Agatha Raisin and the The Witches' Tree

Agatha Raisin and the The Witches' Tree by M. C. Beaton              Audio Book:6 hours, 37 mins          Hardback Book: 288 pages                

Hilarious!   This is my first introduction to the character, Agatha Raisin, she is a warrior.    She cusses like a sailor and is always in someone’s face, the gal is fearless.    No Jessica Fletcher here.    When the Vicar and his wife while driving home one night find a dead body hanging from the tree known for centuries as the Witches Tree because of lore of witches in the area, through circumstances and connections Agatha Raisin is hired to do an investigation of the murder which she is delighted by because all she has been working on for some time are divorces, lost pets, nothing too exciting.    In the course of her investigation she discovers a sorry group of older woman who are practicing wiccans complete with dancing naked under the moon out in the woods.   When Agatha talks about how horrible it was to stumble upon them dancing in the moonlight and how awful to see all their loose bulging flesh and dangly bits, I laughed out loud.    Age and gravity are unkind and the mental image –well…   The story goes between humorous and serious, mostly humorous as Agatha pokes around researching for clues.   Good book.  I don’t want to give too much away, but, if you like mysteries, M.C. Beaton is one of the best writers of the genre.   I am a huge fan of her other series with a male policeman – Hamish Macbeth as the main character and lead investigator.    This is an enjoyable read and Agatha Raisin a heck of a gal.   All of the characters are so amusing you will find yourself cracking up, like when the Vicar’s wife climbs up in the tree to check to see if the elderly lady swinging there might still be alive – the dialogue there will let you know right away you are in for a fun read, if murder mysteries can be thought so.   I am going to definetly read more of Ms. Raisin’s adventures since I see this is the 29^th book in this series.   No wonder she doesn’t take any guff off of anyone.  Good job, M.C. Beaton, as always.