. A new obsession. Let us hope the next book will have the appeal the earlier books in the series held.
There are parts of this book which are familiar, as if the author pulled subject matter from previous books and tried a new spin. Weren’t bell ringers, with Agatha being one, used in a previous book? Maybe it was the television series. Which will put on a completely different rant since the books and the series have very little in common.
With the handsome Bishop heading to Thirk Magna, the Dupin twins are beside themselves with anticipation. The bells must be perfect but no less flawless than their appeal to the man himself. With stress high and bickering amongst the ringers, threats and insults thrown, one of the twins is dead. With this being an Agatha Raisin, soon more dead bodies show up and it is not until Agatha herself is left for dead that the clues come together. Of course, it is not only a body count type of book; Agatha once again is drawn between the men in her life and her fear of becoming a lonely and depressed old maid. Why does she do this to herself in each book? It is becoming quite redundant, but during the epilogue, there is a curious twist. A new character. A new obsession. Let us hope the next book will have the appeal the earlier books in the series held.
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