Agatha has been unbearably depressed because her erstwhile lover James Lacey is off on a holiday and has totally ignored her, as usual. She knows that James is the proverbial "cold fish" and that he is not good to or for her, but she dreams of what it could be like. When she discovers that Mr. John – the "wizard" of hairdressers – seems to be attracted to her she goes overboard.

But when Mrs. Smiley, her shy, quiet neighbor, looks at Mr. John with horror and fear, Agatha's detective instincts go into full force. Then when she overhears a threat, she decides that Mr. John MUST be a blackmailer.

Enter into the picture Sir Charles Fraith, the "friend" who soured her relationship with James in the first place, to play detective with her. (He has been bored, too, and this is a fun diversion.)

Agatha Raisin is her same unlovable, yet lovable self – snapping at everyone, nasty to most, and yet so willing to please (even when she goes about it in the most awkward way). Why, even the even-tempered vicar, when he sees her coming, always says, "Not that awful woman again!"

Agatha and Charles clumsily sneak around, trying to deduce the mystery of Mr. John, when he suddenly becomes the victim of murder. Now she has a murder to solve! After many bumbles, she does figure it out, but not without danger to herself.

M. C. Beaton is a master at crafting unique characters like Agatha Raisin. Agatha embodies the characteristics of many middle-aged women who feel that life is passing them by. There is no equivalent to Agatha, with her acid tongue, in all of the mystery world. She is quarrelsome, testy, argumentative, lonely, and looking for love, companionship and excitement. Her style of deductive reasoning is hounding a person until they are ready to confess.

Reading a Beaton mystery is always an adventure, nestling the reader into village life in the Cotswolds, into the very mind of the villager. A Beaton mystery is a hoot to read! Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham is one of Beaton's best. Long live Agatha Raisin!

--Kay Black