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Order of Agatha Raisin Books
If Agatha Raisin had a twin in real life—sassy, no-nonsense, witty, and endlessly curious—it would be her creator, Marion Chesney, better known by her bestselling pen name M.C. Beaton. The woman behind one of Britain’s most beloved amateur sleuths lived a life just as bold, ironic, and brilliantly unpredictable as the characters she gave the world. From the bustling newsrooms of Glasgow to the quaint and quirky villages of the Cotswolds, Marion Chesney’s literary journey is one for the ages—and it’s filled with more twists than any murder mystery she ever penned.
The Early Years: Ink in Her Veins
Born on June 10, 1936, in Glasgow, Scotland, Marion Gordon (later Chesney) came of age during a time when women were expected to follow quiet, predictable paths. But Marion? She didn’t follow—she forged ahead. Her education began at the Glasgow School of Art, but she left early, driven by a hunger not for paint or canvas, but for stories. It wasn’t long before she made her way into journalism, a field that rewarded sharp observation and sharp wit—two tools she would wield to perfection throughout her life.
Her first job was as a bookseller, a fitting role for a woman destined to fill shelves around the world. Then she moved into the editorial world as a theatre critic, fashion editor, and reporter, most notably for the Scottish Daily Express. She was smart, fearless, and keen-eyed—skills that made her a natural storyteller. And she wasn’t content to simply report the news—she wanted to create worlds.
Life, Love, and Literary Pivot
She married fellow journalist Harry Scott Gibbons, and together they had a son, Charles. While working as a fiction buyer for a major bookstore chain, Marion became increasingly disenchanted with the quality of the books being published—and so, in a very Agatha Raisin move, she decided: “I could write better than this.” And she did.
Marion Chesney's writing career began with historical romance novels, many of which were penned under her own name. Her prolific pen produced over 100 novels, spanning Regency romance, Victorian intrigue, and of course, cosy mysteries. She wrote so much that she needed a fleet of pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Charlotte Ward, Helen Crampton, and the name that would make her famous—M.C. Beaton.
The Birth of Agatha Raisin & Literary Legacy
It wasn’t until the 1990s that Marion created her most iconic character—Agatha Raisin, the irritable, middle-aged PR executive turned amateur sleuth who relocates from London to the deceptively sleepy village of Carsely in the Cotswolds. The first book, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (1992), marked the beginning of what would become an enduring and internationally loved series.
What made Agatha different? She wasn’t young or particularly charming. She smoked, she was rude, and she had a sharp tongue—but readers loved her. Agatha Raisin was every bit the anti-heroine—messy, human, and hilariously relatable. In many ways, she was Marion’s literary alter ego: flawed but fabulous.
But wait, the sleuthing didn’t stop there. M.C. Beaton also created Hamish Macbeth, the laid-back Highland policeman who solves crimes in his own offbeat way. Between both series, Beaton secured her place as one of the most prolific and beloved crime fiction writers in the English language.
A Pen That Never Rested
Even into her eighties, Beaton continued to write at an astonishing pace, often finishing two or more books a year. Her style was breezy, witty, and unpretentious. While critics sometimes dismissed her as “light reading,” readers knew the truth—nobody built a village full of secrets quite like Beaton.
She once joked, “I don’t care if they call it froth. Froth is what makes the champagne bubble.” And indeed, her books fizzed with wit, irony, and a subtle but sharp commentary on village life, vanity, and middle age.
Final Chapter
Marion Chesney, aka M.C. Beaton, passed away on December 30, 2019, at the age of 83. But her legacy is immortal. Millions still read her books, binge the Agatha Raisin TV adaptations, and crave the next mystery in her irresistibly cozy worlds. In a final twist worthy of her own fiction, her son Charles announced that he would work with a ghostwriter to keep her series alive—ensuring that Agatha Raisin will never stop solving crimes or causing trouble.
The Legacy Lives On
Her books are more than just murder mysteries. They are social satires wrapped in quirky characters, comic timing, and just the right amount of suspense. They remind us that even in the quietest village, secrets bubble just beneath the surface—and that the unlikeliest heroines make the best detectives.
So next time you see an Agatha Raisin book on the shelf, just know—it was born from the brilliant, ironic, and unstoppable mind of Marion Chesney. A woman who didn’t just write mysteries—she lived a literary life of delightful rebellion.
And if you're not reading her yet? You might want to watch your back. Agatha Raisin’s got a sharp eye—and a sharper quiche.
