The longer this series goes on, the more hateful and miserable the characters get. There is not a single character that you can root for, because they are all such awful people. Agatha in particular is cruel, petty, shallow, and just generally terrible. This book is also a little judgmental about anybody that isn't a white British native, and it presents a pretty negative and inaccurate image of Bulgaria at the end of the story.

Number #29 in the Agatha Raisin series, readers by now have to come to know and hopefully love Agatha and her sharp tongue. But where is the Agatha we all know and love?? Not in this book. In this book, she is feeling old and depressed and quite honestly scared for most of it. As with other books in this series, our regular cast of characters and a real sense of place keep the book from losing too much of its iconic feel. I just wish Agatha would stop feeling so mopey and get back to being steeling eyed and sharp. Do I wish she wouldn't feel the need to be with a man all the time, yes of course! But then it wouldn't be Agatha Raisin, would it? The usual cliffhanger ending with the promise of a new relationship will keep me coming back for Number #30.

I'm a huge fan of Agatha Raisin but unfortunately this book was a disappointment.
Agatha has turned into a grumpy woman who seems miserable.
I missed the fun loving Agatha who was always fun and sharp tongued.
This story seemed fractured, like I was missing some important information and it kept jumping all around, leaving me confused and really not caring how it ended.
I think that all of the fans of this witty, colorful personality will be sorely disappointed with this installment of the series.
I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

Who doesn’t love Agatha Raisin? I always look forward to the next Agatha story, and I greatly enjoyed her most recent outing in “The Dead Ringer.” This is the usual wonderful, funny, frothy mix, with all of the usual secondary characters, and the madcap goings-on in the Cotswolds.

The story is about bell ringers in the village of Thirk Magna, a sexy bishop, his thuggish underling the Dean, murder, and our Agatha, complete with her cats, her insecurities, her intuition, and her friends. I don’t like spoilers so I am not going to give any as I do not want to take any of the enjoyment away from the reader. You’ll thank me later when you are laughing out loud.

The Agatha Raisin books, like the author’s other wonderful series, the Hamish MacBeth books, are not great literature. They are never going to win the sorts of prizes given out for ponderous tomes. But they don’t have to be anything but what they are, a bit of light entertainment, and totally enjoyable. I was out of sorts when I picked up “The Dead Ringer,” and Agatha provided me with just what I needed. Pick up a copy of “The Dead Ringer” and let Agatha work her magic on you.

Agatha Raisin books are always fun and engrossing reads. This book in the series is no exception. All of our favorite supporting characters are back to help and/or hinder Agatha's detecting.

I'm glad Agatha and Patrick get a few scenes in this book as I've always enjoyed their dynamic. Same for Agatha and Toni. I was, however, happiest that Gustav had a few appearances in this book. He cracks me up.

I'll never tire of the will they or won't they plot with Agatha and Charles, it is just ever so entertaining.

This was another great addition to the Agatha Raisin series. This has quickly become my favorite cozy series, and this latest entry is another great example as to why: fun characters, a cozy setting, humor, great descriptions, and a fast-paced mystery. I can't wait until the next book!

Agatha Raisin never lets me down. I didn't love the last book but with The Dead Ringer all the characters and fun come roaring back!

2.5 Stars rounded up because I have been a fan of this series. This installment however left me very disappointed. The story seemed to jump about without clear transition. Some parts seemed incredibly rushed. The prickly, but enjoyable Agatha has turned into a cursing harridan. It felt as if all the characters were one-dimensional....and that dimension consisted of their most obnoxious character flaw. I hope that this receives some editing and fleshing out. This series has a huge fan base and I fear this will be a let down.

We always buy M.C. Beaton for our library. She's the reigning Queen of Mystery. No matter what name she's writing under (Marion Chesney among others) our patrons adore her.

It always amazes me how excited I get when there's a new Agatha Raisin book. The majority of the main characters are not very pleasant people. But I still read this one in one sitting and felt sorry that it was over. The author manages to make these unpleasant people into very real people and I suppose you like them because you can see your flaws in them. The story is interesting and even once you find out who did it, there's enough going on that you still want to finish the book. Now that I've read it, I feel sorry for myself that I have to wait a good while for the next one.