Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin Series #32)

Beloved New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin-the star of her own hit TV series-is back on the case again in Down the Hatch.

Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is striding along a path in Mircester Park during her lunch break when she hears a cry for help. Rushing over, she finds an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Swinburn, in the middle of the green-with the body of an old man lying at their feet.

The man, who the coroner determines died by poisoning, was known as “the Admiral,” a gardener notorious for his heavy drinking, and Chief Inspector Wilkes writes the death off as an accident caused by the consumption of weedkiller stored in a rum bottle. Agatha is not convinced that anyone would mistake weedkiller for rum but carries on with her work at Raisin Investigations, until she receives an anonymous tip that the Admiral's death was no accident.

Local gossip points to the Swinburns themselves as the killers, spurred by a feud at the club where they, as well as the Admiral, were members. Distraught at this accusation, they turn to Agatha to clear their name, and she takes the case-despite the warnings of Chief Inspector Wilkes.

Agatha encounters one suspicious character after another, becoming further enmeshed in the Admiral's own dark and shady past. And when she's run off the road, narrowly escaping with her life, and then another attack occurs, it becomes clear that someone doesn't want the case closed-and will stop at nothing to prevent Agatha from solving it.

1139822013
Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin Series #32)

Beloved New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin-the star of her own hit TV series-is back on the case again in Down the Hatch.

Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is striding along a path in Mircester Park during her lunch break when she hears a cry for help. Rushing over, she finds an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Swinburn, in the middle of the green-with the body of an old man lying at their feet.

The man, who the coroner determines died by poisoning, was known as “the Admiral,” a gardener notorious for his heavy drinking, and Chief Inspector Wilkes writes the death off as an accident caused by the consumption of weedkiller stored in a rum bottle. Agatha is not convinced that anyone would mistake weedkiller for rum but carries on with her work at Raisin Investigations, until she receives an anonymous tip that the Admiral's death was no accident.

Local gossip points to the Swinburns themselves as the killers, spurred by a feud at the club where they, as well as the Admiral, were members. Distraught at this accusation, they turn to Agatha to clear their name, and she takes the case-despite the warnings of Chief Inspector Wilkes.

Agatha encounters one suspicious character after another, becoming further enmeshed in the Admiral's own dark and shady past. And when she's run off the road, narrowly escaping with her life, and then another attack occurs, it becomes clear that someone doesn't want the case closed-and will stop at nothing to prevent Agatha from solving it.

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Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin Series #32)

Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin Series #32)

by M. C. Beaton, R. W. Green

Narrated by Penelope Keith

Unabridged — 6 hours, 54 minutes

Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin Series #32)

Down the Hatch (Agatha Raisin Series #32)

by M. C. Beaton, R. W. Green

Narrated by Penelope Keith

Unabridged — 6 hours, 54 minutes

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Overview

Beloved New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin-the star of her own hit TV series-is back on the case again in Down the Hatch.

Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is striding along a path in Mircester Park during her lunch break when she hears a cry for help. Rushing over, she finds an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Swinburn, in the middle of the green-with the body of an old man lying at their feet.

The man, who the coroner determines died by poisoning, was known as “the Admiral,” a gardener notorious for his heavy drinking, and Chief Inspector Wilkes writes the death off as an accident caused by the consumption of weedkiller stored in a rum bottle. Agatha is not convinced that anyone would mistake weedkiller for rum but carries on with her work at Raisin Investigations, until she receives an anonymous tip that the Admiral's death was no accident.

Local gossip points to the Swinburns themselves as the killers, spurred by a feud at the club where they, as well as the Admiral, were members. Distraught at this accusation, they turn to Agatha to clear their name, and she takes the case-despite the warnings of Chief Inspector Wilkes.

Agatha encounters one suspicious character after another, becoming further enmeshed in the Admiral's own dark and shady past. And when she's run off the road, narrowly escaping with her life, and then another attack occurs, it becomes clear that someone doesn't want the case closed-and will stop at nothing to prevent Agatha from solving it.


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Trademark Beaton." —Booklist (starred)

"Green...ably continues the adventures of private detective Agatha Raisin, thorn in the side of conservative Cotswold society, in the diverting 32nd installment of this bestselling series...The prose sparkles as usual."

Publishers Weekly

"Superb." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Hot to Trot

"Once you meet Agatha Raisin, you'll keep coming back." —New York Journal of Books

"M.C. Beaton has a foolproof plot for the village mystery." —The New York Times Book Review

"Beaton has a winner in the irrepressible, romance-hungry Agatha." —Chicago Sun-Times

"Beaton's Agatha Raisin series just about defines the British cozy." —Booklist

"Every new Agatha Raisin escapade is a total joy." —Ashley Jensen, star of the Agatha Raisin TV series

"Winning....Cozy fans with a taste for the silly and the offbeat will be gratified. This long-running series shows no signs of losing steam." —Publishers Weekly on Beating About the Bush

"As usual, Beaton conceals any number of surprises behind her trademark wry humor." —Kirkus Reviews on Beating About the Bush

Kirkus Reviews

2021-07-28
Quick-tempered private detective Agatha Raisin gets involved in several cases that prove dangerous to her health.

Out for a lunchtime walk, Agatha hears screams and comes upon a distressed elderly couple and a dead body. She’s quite certain the man known as the Admiral was poisoned, but her nemesis, the incompetent DCI Wilkes, dismisses his death as an accident. As usual, Agatha’s love life is a bit of a mess. She’s on the outs with Sir Charles Fraith after a series of misunderstandings. Her former husband, James Lacey, is back to wooing her. And she makes an enemy of the new coroner after refusing his crude advances. When Raisin Investigations gets a phone call from a Mr. Collins, who insists that "strange creatures keep appearing" in his garden, including "three small wizards dressed all in black, with orange hats and long white beards," James insists that she investigate; they discover that Collins’ seemingly unbelievable descriptions are actually of rare animals that have escaped from traffickers of exotic species. After she calls the police in, Agatha makes a bad enemy in the one man who gets away. The Admiral’s less than loving widow begs her to find his killer; one of the dead man’s former loves is killed in a hit-and-run; and a friend of Charles’ hires her in a paternity case that will require all her staff and longtime friends to solve.

This second posthumous adventure contains plenty of mystery plus all the usual quota of trouble for the colorful heroine.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940192702291
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date: 10/26/2021
Series: Agatha Raisin Series , #32
Edition description: Unabridged
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