Rest in Peace – Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton

This is the first in a series that introduces a character beloved by many, Agatha Raisin, a 50-ish London career woman who sells her successful PR agency and purchases a cottage in the picturesque Cotswolds, near Stratford-on-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare. 

I liked Agatha quite a bit, relating to her as a fellow career-minded woman who worked in a similar profession. But, and this is a big but: Unfortunately, the plot and cliché-ridden descriptions of village life kind of left me cold. If I hadn't been reading this book for my online mystery book club, I would have returned it to the library. Having spent a fair amount time in England with relatives, and having visited the Cotswolds, Stratford, and many other areas of the Midlands, especially around the time this book was published, 1992, I was not particularly taken by this overly cozy novel. It was just too much "cute" for me.

My library copy was a First Edition, which must have been rushed out, because it was chock-full of egregious editing errors. On several pages, in multiple places, Agatha somehow became Angela, and there were similar goofs. So distracting!

PS: During my mystery book club discussion of this book, which had a mixed reaction, other members shared that their later editions were just as sloppy – the errors had not been fixed. Really? Wow...