Review:-M C Beaton – “The Skeleton in the Closet”

Year Published: - 2001 (USA); 2011 (UK)
Where the book was from:- Mine
ISBN: - 978-1-84901-608-7
Pages: - 262pp
Genre: - Cosy crime
Location:- Worcestershire
How I came across it: - On offer, Waterstones
Rating: - *****

One sentence summary:- Rather dated in both ideas and style, this was not up to M C Beaton’s usual standard.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:- When Fellworth Dolphin inherits an unexpected fortune from his miserly, cold-hearted mother, he sets out to discover the source of the money, which could be linked to a train robbery in which Fell's late father may have taken part.

General comments:- Disappointing and uninspired but adequate for a brief read when not in search of anything taxing.

Quotations:- nil

AUTHOR Notes:- A pseudonym used by, Marion Chesney, M C Beaton is the author of the highly acclaimed Hamish Macbeth mystery series. Born in Scotland, she now lives in the Cotswolds.

Review:- M C BEATON - “Death of an Outsider”

Year Published: - 1988
Where the book was from:- My own copy
ISBN: - 978-1-84529-668-1
Pages: - 206pp
Genre: - Cosy crime
Location:- Highlands of Scotland
How I came across it: - Gradually reading the series
Rating: - ***** **
One sentence summary:-
Constable MacBeth likes a quiet life but there’s not much chance of him getting it when he is seconded to a local town to ‘mind the shop’ while the sergeant is away, especially when an offcomer dies in a most unusual way.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:-
Nobody in the cloistered Highlands town of Cnothan, where Constable Macbeth is on temporary duty, likes the abrasive Englishman, William Mainwaring. Will he be the outsider who dies?

General comments:-
The third book in the Hamish MacBeth series)

Quotations:
The sun rose shortly after nine in the morning, where it sulked along the horizon for a few hours before disappearing around two in the afternoon.
(My friends in the Western Isles will recognize that concept of the sun skulking around the horizon at this time of year!!!)

AUTHOR Notes:- M C Beaton

M C Beaton - "Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor"

Publ: 2007 ISBN: 9781845294489
Rating ***


The usual format - I think I may be beginning to tire of Agatha for a while.

M C Beaton see Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.

M C Beaton - "Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham"

PUBL: 1999 ISBN: 0312948107
Rating ***


The eighth book in the Agatha Raisin series.
M C BEATON see Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
http://bookeverysixdays.blogspot.com/2008/05/m-c-beaton-agatha-raisin-and-quiche-of.html

M C Beaton – “Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet”

I discovered Agatha Raisin at GB’s and have been delighted to find that Pensby Library has a few of her adventures in crime solving in her little Cotswold village. Outspoken, occasionally coarse and far from a Miss Marple but nonetheless a delightful character.

This is the second in the series – looking forward to the next one already.
Agatha Raisin
1. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (1992)
2. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (1993)
3. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (1994)
4. Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (1995)
5. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (1996)
6. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (1997)
7. Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (1998)
8. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (1999)
9. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (1999)
10. Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (2000)
11. Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (2001)
12. Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (2002)
13. Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (2003)
14. Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (2003)
15. The Deadly Dance (2004)
16. Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon (2005)
17. Love, Lies and Liquor (2006)
18. Kissing Christmas Goodbye (2007)
19. Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison (2008)

“...No one here was obviously feeling the recession, for no one had ever got to any point from which to recess to.”
“Who was it who said that the reason the puritans were against bear-baiting was not because it gave pain to the bear but because it gave pleasure to the crowd?”
“I’ve not time for Americans....” said Miss Webster. “It’s not their fault.” said James, “ They feel that they have to protect themselves. a lot of people think American tourists are made of money. Now that couple saved all their lives for this one trip. They have to budget very carefully, and they’ve probably been told back home that all foreigners are out to cheat them.” “But we’re not foreigners,” said Miss Webster. “We’re British.”

M.C. BEATON is a psudonym used by Marion Chesney - see my earlier blog posting.