Publication Order of Series Books
Publication Order of Agatha Raisin
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| The Quiche of Death | 1992 | Amazon |
| The Vicious Vet | 1993 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener | 1994 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley | 1995 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage | 1996 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist | 1997 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death | 1998 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham | 1999 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden | 1999 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam | 2000 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell | 2001 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came | 2002 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate | 2003 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House | 2003 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance | 2004 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon | 2005 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor | 2006 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye | 2007 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison | 2008 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride | 2009 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body | 2010 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns | 2011 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Hiss and Hers | 2012 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble | 2012 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin and the Blood of an Englishman | 2014 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Dishing the Dirt | 2015 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Pushing up Daisies | 2016 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: The Witches' Tree | 2017 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: The Dead Ringer | 2018 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Beating About the Bush | 2019 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Hot to Trot | 2020 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Down the Hatch | 2021 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Devil’s Delight | 2022 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Devil's Delight | 2022 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Dead on Target | 2023 | Amazon |
| Agatha Raisin: Death of a Green-Eyed Monster | 2023 | Amazon |
| Dead on Target | 2023 | Amazon |
| Killing Time | 2024 | Amazon |
Agatha Raisin: Dead on Target
When Agathas agency investigates a missing person and ends up with a body instead, theyre plunged into a labyrinth of secrets tied to illegal gunrunning, political ambition, and deadly alliances. Agatha is in deeper danger than ever beforeand this time, it might be personal.Cliffhanger Has Agatha fi...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Devil’s Delight
Now partnered with her agencys new recruit, Toni, Agatha investigates a nudist colony after a body is found on its grounds. As always, scandal meets sleuthing, and Agatha must juggle her own insecurities, the odd behavior of the locals, and Tonis increasingly confident crimesolving instincts.Cliffha...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Down the Hatch
While walking along the coast, Agatha finds a dead man with a silver flask still clutched in his hand. Everyone assumes it was a drinking accidenteveryone but Agatha. As she dives into the world of yacht clubs, petty rivalries, and wealthy eccentrics, she suspects the death wasnt alcoholrelated, but...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Hot to Trot
When Agathas exhusband Charles gets engaged to a wealthy horsewoman, Agatha is less than thrilledbut when the bridetobe is murdered at a steeplechase, she smells sabotage. With the elite horseriding world closing ranks and Charles behaving suspiciously, Agatha gallops into a case thats as fastpaced ...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Beating About the Bush
What starts as a routine case for Agathas agencyinvestigating a suspect companyescalates when an employee is found dead and a severed leg is discovered in a bush. As odd clues emerge including an unusually aggressive donkey, Agatha becomes convinced this isnt just an accident. But the more she probe...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: The Dead Ringer
The bell ringers of Thirk Magna are hiding something sinister behind their hymnbooks. When two bodies are discoveredone a woman with a decadesold scandal and another Agathas own romantic rivalthe investigation leads her straight into a centuriesold feud and a convent full of cold secrets.Cliffhanger...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: The Witches' Tree
A dinner party turns sour when the hostesss guest is found hanged from a witches treea spot already steeped in local superstition. As Agatha investigates, the victims life unravels into a story of secrets, scandal, and lies. But then a second body appears, and things go from eerie to downright terri...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Pushing up Daisies
When Lord Bellington, a greedy aristocrat trying to sell off land for housing, is murdered with weed killer, few mourn his loss. But suspicion is rampant. Agatha must infiltrate a world of wealthy heirs, jealous gardeners, and real estate rivals. Theres a fortune at stakeand more than one person wil...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Dishing the Dirt
A therapist moves into Carsely and starts revealing the villages darkest secrets. Unsurprisingly, shes found murdered. But when Agatha discovers she was also spreading lies about her, it gets personal. Determined to reclaim her reputationand uncover the killerAgatha confronts a twisted maze of confe...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Blood of an Englishman
Pantomime season in the village of Winter Parva should be full of laughsbut when a local baker disappears midperformance during a stage trick, things take a deadly turn. His body is later found stuffed into a stage prop. Naturally, Agatha is on the scene, sorting through actors with dramaqueen tende...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: Hiss and Hers
Agatha is smittenagain. This time with the new, dreamy gardener George Marston. But before she can plant the seeds of romance, hes murdered. Everyone seems to have had a crush on George, and everyone had a reason to be jealous. With romantic rivals and poisonous plants in play, Agathas emotions migh...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns
When the local policeman is found roasted on a spit during a village pig roast yes, you read that right, Agatha is plunged into one of her most gruesome cases yet. Who hated the constable enough to turn him into barbecue? With local animosities simmering and no one truly mourning the man, Agatha has...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Busy Body
Christmas rolls around again, and this time Agatha has to deal with a health and safety officer who has made himself thoroughly hated in multiple villages. So its almost a holiday miracle when he turns up murdered. But the killers not done yet. With a trail of victims, bureaucratic pettiness, and sn...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride
James Lacey is engaged but not to Agatha. And when his beautiful bridetobe is murdered on their wedding day, suspicion falls all over the placeincluding on Agatha. Now she must navigate heartbreak, jealousy, and social scandal to find out who wanted the bride deadand why James ever thought marrying ...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison
Whats more English than a village fte? Apparently, murder. Agathas invited to judge a jam competition, but someone spikes the preserves with LSD, sending villagers into psychedelic chaos. When a local woman is later found dead, Agatha must figure out whether the jam was a prankor a cover for murder....
