Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon
| Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon | |
| Beaton, M. C. | |
| Minotaur Books (2010) | |
| Tags: | General Fiction General Fictionttt |
being nearly killed by both a hired hit man and her former secretary,
Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks
through the door, determined to prove that his wife is cheating, Raisin
Investigations immediately offers to help. Trouble is, Agatha hates
divorce cases--especially when the client is as pompous as Smedley--but
she has a business to run and she's not about to turn away a paying
customer. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the
perfect wife, young and pretty and a regular volunteer at church.
Although
Smedley's case doesn't look promising, Agatha's attentions are diverted
when she stumbles across the body of missing teenager, Jessica Bradley.
In a sudden gesture of kindness (and good public relations), Agatha
offers to investigate Jessica's death free of charge.
As Agatha
juggles her two biggest cases, things are turned upside down when Robert
Smedley is found poisoned in his office. The prime suspect, his sainted
wife Mabel, immediately hires Agatha to find the real killer.
With
the help of her old friend, Sir Charles Fraith, and some newly hired
staff, Agatha Raisin sets off on another adventure solving crime in the
English Cotswolds.
| Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon | |
| Beaton, M. C. | |
| Minotaur Books (2010) | |
| Tags: | General Fiction General Fictionttt |
After being nearly killed by both a hired hit man and her former secretary, Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks through the door, determined to prove that his wife is cheating, Raisin Investigations immediately offers to help. Trouble is, Agatha hates divorce cases--especially when the client is as pompous as Smedley--but she has a business to run and she's not about to turn away a paying customer. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the perfect wife, young and pretty and a regular volunteer at church.
Although Smedley's case doesn't look promising, Agatha's attentions are diverted when she stumbles across the body of missing teenager, Jessica Bradley. In a sudden gesture of kindness (and good public relations), Agatha offers to investigate Jessica's death free of charge.
As Agatha juggles her two biggest cases, things are turned upside down when Robert Smedley is found poisoned in his office. The prime suspect, his sainted wife Mabel, immediately hires Agatha to find the real killer.
With the help of her old friend, Sir Charles Fraith, and some newly hired staff, Agatha Raisin sets off on another adventure solving crime in the English Cotswolds.
C
RITICS HAIL
A
GATHA
R
AISIN AND
M. C B
EATON
!
“Tourists are advised to watch their backs in the bucolic villages where M. C. Beaton sets her sly British mysteries … Outsiders always spell trouble for the societies Beaton observes with such cynical humor.”
—
The New York Times Book Review
“[Beaton’s] imperfect heroine is an absolute gem!”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series just about defines the British cozy”
—
Booklist
“Anyone interested in … intelligent, amusing reading will want to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Agatha Raisin.”
—
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Beaton has a winner in the irrepressible, romance-hungry Agatha.”
—
Chicago Sun-Times
“Few things in life are more satisfying than to discover a brand new Agatha Raisin mystery.”
—
Tampa Tribune Times
“The Raisin series brings the cozy tradition back to life. God bless the Queen!”
—
Tulsa World
“The Miss Marple-like Raisin is a refreshingly sensible, wonderfully eccentric, thoroughly likable heroine … a must for cozy fans.”
—
Booklist
T
HE
P
ERFECT
P
ARAGON
“Though Agatha is still a bit of a piece of work, she is mellowing with age, and in this book even forgets to ‘gussy’ herself up once when she goes out. There’s a cliffhanger at the end … that is going to be interesting in the next book.”
—
Deadly Pleasures
“This is the latest perfectly precious prose problem from Beaton, Britain’s successor to Dame Agatha Christie. If you’ve never read an Agatha Raisin novel, it’s time to start, and you’ll have fifteen more of these confections awaiting you. Polish those off, and you still have a batch of Hamish Macbeth tales. All of them are cunningly plotted, beautifully written and more fun you can imagine. The Perfect Paragon is as perfect as all the others, and you won't figure out whodunit until the final pages.”
—
The Globe & Mail
“Entertaining … welcome back to Carsely, the charming Cotswolds village that’s home to the sixteenth Agatha Raisin mystery.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Fabulous … M. C. Beaton is at her best with this fine tale filled with twists.”
—
Midwest Book Review
T
HE
D
EADLY
D
ANCE
“It’s been 40 years since Dame Agatha Christie’s death, and in that time, reviewers have often bestowed her mantle on new authors. M. C. Beaton is one of those so honored, and she deserves it. When it comes to artfully constructed puzzle plots and charming settings, Beaton serves it up . . . This is a classic British cozy plot, and a setting done with panache. Maybe M. C. Beaton really is the new ‘Queen of Crime.”
—
The Globe & Mail
“It is always fun to read an Agatha Raisin mystery, but the latest installment freshens up a delightful series by converting the heroine from amateur sleuth to professional without changing her caustic wit. Agatha remains crude and rude even to clients, but also retains that vulnerability that endears her to readers.”
—
Midwest Book Review
“A very satisfying change for the smart woman of mystery with a new cast of colorfully realized characters blending with a few old favorites.”
—
Mystery Lovers Bookshop News
“The story was first-rate and moved along with many twists and turns that kept me always guessing . . . I read this book in one sitting, which I think speaks for itself.”
—
I Love a Mystery
“Fans of Agatha Raisin will be absolutely delighted at this latest addition to the series. Ms. Beaton has surpassed herself in The Deadly Dance”
—
Reviewing the Evidence
A
LSO BY
M. G B
EATON
Agatha Raisin
Love, Lies & Liquor
The Perfect Paragon: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
The Deadly Dance: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House
Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
The Vicious Vet
The Quiche of Death
The Skeleton in the Closet
Hamish Macbeth
Death of a Bore
Death of a Poison Pen
Death of a Village
Death of a Celebrity
A Highland Christmas
Writing as Marion Chesney
Our Lady of Pain
Sick of Shadows
Hasty Death
Snobbery with Violence
THE PERFECT PARAGON
An Agatha Raisin Mystery
M. C BEATON
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
NOTE
:
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
This book is dedicated to Dawn and Clive Simons
and their daughters, Keriann and Kimherlee,
with affection
THE PERFECT PARAGON
Copyright © 2005 by M. C. Beaton.
Excerpt from Love, Lies, and Liquor © 2006 by M. C. Beaton.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003069546
ISBN: 0-312-98479-0
EAN: 80312-98479-3
Printed in the United States of America
St. Martin’s Press hardcover edition / August 2005
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / July 2006
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10010.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
ONE
EVERYONE in the village of Carsely in the English Cotswolds was agreed on one thing—no one had ever seen such a spring before.
Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar’s wife, stepped out into her garden and took a deep breath of fresh-scented air. Never had there been so much blossom. The lilac trees were bent down under the weight of purple and white blooms. White hawthorn hedges formed bridal alleys out of the country lanes. Clematis spilled over walls like flowery waterfalls, and wisteria decorated the golden stone of the cottages with showers of delicate purple blooms. All the trees were covered in bright, fresh green. It was as if the countryside were clothed like an animal in a deep, rich pelt of leaves and flowers.
The few misery-guts in the village shook their heads and said it heralded a harsh winter to come. Nature moved in a mysterious way to protect itself.
The vicarage doorbell rang and Mrs. Bloxby went to answer it. Agatha Raisin stood there, stocky and truculent, a line of worry between her eyes.
“Come in,” said Mrs. Bloxby. “Why aren’t you at the office? No cases to solve?”
Agatha ran her own detective agency in Mircester. She was well dressed, as she usually was these days, in a linen trouser suit, and her glossy brown hair was cut in a fashionable crop. But her small brown eyes looked worried.