The Agatha Raisin series is a popular collection of light-hearted and humorous mystery novels involving the titular middle-aged detective as she solves murders and mysteries in the cozy English Cotswolds.
Each book presents a new case for the intrepid fictional detective to solve, with Agatha Raisin even setting up her own detective agency some way into the series.
The series is written by M.C. Beaton, which is a pseudonym for Marion Chesney, a Scottish writer who has now sadly passed away.
The Agatha Raisin mysteries have been enormously popular, which is why there are 36 and counting novels in the series alone.
The series has been adapted twice, once as a radio program and then again as a popular television series.
With so many books in the Agatha Raisin series, it can be difficult for new readers to know where to start and know what the best order in which to read them is.
Thankfully, we’ve got all the answers you need! In our handy article below, we’ve got a complete guide to all 36 Agatha Raisin books in order.
About Agatha Raisin
Agatha Raisin is the fictional detective at the heart of M.C. Beaton’s eponymous series.
Agatha is middle-aged, being 53 in the first book, and she’s lived plenty of life before she becomes a detective.
A public-relations agent in London, Agatha becomes frustrated and takes an early retirement by selling her public-relations firm and moving out to the cozy Cotswolds.
It’s a far cry from the stressful city of London, instead filled with dreamy meadows, small villages, and rolling hills.
However, it’s not quite as picturesque and sweet as you might expect, because Agatha becomes a detective and spends her “retirement” solving a variety of murders that happen in the area.
Some other characters, such as the police or acquaintances of Agatha, believe that she solves the crimes through sheer luck or accident, but the important thing is that Agatha always closes the case.
Agatha Raisin Books In Order
When it comes to the Agatha Raisin series, the best way for first-time readers is to enjoy the series in the order in which they were published.
However, you could always deviate slightly by reading them in their chronological order, tracing the story in the order of time that they take place in.
This order is admittedly almost identical to the publishing order, although there are two changes: two short stories, “Christmas Crumble” and “Agatha’s First Case”, are now placed at the very start.
That’s because these short mysteries showcase the earliest days of Angela’s detective career, even though they were written much later in the series.
With that being said, reading these stories first doesn’t add much to the experience, and we’d recommend that you instead read the series in the order of its release – especially since you’ll then be familiar with Agatha Raisin’s character by the time you get to the prequel adventures.
This is the very first Agatha Raisin book to be released, and it introduces readers to the middle-aged detective who would continue to enthrall audiences for 3 decades.
Frustrated with her London PR firm, Agatha Raisin takes early retirement and moves to the small village of Carsley in the Cotswolds.
However, she soon finds herself bored, so decides to enter a baking competition.
In an unexpected twist, the judge dies upon eating her quiche, which turns out to be poisoned. The thing is, though, Agatha can’t bake!
She was cheating and bought the quiche in London. So who killed the judge? And why?
The second mystery for Agatha Raisin, a newly minted freelance detective, begins when a handsome vet accidentally kills themselves when attending to Lord Penlebury’s horse.
Though the case seems open and shut, Agatha and her also-handsome neighbor James Lacey find it suspicious that the vet’s divorced wife doesn’t seem very upset…
When Agatha’s handsome neighbor James Lacey falls for the beautiful Mary Fortune, it leaves Agatha feeling a little unwanted and inferior.
However, when Mary is soon found murdered in a creative, gardening-related way, Agatha takes the opportunity to start digging up dirt on the victim, unearthing village secrets about her.
After some time away Agatha returns to the Cotswolds and soon finds herself engrossed in a new mystery.
A hiker has been found dead in a field, and she had no shortage of enemies in the form of wealthy landowners whose land she insisted on trekking across.
Agatha and James Lacey, her neighbor, and unrequited crush must solve the mystery.
Agatha encounters a body in a Cotswold village’s beloved natural spring, and it turns out to be the Council chairman.
Interestingly, the victim was looking to vote against letting a water company tap into the spring, and this sends Agatha off on a fascinating mystery full of shady water politicians and other dodgy entrepreneurs.