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye
Deck the halls with crime scenes! As Christmas approaches, Agatha is hired by a rich, paranoid matriarch convinced her relatives are out to kill her. When the woman winds up dead, Agatha realizes the family might not just be greedythey might be deadly. With her detective agencys new recruit, young T...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor
James Lacey is back in Agathas orbit why, Agatha, WHY?, and the two set off for a seaside holiday that quickly curdles. Their destination? A dreary coastal resort stuck in the 1970s. Things go from bad to worse when a fellow guest is found murderedwith Agatha once again in the blast zone of suspicio...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon
A local man hires Agatha to spy on his seemingly perfect wife, suspecting infidelity. What she uncovers, however, is much more complicatedand far more dangerous. When the perfect wife ends up dead, Agatha is caught in a case that threatens to reveal dark truths about smalltown perfection.Cliffhanger...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance
Agatha opens her very own detective agencyfinally making her crimesolving hobby a fullblown business. But her first case, a simple bodyguard gig for a young girl, escalates fast when the child becomes a target. With dance classes, dirty secrets, and more suspects than she can keep track of, Agathas ...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Haunted House
Agathas new neighbor, Paul Chatterton, has mystery written all over himand not just because hes a crime writer. When a murder occurs in a house rumored to be haunted, Agatha and Paul team up to investigate. But can she trust this suave new sleuth? And is there really a ghostor something far more fle...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
A dashing new curate arrives in Carsely, charming the pants off the villagersespecially the women. But when hes found murdered in the vicarage, its clear his halo had a few cracks. Agatha, with her new neighbor and sidekick John Armitage, investigates a case where almost everyone had a motive.Cliffh...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
Fresh off heartbreak, Agatha escapes to a tropical holiday, only to return to a corpse in a wedding dress floating in a flooded river. The brides death is quickly chalked up to suicidebut Agatha knows better. As she untangles a twisted web of lies, she must confront the darkest sides of love, loss, ...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Love from Hell
Agathas tumultuous relationship with James Lacey explodes when he disappearsright after an explosive fight. And when his new flame is found murdered, Agatha becomes the top suspect. Now she must clear her name, find James, and untangle a web of passion and betrayal darker than any Cotswold alleyway....
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
Tired of James Lacey and in desperate need of change, Agatha rents a cottage in the fairytale village of Fryfam. But her tranquil retreat is interrupted when bizarre lights dance through her garden at nightand then, a local man is murdered. With village legends about fairies and superstitions runnin...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
After a romantic disaster and a very bad haircut, Agatha retreats to the seaside town of Wyckhadden for a bit of soulsoothing. But even there, murder finds her. When a local witchyes, an actual spellcasting, potionbrewing witchis found dead after giving Agatha a love potion, suspicion brews. Is this...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
Agathas vanity leads her straight to the Evesham hair salonand straight into another murder. Her flamboyant new stylist turns up dead, and its up to Agatha to untangle the mystery hidden beneath the gossip and glamour of the beauty business.Cliffhanger Can Agatha make the cut, or will this case turn...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
A spring water companys plans to tap into the village supply stir local tensionsand when a board member is found floating in the well, the waters get even murkier. Agatha investigates corporate greed, smalltown secrets, and her own stubborn streak.Cliffhanger How far will someone go to protect a sec...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
Agatha follows James to Cyprus in a lastditch effort to win back his affectionbut sun, sand, and suspicious deaths werent on her itinerary. When another tourist is murdered, Agatha is drawn into a puzzle that could put her passportand her lifein jeopardy.Cliffhanger Can Agatha crack the case before ...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
Agatha finally gets James to the altarbut the ceremony screeches to a halt when her exhusband shows up and then turns up dead. Agatha is now the prime suspect in a case that could ruin her reputation and what little progress shes made in love. Its up to her to clear her name and solve the casebefore...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
When a village walking clubs dispute ends in murder, Agatha and James now reluctant partners in crimesolving go undercover. What starts as a leisurely stroll turns into a dangerous trek through lies, local feuds, and one very dangerous footpath. With each clue, Agatha grows closer to uncovering the ...
Buy NowAgatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
Gardening competitions in the Cotswolds can be murderliterally. When a local woman is found buried headfirst in a flower pot, Agatha finds herself tangled in a web of horticultural envy, secrets, and rivalries. Her attempt to impress James with green thumbs turns into a fullfledged investigation. As...
Buy NowThe Vicious Vet
Agathas romantic hopes are dashed when the dashing new vet turns out to be a heartbreakerand a dead one at that. After hes found electrocuted in his surgery, Agatha smells murder. Shes determined to unravel the secrets of this supposedly charming man, even if it means dealing with jealous pet owners...
Buy NowThe Quiche of Death
Meet Agatha Raisin a cutthroat London PR maven who retires early and moves to the quaint village of Carsely, dreaming of a peaceful country life. But rural life is anything but dull when she enters a quiche baking contest andplot twistsomeone dies from her storebought entry. Now Agatha, desperate to...
Buy Now