Dishing the Dirt (Agatha Raisin Series #26)

by M. C. Beaton

Overview

When therapist Jill Davent moved to the village of Carsely, Agatha Raisin was not a fan. Not only was this therapist romancing Agatha's ex-husband but she dug up details of Agatha's not-too-glamorous origins. Jill also counsels a woman, Gwen Simple, that Agatha firmly believes assisted her son in some grisly murders, although there is no proof. Not one to keep her feelings to herself, Agatha tells anyone that would listen that Jill is a charlatan and better off dead. Agatha could only sigh with relief when the therapist took an office in Mircester.

When Agatha learns that Jill had hired a private detective to investigate her background, she barges into Jill's office and gives her a piece of her mind, yelling "I could kill you!" So when Jill is found strangled to death in her office two days later, Agatha becomes the prime suspect. But Agatha, along with her team of private detectives, is determined to prove her innocence and find the real culprit. This time Agatha must use her skills to save her own skin.

With Dishing the Dirt, MC Beaton proves that "once you meet Agatha Raisin, you'll keep coming back."(New York Journal of Books)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250057426
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Series:	Agatha Raisin Series , #26
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

M. C. Beaton (1936-2019), the “Queen of Crime” (The Globe and Mail), was the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Agatha Raisin novels — the basis for the hit series on Acorn TV and public television — as well as the Hamish Macbeth series and the Edwardian Murder Mysteries featuring Lady Rose Summer. Born in Scotland, she started her career writing historical romances under several pseudonyms and her maiden name, Marion Chesney.

In 2006, M.C. was the British guest of honor at Bouchercon.

Editorial Reviews

2015-06-30
A private detective continues her search for love in all the wrong places. Her hunches pan out so very often that Agatha Raisin may well be the cleverest detective in the Cotswolds. But her taste in men leaves a lot to be desired. This time, however, trouble comes from an unexpected source. The newest arrival in Carsely, Jill Davent, who's set up a counseling practice, makes an enemy of Agatha when she discovers the poverty-stricken background the sleuth has worked so hard to conceal. Soon after Agatha visits Jill in her office and declares "leave me alone or I'll kill you," Mrs. Bloxby, Agatha's good friend and wife of the local vicar, finds Jill dead, and Agatha is the prime suspect. Agatha would like the killer to be the lovely Gwen Simple, the mother of the murderer in her last case (The Blood of an Englishman, 2014), but Jill had plenty of other clients with something to hide—and it turns out that she was a blackmailer. As more bodies are added to the count, Agatha, Sir Charles Fraith, her friend and sometime lover, and the rest of her regular team continue to investigate. At least one of the victims was poisoned by monkshood, and Agatha's search for that poisonous plant leads to a number of attempts on her life. As usual, Agatha attracts and forfeits the attentions of a number of eligible bachelors while hunting a clever killer; a basket full of red herrings makes this one of her more interesting cases.

Kirkus Reviews

"Full of perfectly pitched interest, intrigue, and charm.” —Lee Child

“As always, M. C. Beaton presents us with an Agatha Raisin who manages to infuriate, amuse and solicit our deepest sympathies as we watch her blunder her way boldly through another murder mystery.” —Bookreporter.com on Hiss and Hers

“I know I once vowed to read only Agatha Christie for a year, but I've cheated. My No. 1 mistress: M.C. Beaton and her Agatha Raisin whodunits. Agatha is like Miss Marple with a drinking problem, pack-a-day habit, and major man lust.” —Entertainment Weekly on A Spoonful of Poison

“Few things in life are more satisfying than to discover a brand-new Agatha Raisin mystery.” —Tampa Tribune

From the Publisher

With Dishing the Dirt, M. C. Beaton proves that once you meet Agatha Raisin, you’ll keep coming back.”

New York Journal of Books

Narrator Alison Larkin gives an enthusiastic narration of this lighthearted mystery…with a crisp English accent…Larkin’s reading is vivacious.”

AudioFile

The acerbic Agatha Raisin is back in her twenty-sixth outing…Agatha is the same character fans have adored and others have disdained all these years: vain; envious of younger, prettier women; man crazy; and blunt to the point of rudeness. It may not be everyone’s recipe for success, but it works for Agatha.”

Booklist

The Agatha Raisin series is my guilty pleasure—it’s full of perfectly pitched interest, intrigue, and charm.”

Lee Child