![endif]--> A less-than-welcome invitation to ex-husband James's wedding - to a beautiful, younger woman
- lands on Agatha's doormat.
...

Yuletide overindulgence on the poison front...

During the dark, grey days of early December Agatha is obsessed by two

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Agatha Raisin has never been one for enforced holiday cheer, but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. But this year the bells will not be ringing out Silent Night as Mr John Sunday, an officer with the Cotswold Health & Safety Board, has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down what he sees as gross misconduct by every man, woman, & child in the vicinity. The village shop is told it can no longer have wooden shelves which have been there since the time of Queen Victoria ?in case someone is inflicted with a splinter.? The village school is ordered to leave lights on at night ?to prevent unauthorized intruders from tripping in the dark.? & children are warned to not play with ?counterfeit banknotes? after passing around toy money in the playground. But finally Mr Sunday goes too far when he rules that there cannot be a Christmas tree atop the church tower this year. Soon after the decree & just before Christmas, Agatha is sipping a cup of tea & trying to stay awake as minute by minute of the Carsely Ladies Society meeting at the vicarage drones on when a sudden scream wakes her from her stupor. The ladies rush out of the building & into the garden to find Sunday lying face down in the petunias, very much dead. Agatha is instantly on the case, but with so many people having threatened the life of the victim, it's almost impossible to know where to start! ...

Agatha Raisin & The Curious Curate When the village curate is found murdered, retired PR guru Agatha Raisin vows to bring his killer to justice, particularly if the investigation also brings her closer to her handsome next-door neighbour, Colonel Lacey. To cheer themselves up, the inhabitants of Carsely decide on duck racing & Morris dancing. But the village fete is unlikely to go smoothly while the killer is among them. Agatha Raisin & The Buried Treasure When Agatha embarks on a plan to give up smoking, little does she know that it will lead to a treasure hunt, humiliation & a rather nasty murder. The search to find the killer leads Agatha & James to the dreaming spires of Oxford, where they soon get intimate
- in a cupboard full of E.M. Forster first editions.
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After being nearly killed by both a hired hitman & her former secretary, Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks through the door of her detective agency, determined to prove that his wife is cheating on him, Raisin Investigations immediately offers to help. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the perfect wife: young, pretty, & a regular volunteer at church. But just as Agatha is ready to give up, Smedley is poisoned with weed killer, leaving Michael, the prime suspect, to inherit a fortune. With no one left to pay her, Agatha has to drop the investigation ...

The Columbo of the Cotswolds
- Agatha Raisin is back in two more full-cast dramas based on the bestselling books by M.C. Beaton.
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This great CD brings together another two adventures from the Columbo of the Cotswolds, Agatha Raisin. In ' The Quiche of Death', Agatha, in her first extended radio appearance, is determined to make her mark by winning the local baking competition. When the judge is poisoned by her entry, she must investigate & uncovers a web of extra-marital sex & pastry-based favours. In ' The Vicious Vet', a handsome vet is found injected with a syringeful of tranquiliser. Eager to find out if it was an accident or something more sinister, Agatha & James team up to find out who killed him, but they resort to barefaced lies, burglary & badger watching. ...

The Terrible Tourist Now that their marriage plans have collapsed, Agatha is furious to find that James is taking a holiday on the island where they were to have their honeymoon. But when she sets out in pursuit of him, she stumbles upon another murder. The Fairies of Fryfam Having been hurt by James once too often, Agatha takes a trip to the Cornish villages of Fryfam & is soon disturbed by some strange lights at the bottom of the garden. ...

Eye of newt, toe of frog.. . & murder most foul! Suffering from bald patches thanks to a hair conditioner spiked with depilatory cream
- supplied by the murderess in her last investigation
- Agatha escapes to the coastal resort of Wyckhadden to allow her crowning glory to recover in privacy. A local witch provides her with hair tonic & Agatha's lost locks begin to grow
- but then the witch is found bludgeoned to death. The elderly residents at Agatha's elegantly faded hotel seem innocuous enough, if a little odd, but as she enquires into the murder she turns up an alarming number of secrets. Coping with the amorous attentions of police inspector Jimmy Jessop & treading an ever-more treacherous path to find the culprit, Agatha is at her wit's end
- & inclined to try a little black magic of her own...



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The Wizard of Evesham Agatha is alarmed when her new wizard of a hairdresser seems keen to take on more than just her split ends. She soon discovers that everyone in his salon has a secret, & that he practises a very dark magic indeed. However, James refuses to help. Has he really ceased to care for her? The Murderous Marriage After pursuing him for nearly four years, Agatha is finally about to marry James Lacey, the handsome Colonel next door. But there's just one little problem... Then, with her marriage dreams in tatters, Agatha has the small task of returning the wedding presents, & the slightly larger one of clearing her name of murder. ...