Book Review: Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death by M. C. Beaton (1998)

Synopsis: When a corporation wants to bottle water from a popular local spring, Agatha Raisin, still trying to get her neighbor, James, out of her mind, accepts a freelance job getting the local residents on board. When one of the people opposing the company is found murdered, she tries to focus on her job and stay away from another amateur investigation but changes her mind when James decides to investigate it himself.


Review: I was a little hesitant to check out another Agatha Raisin book because they haven't been as good as I was hoping lately. However, I decided to give it one more try. Unfortunately, this one didn't convince me I shouldn't take a break.

It's not that I don't like M. C. Beaton's books, I am just finding it harder to care about Agatha Raisin with every new book and this book didn't change that.

The mystery itself was OK, though it wasn't overly difficult to figure out who the killer was (there was really only one person who had the most to gain from the murder). If nothing else, Beaton did a decent job at least giving multiple suspects. 

The main problem is the same one I've had with other books from this series. Agatha isn't that great of a detective, solving murders almost completely by luck (James actually solved this long before she did) and honestly isn't even that likable as a person. At minimum, I wish she would grow a backbone rather than let the various men in her life dictate her decisions, especially James, who I've grown bored with as a potential love interest for her.

Final Opinion: It's an OK murder mystery but, after reading it, I am going to take a break from reading books in this series because the weakest part of the story is the protagonist. Maybe I'll try again later.

My Grade: C

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when ...
Read more

Movie Review: Damsel (2024)

Image
Synopsis: Elodie, the oldest daughter of Lord Bayford, reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage with Prince Henry in the far-off land of Aurea because her bride price will provide much-needed relief to the starving residents of her homeland. When they arrive for her wedding, Elodie quickly warms up to the idea after seeing Aurea's beauty and even falling in love with Henry. However, soon after the wedding, she discovers it has all been a farce and she instead is thrown into a cave as a peace offering for the dragon living inside. Who's in it? The movie stars  Millie Bobby Brown ,  Ray Winstone ,  Angela Bassett ,  Robin Wright  and  Nick Robinson Review: My wife and I decided to watch a movie late yesterday evening and after striking out on horror films lately, ended up changing things up a bit with the fantasy adventure, Damsel . My wife thought it looked good from the trailer and I enjoyed Millie Bobby Brown in the Enola Holmes movies, so we had cau...
Read more

Movie Review: Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023)

Image
Synopsis: Despite showing improvement after solving his wife, Trudy's murder, the pandemic caused Adrian Monk to regress, and he now plans on killing himself after Trudy's daughter, Molly, is married. However, a day before the wedding, Molly's fiancé, Griffin is killed while bungee jumping. While a coroner's inquiry determined it was an accident, Molly believes Griffin was killed by Rick Eden, a billionaire and wannabe astronaut Griffin was about to expose for murder. Even though he isn't convinced by Molly's theory, he delays his suicide so he can investigate and bring her closure. Who's in it? The movie stars Tony Shalhoub , Traylor Howard , Ted Levine , James Purefoy and Caitlin McGee. Review: I used to be a huge fan of the television series Monk and still occasionally watch reruns when I can't find anything else on TV. So, when I heard there was going to be a movie based on the series, I was intrigued albeit a bit skeptical. I finally had a chan...
Read more