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Agatha Raisin (MC Beaton) Books in Order

Part ofMC Beaton Books in Order

Explore the Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton, books in order with quick summaries, series background, and a simple guide to where to start.

Last updated: December 26, 2025

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Publication Order

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35 books

1

Devil's Delight

by MC Beaton

2022

On the way to a friend’s wedding, Agatha and her assistant are flagged down by a terrified man claiming he has seen a dead body. The body vanishes, and a case linked to a local ice cream business turns dangerous.

2

Down the Hatch

by MC Beaton

2021

Agatha investigates a death linked to a local bowls club, where friendly games hide serious grudges. As talk turns to poisoned drink and long-held resentments, she races to find the culprit before more than one person goes down.

3

Hot to Trot

by MC Beaton

2020

A society wedding and an equestrian world pull Agatha into unfamiliar territory. When someone connected to the horses is murdered, she follows the money, the rivalries, and the scandal riding just under the surface.

4

Beating about the Bush

by MC Beaton

2019

Agatha is hired on a case tied to a local factory, where tension is already high and secrets travel fast. A murder and some very public embarrassment leave her scrambling to identify the culprit before she becomes a target.

5

The Dead Ringer

by MC Beaton

2018

Agatha is drawn to a country church with a celebrated bell-ringing team and a charming cleric. When a ringer is murdered, she unpicks rivalries and hidden affairs and learns how far people will go for influence.

6

The Witches' Tree

by MC Beaton

2017

An elderly woman is found hanging from a tree with a grim local reputation. Agatha investigates a village full of whispers about witches and curses, but the real danger comes from human secrets, not folklore.

7

Pushing up Daisies

by MC Beaton

2016

A case rooted in gardens and grief pulls Agatha into a community that does not welcome questions. When someone is killed, she has to work out which kindness is real, which is performance, and what has been buried for years.

8

Dishing the Dirt

by MC Beaton

2015

Rumor and reputation are the weapons in this case, and Agatha can read both. When dirty tricks turn into murder, she follows the trail of secrets people are desperate to keep off the record.

9

Agatha's First Case

by MC Beaton

2015

Before Carsely, Agatha is a young woman in the rough-and-tumble world of public relations. When a client is accused of murdering his wife, she cannot resist investigating, and discovers she has a detective’s nerve.

10

The Blood of an Englishman

by MC Beaton

2014

A new case drags Agatha into a tangle of old family secrets and local legends. When violence erupts, she has to work out which stories are performance and which hide a motive someone will kill to protect.

11

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead

by MC Beaton

2013

Borrowed things have a way of coming back in the worst possible condition. When a dispute over possessions and promises ends in murder, Agatha works out who had the most to lose and who decided theft was not enough.

12

Hiss and Hers

by MC Beaton

2012

Agatha stumbles into rivalries that are petty on the surface and vicious underneath. When a death shocks the community, she tracks the grudges, the jealousies, and the one person who was close enough to strike.

13

Christmas Crumble

by MC Beaton

2012

Agatha expects the holidays to be full of tradition and treats, until a death turns the season sour. She investigates through carols, parties, and long-simmering grudges that have nothing to do with goodwill.

14

As The Pig Turns

by MC Beaton

2011

A rustic celebration brings pigs, prizes, and more gossip than the village can handle. Then someone turns up dead, and Agatha follows the muddy trail through farm politics, petty sabotage, and stubborn greed.

15

Busy Body

by MC Beaton

2010

A craze for self-improvement sweeps through the village, along with plenty of smooth talk and sharp elbows. When a murder follows, Agatha has to spot the lie beneath the smile and the motive behind the makeover.

16

There Goes the Bride

by MC Beaton

2009

Wedding plans bring out the worst in a tight-knit community, and then things turn deadly. Agatha sorts through family secrets, last-minute romances, and financial pressure to find who wanted the bride’s future destroyed.

17

A Spoonful of Poison

by MC Beaton

2008

A case of poisoning turns everyday hospitality into a minefield of suspicion. Agatha follows the trail from polite invitations to private grudges, learning how easily kindness can be used as camouflage.

18

Kissing Christmas Goodbye

by MC Beaton

2007

Agatha plans for a quieter Christmas, but the season brings its own chaos and grudges. A case tied to holiday gatherings pulls her back into detective work when goodwill proves to be in short supply.

19

Love, Lies and Liquor

by MC Beaton

2006

Agatha tags along on a seaside trip hoping for romance, but a guest is murdered and suspicion falls on her. With few allies and plenty of enemies, she has to piece together what happened before she takes the blame.

20

The Perfect Paragon

by MC Beaton

2005

Carsely gains a local paragon who makes everyone else look bad, and resentment builds fast. When the perfect person ends up dead, Agatha digs into envy and hypocrisy and discovers how dangerous perfection can be.

21

The Deadly Dance

by MC Beaton

2004

Agatha is swept into parties and social rivalries where everyone seems to be pairing up and plotting. When the dancing stops with a murder, she works through flirtations and grudges to find the person who took the evening too far.

22

The Haunted House

by MC Beaton

2003

A grand house and its ghost stories tempt Agatha, then deliver the real kind of trouble. After a death rattles the community, she tracks who is using fear as cover and who is willing to kill to keep a secret.

