THE WITCHES' TREE
Agatha Raisin # 28
M.C. Beaton
St. Martins Minotaur
October 3, 2017
I am a latecomer to the Agatha Raisin series, having discovered them only a few years ago. I was looking for short, undemanding listens and the reviews seemed to fill the bill. I ended up listening to all of the series over time. I often had mixed feelings about them, finding Agatha annoying at times, but entertaining to a greater or lesser degree. The Witches Tree begins with a dreadful dinner party given by the local "wannabe" squire and his flashy wife. The new vicar and his wife, Rory and Molly Devere, can't wait to get home. But their plan is disrupted when they drive by the Witches Tree and see a body hanging from the branches. It's Margaret Darby, an inoffensive elderly spinster and everyone in the odd little Cotswold village of Sumpton Harcourt can't imagine why....or so they say. The Deveres draw Agatha Raisin and her sometimes sidekick, Sir Charles Fraith, into the investigation. Agatha is feeling bored with her usual lost pet and divorce cases, but two more murders and a practicing witches coven add up to almost more than she can handle.
Agatha is a mixture of overconfidence and insecurity, despite great success as a Public Relations executive and now as a PI. She seems to be unable to feel worthy unless she is in a relationship with a man but none of those are ever a success. Her longest relationship has been with Sir Charles, but he is averse to commitment of any kind with the exception of keeping his money pit of an ancestral estate afloat. I admit that I had hopes that he was moving towards realizing how important Agatha is to him, but no such luck. Agatha at least appears to avoid falling for every eligible male she meets in The Witches Tree, which is a welcome development. I do enjoy the sly social commentary that Ms. Beaton injects into all the Agatha Raisin books.
Thanks to St.Martin's Minotaur and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.
RATING- 3 Stars
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