Book Review: Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist by M.C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist is the sixth book in the Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton

Quick Review (read on for full review)

A fast-paced and entertaining cosy mystery, which held my attention to the very last page.  Pure escapism! 4.5 / 5

Summary (from goodreads)

Agatha Raisin leaves her sleepy Cotswolds village of Carsely to pursue love – and finds murder. Spurned at the altar, she follows her fleeing fiance James Lacey to north Cyprus, where, instead of enjoying the honeymoon they’d planned, they witness the murder of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Intrigue and a string of murders surround the unlikely couple, in a plot as scorching a the Cypriot sun!

Favourite Quote

‘People think high tragedy belongs to the Greeks and Shakespeare, but mark my words, Aggie, it’s alive and well in the suburbs of England.’

(From Agatha Raisin and The Terrible Tourist by M.C. Beaton, page 222)

Review

It took me a little while to get into this one, and I feared my love with these books had come to an end.  The reason? When the book opens, I couldn’t quite credit what Agatha was doing. It wasn’t so much unbelievable rather that it made me cringe too much to read it.  However, I put it aside for a few days and then when I picked it up again, I couldn’t put it down!

We get to see a different side to Agatha in The Terrible Tourist as she comes face-to-face with her own self-worth. I liked Charles Fraith who we met before in The Walkers of Dembley (you can find my review here). He’s a bit tight and a bit of a cad but he also says the nicest things to Agatha, things which she needs to hear, so I’ll forgive him.  James is even more awkward than he was before, which is exacerbated by his jealousy.

As for the other British tourists they meet, they are all pretty much unlikeable, but they did not feel out of place in the story. The setting was wonderfully described and I particularly enjoyed the way the geography and historical context of the places they visited was fed through the story – by being read aloud from a tourist guide.

All-in-all, a fun and entertaining read which, once it got going held my attention until the very end. An easy, enjoyable read.  pure escapism.

Rating

4.5 / 5