Scottish detective Hamish Macbeth investigates the slaying of a mystery writer who dares to complain about a television adaptation of her books that turns her aristocratic heroine into a marijuana-smoking hippie.

Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth’s new promotion means more money, but it also means that an eager beaver of a policeman has been thrust upon him, interfering with Hamish’s easygoing way of life. Fans of the lazy Hamish will delight in seeing him pitted against a zealous young officer while solving a disturbing murder.

Returning from a foreign holiday, Hamish Macbeth is worried because he senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over the Highland village of Lochdubh. He learns that a newcomer, Catriona Beldame, is regarded as a witch and various men have been seen visiting her. Hamish himself is charmed by her until he finds out she has been supplying dangerous potions. At first the villagers won’t listen to him, saying that the loveless Hamish has turned against all women. He threatens to kill her so that when she is found murdered, he must clear his name and then work to solve yet another murder to bring peace and quiet back to his beloved village. His investigations are complicated by a romance with a female forensic expert. Perhaps he’ll get married at last!

Depressed after being humiliated and abandoned by the two men in her life, Agatha Raisin finds a new prospect in curate Tristan Delon, whose untimely death prompts Agatha to investigate strange mysteries surrounding the victim.

Marital bliss was short-lived for Agatha Raisin. Her marriage to James Lacey was a disaster from the beginning, and in the end, he left her – not for another woman, but for God. After having been miraculously cured of a brain tumor, James has decided to join a monastery in France. Agatha can usually depend on her old friend, Sir Charles Fraith, to be there when times are tough, but even Charles has abandoned her, dashing off to Paris to marry a young French tart.

Miserable and alone, Agatha hops on a plane and heads for a remote island in the South Pacific. To Agatha’s surprise, she makes friends with her fellow travelers easily, and keeps herself out of mischief, despite the odd feeling she gets from one particularly attractive honeymooning couple. But when she later finds that the pretty bride has drowned under suspicious circumstances, Agatha wishes she had found a way to intervene.

Returning home to the Cotswolds, Agatha is grimly determined to move on with her life and to forget about James and Charles. They have, after all, forgotten about her. And what better way than to throw herself into another murder investigation? A woman, dressed in a wedding gown and still clutching her bouquet, has just been found floating in a river. The police say it’s suicide, but Agatha suspects the girl’s flashy young fiancé. With the help of her handsome, and single, new neighbor, Agatha sets off to prove the police wrong.

Recently married to James Lacey, the witty and fractious Agatha Raisin quickly finds that marriage, and love, are not all they are cracked up to be. Rather than basking in marital bliss, the newlyweds are living in separate cottages and accusing each other of infidelity. After a particularly raucous fight in the local pub, James suddenly vanishes – a bloodstain the only clue to his fate – and Agatha is the prime suspect.

Determined to clear her name and find her husband, Agatha begins her investigation. But her sleuthing is thwarted when James’s suspected mistress, Melissa, is found murdered. Joined by her old friend Sir Charles, Agatha digs into Melissa’s past and uncovers two ex-husbands, an angry sister, and dubious relations with bikers. Are Melissa’s death and James’s disappearance connected? Will Agatha reunite with her husband or will she find herself alone once again?

Beschrijving Agatha Raisin verbrandt al haar schepen achter zich. Ze geeft haar succesvolle public relations bureau op en verkoopt haar Londense flat om te gaan genieten van een vervroegd pensioen in het rustige dorpje Carsely in de Cotswolds. Verveeld, eenzaam en gewend om haar zin te krijgen doet ze mee aan een plaatselijke bakwedstrijd, omdat een hoofdprijs voor de beste quiche haar in het dorp op de kaart zal zetten. Maar haar recept voor de verruiming van haar sociale leven krijgt een bittere nasmaak wanneer jurylid Cummings-Browne niet alleen haar bijdrage aan de wedstrijd onderwaardeert, maar er ook nog eens aan doodgaat! Wanneer blijkt dat er een giftig ingrediënt in haar quiche is verwerkt, moet ze de onsmakelijke waarheid boven water zien te krijgen… M.C. BEATON, pseudoniem van Marion Chesney (Glasgow, 1936), was vele jaren werkzaam als journalist op Fleetstreet. Na talloze historische romans onder verschillende pseudoniemen legde zij zich als M.C. Beaton toe op het schrijven van detective romans rond twee verschillende speurders: de Schotse dorpsagent Hamish Macbeth en de Londonse reclamevrouw Agatha Raisin. Van beide series zijn inmiddels meer dan 20 delen verschenen en rond Hamish Macbeth maakte de BBC een tv-serie met Robert Carlyle in de hoofdrol. M.C. Beaton woont afwisselend in Parijs en in een cottage in de Engelse Cotswolds. De venijnige veearts (Agatha Raisin #2) ISBN 9789052900285 Recensie(s) NBD|Biblion recensie Agatha Raisin stopt met haar succesvolle public relations-bureau in het drukke Londen en zoekt rust op het Engelse platteland waar ze, om te integreren, al onmiddellijk meedoet aan een plaatselijke bakwedstrijd. Haar -gekochte- quiche wint niet, maar een vooraanstaand jurylid wordt erdoor vergiftigd. Natuurlijk wordt Agatha door alle plaatselijke mensen gemeden als de pest waardoor ze zelf op onderzoek uit moet. Van krasse zeventiger Beaton zijn ondertussen, naast delen van een andere reeks, al meer dan een dozijn Agatha Raisins verschenen. Ook dit boekje brengt, geheel in de geest en stijl van een andere en beter gekende Agatha, pure ontspanning, maar het legt meer de klemtoon op sfeerschepping en personages dan op de echte plot waardoor de spanning van deze whodunit wat magertjes is. Toch prettige, ontspannende lectuur. Paperback met normale druk. (NBD|Biblion recensie, C. Vandenbroucke)

No sooner does Miss Pym board her next stagecoach than she finds herself embroiled in the plight of Miss Belinda Earle, a spirited heiress banished to Bath after swearing off the marriage market. When the coach founders near Baddell Castle, and the dashing Marquis of Frenton comes to the rescue, Miss Pym decides to give Fate a hand. Although the austere bachelor disdains romance, his furtive glances towards Belinda prove to Miss Pym that her expert matchmaking will soon turn this star-crossed couple into a heavenly match!