Monday, August 09, 2010

Agatha flipping Raisin

I was late for church yesterday. Late even by my standards, which are barely raised from the floor. Why? I hear you ask.

Because of stupid Agatha Raisin.

I only had a few chapters to go to finish the book so I had to stay in bed until I'd done so. But what I don't understand is why.

Have you read any Agatha Raisin books? You have plenty to choose from: there are at least 20 in the series. They've been amongst the NY Times bestsellers and, apparently, a radio series starring Penelope Keith has also been made. But they are so badly written!

Agatha herself is thoroughly unlikeable and almost as unbelievable as the stories of murder and mayhem in small Cotswold villages. They're written in a very bland 'this happened and then that happened' way, yet this is probably the fourth one I've read. The best I can say for them is that the plot is good - in a Midsomer Murder style. They're easy to read and it doesn't matter if you lose the thread.

But I really need a break from her now ...

4 comments:

Devonshire Dumpling said...

I much prefer reading the Agatha Bakewell books. She's always such a notorious tart.

Liz Hinds said...

Groan ...

Anonymous said...

"Agatha herself is thoroughly unlikeable" shows it's written well enough to bring this point across.

Liz Hinds said...

She talks and behaves in an unlikeable way; that doesn't mean it's necessarily well-written.