After suffering bald patches in the last book, Agatha flees to coastal Wyckhadden so she can regrow her missing hair, with the help of a hair tonic from a local witch.
Though it works, the witch is soon found murdered, and Agatha finds herself in the company of strange villagers and a romantic police inspector.
A fortune teller from a previous book tells Agatha that true love and destiny await in Norfolk, so the detective moves off to Fryfam village.
However, strange happenings like mysterious lights and little thefts start happening to the villagers as soon as she arrives, with people blaming fairies.
However, when a villager is killed, the suspicion lands on Agatha and her friend Sir Charles Fraith. Agatha rushes to clear their names…
Agatha returns from London to find a new handsome neighbor, Paul. He’s heard about her investigations and offers to help, find a client with a haunted house.
Agatha thinks it’s more than the supernatural, and when the client winds up dead, her suspicions of a deeper mystery are confirmed…
James Lacey has moved back to the Cotswolds, and he’s invited Agatha on holiday. She pictures something romantic, but the place is cold and soon the site of a murder.
Worse still, the victim was strangled with Agatha’s scarf. Agatha must clear her name before it’s too late…
When a wrapped festive spit pig actually turns out to be an unpopular policeman, Agatha feels compelled to investigate, racing the police and rival detectives.
Agatha is in love once more, this time with a gardener named George Marston.
However, when Marston is found dead, bitten by a poisonous snake, and buried in compost, Agatha and her detective crew rush to find out what’s really going on.
An uncaring and wealthy land developer wants to turn the community garden into housing, so it’s no surprise that the villagers don’t mind when the developer ends up dead a few weeks later.
However, Agatha must investigate the case and find out who’s responsible…
When a couple driving home from a dinner party happens upon a body hanging from a tree, the inhabitants of a neighboring village are shocked at who would kill the elderly Margaret Darby.
However, as Agatha investigates, she finds that this is a private village full of secrets.
The Cotswolds village of Thirk Magna is preparing for a visit from a dashing Bishop, but Agatha is more interested in investigating the mysterious disappearance of his ex-fiancée years ago.
However, when bodies start piling up in the village, Agatha finds herself embroiled in even a larger mystery than she ever expected.
After discovering a leg in a hedge, Agatha is employed to investigate a factory for industrial espionage.
However, when a body turns up at the factory, Agatha finds herself thrown into another mystery – and one that is directly putting her life at risk for once.
Pros
Features a funny donkey character!
Cons
This is unfortunately the last Agatha Raisin book fully written by M.C. Beaton
When a body is found at the village fete with an arrow in his chest, the police declare it a tragic accident.
However, Agatha believes that murder is really at play here, a suggestion the Detective Chief surprisingly agrees with. With that being said, the Chief considers Agatha the prime aspect.
To clear her name, Agatha must dive into a world of gangsters and warring families to find the truth.
Pros
The series isn’t losing steam at 36 entries!
Cons
Agatha has had to clear her name plenty of times.
Final Thoughts
M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series is one of the most popular detective fiction series out there, and is still going strong after 30 years of mysteries!
While other detective fiction might be dark and moody, fans love the Agatha Raisin books for their “cozy murder” atmosphere, with the middle-aged female detective undertaking cases in the rolling hills and cute villages of England’s Cotswolds.
Every book has a different mystery, with plenty of new shady suspects for Agatha to bumble through, but the series also has plenty of recurring characters that fans love seeing again and again.
Agatha herself has plenty of different love interests over the series, but whether they’re interested in her is another matter!
Though M.C. Beaton sadly passed away in 2019, the series has been passed onto another writer who manages to capture the style of the Agatha Raisin mysteries perfectly, so the detective series will be able to continue for a while yet.
Noah Burton works as a Librarian full time, and is a blogger in his spare time. His goal is to write compelling recommendations for all of the most popular books he can find, from science fiction to romance.
With a passion for books, a drive to find new reads to get stuck into, and a love for sharing book recommendations with others, Noah can help you find the next novel for your bucket list.
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