Something Borrowed, Someone Dead: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
The murder of Gloria French, a widow with an appetite for seduction and a penchant for borrowing but not returning things, sets off a calamitous chain of events in bestseller Beaton's lively 24th Agatha Raisin mystery (after 2012's Hiss and Hers). Keen for a speedy resolution to the case, Jerry Tarrant, head of the parish council in the Cotswolds village of Piddlebury, hires PI Agatha to investigate. In the course of interviewing villagers who might have done in Gloria by giving her a bottle of poisoned elderberry wine, plucky and persistent Agatha annoys someone enough to prompt an attempt on her life. Comic mishaps include an impromptu TV performance in which she tries to cook an omelet. A Miss Marple who enjoys drink, cigarettes, and men, Agatha displays a wit and sharp tongue that will continue to please her many fans. Agent: Barbara Lowenstein, Lowenstein Associates. (Sept.)