Agatha Raisin has always been ambivalent about holiday cheer, but her cozy little village of Carsely has long prided itself on its Christmas festivities. But this year Mr. John Sunday, a selfimportant officer with the Health and Safety Board, has ruled that the traditional tree on top of the church is a public menace; that lampposts are unsafe for hanging illuminations; that May Dimwoodyโs homemade toys are dangerous for childrenโฆ Things have reached such a desperate pass that the Carsely Ladiesโ Society joins forces with the ladies in the neighboring village of Odley Cruesis to try to put a stop to Mr. Sundayโs meddlingโonly to find that someone has literally put a stop to him with a kitchen knife.
Agathaโs detective agency is on the case, but when a man has made as many enemies as John Sunday, itโs hard to know where to startโฆ
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In bestseller Beaton's terrific 21st Agatha Raisin mystery (after 2009's There Goes the Bride), the fiercely formidable private detective and her perky young protรฉgรฉ, Toni Gilmour, look into the stabbing murder of John "Grudge" Sunday, a Mircester health and safety board officer, outside a joint meeting of two Cotswolds ladies' societies. The unpopular Sunday had put a pall on the holidays by stopping the annual custom of erecting a Christmas tree atop the Carsely church tower. Millionaire and prime suspect Miriam Courtney, who threatened to kill Sunday, hires Agatha to clear her name. Complications ensue after someone strikes Miriam a fatal blow to the head. Beaton, the pen name for Marion Chesney, does a brilliant job of depicting Agatha's struggles with aging and keeping her detective agency afloat. Her romantic upheavals (will she ever marry close friend Sir Charles Fraith?) continue to tantalize.
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Review
"Beaton ... does a brilliant job of depicting Agatha's struggles with aging and keeping her detective agency afloat. Her romantic upheavals (will she ever marry close friend Sir Charles Fraith?) continue to tantalize."
--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Testy Agatha, continuing her habit of falling for unsuitable men, scores again with a cunning mixture of satire and mystery."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Beaton is a master of the cozy formula โ there are plenty of red herrings, a large cast of suspects and an eagle-eye view of village life."
--RT Book Reviews