23

The Case of the Curious Curate

by MC Beaton

2003

A new curate shakes up village life and stirs up fresh scandals. When suspicion turns into murder, Agatha navigates church politics and local gossip to figure out who wanted the newcomer silenced.

24

The Day the Floods Came

by MC Beaton

2002

Flooding throws the Cotswolds into chaos, and the disruption uncovers more than damaged property. When a death follows the storms, Agatha races through muddy clues and muddier motives to find the killer.

25

The Love from Hell

by MC Beaton

2001

Agatha hopes romance will finally behave itself, but new entanglements quickly turn sour. A murder with relationships at its heart sends her digging into jealousy, manipulation, and the stories people tell to get what they want.

26

The Fairies of Fryfam

by MC Beaton

2000

In a village where folklore is used to explain every mishap, Agatha senses something darker at work. After a death shocks the locals, she follows the evidence and exposes the secrets people have been blaming on fairies.

27

The Wizard of Evesham

by MC Beaton

1999

A trip to Evesham should be a simple distraction, but Agatha runs into a self-styled wizard and a string of unsettling events. When a murder follows, she has to separate showmanship from real danger.

28

The Witch of Wyckhadden

by MC Beaton

1999

Agatha is drawn to a community buzzing with superstition and rumors of witchcraft. When fear turns violent and a body turns up, she hunts for the very human motive hiding behind the spooky talk.

29

The Wellspring of Death

by MC Beaton

1998

A fashionable wellspring becomes the latest local obsession, promising health and renewal to anyone who pays. When someone is found dead, Agatha looks past the glossy surface and uncovers the grudges and scams underneath.

30

The Terrible Tourist

by MC Beaton

1997

Agatha tries to take a break from village life, but trouble follows her on holiday. When a tourist dies under suspicious circumstances, she has to trust her instincts far from home and figure out who is lying.

31

The Murderous Marriage

by MC Beaton

1996

A wedding brings fresh drama to the Cotswolds, and then the celebration turns deadly. Agatha sifts through family secrets, money worries, and tangled relationships to work out who wanted the marriage stopped for good.

32

The Walkers of Dembley

by MC Beaton

1995

Agatha joins a hiking club for exercise and a bit of romance, then a rambler is found dead. Feuds over rights-of-way and local power turn nasty, and Agatha goes undercover to follow the trail of resentment.

33

The Potted Gardener

by MC Beaton

1994

Back in Carsely, Agatha is pulled into garden-club rivalries where jealousy is practically a sport. When vandalism escalates into murder, she has to untangle romance, resentment, and hidden pasts before the killer strikes again.

34

The Vicious Vet

by MC Beaton

1993

Agatha is intrigued by the village vet until his nasty reputation catches up with him and he is found dead. With gossip flying and suspects everywhere, she digs into local secrets and learns how dangerous small-town grudges can be.

35

The Quiche of Death

by MC Beaton

1992

Retired London PR woman Agatha Raisin moves to the Cotswolds and tries to fit in with a village quiche contest. When the judge dies after eating her entry, she becomes a suspect and starts sleuthing to clear her name.

Series background & context

The Agatha Raisin books follow a very specific kind of reinvention: a successful London public relations executive retires to the Cotswolds because she wants a quieter, prettier life. Instead, she lands in Carsely, where everyone has a history, everyone has an opinion, and newcomers are treated like a temporary nuisance.

In The Quiche of Death, Agatha tries to buy her way into village goodwill and ends up tangled in a murder investigation. That first case sets the rules of the series: the crimes may be dramatic, but they grow out of ordinary jealousies and small-town politics, and Agatha solves them by refusing to accept the story she is handed.

The setting is part of the appeal. Carsely and the surrounding villages run on gossip, committees, and social pecking orders, so every case comes with a ready-made list of suspects who are already feuding over something else. A flower show, a wedding, a holiday trip, even a quiet lane outside town can become the scene of a new mystery.

Agatha’s mouth often gets her into trouble.

What keeps readers coming back is the mix of comfort and chaos. You get a fresh puzzle each book, but you also watch Agatha build a life: friendships that deepen, grudges that linger, and the on-and-off romantic complications that never quite stay resolved. Her old PR world does not disappear either, especially when her former colleague Roy Silver pops up, and her complicated feelings for neighbor James Lacey keep tugging her in unhelpful directions.

As the series continues, she moves from accidental detective to someone who actively takes cases and runs her own agency. That means more contact with the police, more chances to step on toes, and more moments where Agatha has to decide whether she is helping or just satisfying her own curiosity. Later books lean into the idea that she is building a working life again, only this time it involves interviews, surveillance, and chasing down leads rather than press releases.

The tone stays brisk and funny, with sharp observations about class, manners, and the way people weaponize politeness. Even when Agatha travels, to seaside breaks, country hotels, or back toward London, the stories keep circling the same question: what do people hide behind a respectable front, and what will they do to protect it? If you want the clearest entry point, start at the beginning and follow along. The television adaptation captures the general setup, but the books have their own pace and plenty of extra detours.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 35 Agatha Raisin (MC Beaton) Books in Order (2026)