Hamish Macbeth
cozy mystery
Series · cozy mystery
Agatha Raisin
The Agatha Raisin series by M. C. Beaton has 38 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Quiche of Death (1992).
- Books
- 36 novels + 2 novellas
- First published
- 1992
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: The Quiche of Death (1992) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Quiche of Death
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Quiche of Death - Book 2:
The Vicious Vet
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Vicious Vet - Book 3:
The Potted Gardener
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Potted Gardener - Book 4:
The Walkers of Dembley
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Walkers of Dembley - Book 5:
The Murderous Marriage
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Murderous Marriage - Book 6:
The Terrible Tourist
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Terrible Tourist - Book 7:
The Wellspring of Death
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wellspring of Death - Book 8:
The Wizard of Evesham
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wizard of Evesham - Book 9:
The Witch of Wyckhadden
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Witch of Wyckhadden - Book 10:
The Fairies of Fryfam
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fairies of Fryfam - Book 11:
The Love from Hell
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Love from Hell - Book 12:
The Day the Floods Came
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Day the Floods Came - Book 13:
The Case of the Curious Curate
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Case of the Curious Curate - Book 14:
The Haunted House
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Haunted House - Book 15:
The Deadly Dance
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Deadly Dance - Book 16:
The Perfect Paragon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Perfect Paragon - Book 17:
Love, Lies and Liquor
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Love, Lies and Liquor - Book 18:
Kissing Christmas Goodbye
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Kissing Christmas Goodbye - Book 19:
A Spoonful of Poison
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Spoonful of Poison - Book 20:
There Goes the Bride
Alternative text for cover: Cover of There Goes the Bride - Book 21:
Busy Body
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Busy Body - Book 22:
As the Pig Turns
Alternative text for cover: Cover of As the Pig Turns - Book 23:
Hiss and Hers
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hiss and Hers - Book 24:
Christmas Crumble
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Christmas Crumble - Book 25:
Something Borrowed, Someone Dead
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Something Borrowed, Someone Dead - Book 26:
The Blood of an Englishman
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Blood of an Englishman - Book 27:
Agatha's First Case
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Agatha's First Case - Book 28:
Dishing the Dirt
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dishing the Dirt - Book 29:
Pushing Up Daisies
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pushing Up Daisies - Book 30:
The Witches' Tree
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Witches' Tree - Book 31:
The Dead Ringer
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Dead Ringer - Book 32:
Beating About the Bush
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Beating About the Bush - Book 33:
Hot to Trot
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hot to Trot - Book 34:
Down the Hatch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Down the Hatch - Book 35:
Devil's Delight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Devil's Delight - Book 36:
Dead on Target
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead on Target - Book 37:
Killing Time
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Killing Time - Book 38:
Sugar and Spite
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sugar and Spite
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
Agatha's First Case
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Agatha's First Case - Book 2:
The Quiche of Death
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Quiche of Death - Book 3:
The Vicious Vet
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Vicious Vet - Book 4:
The Potted Gardener
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Potted Gardener - Book 5:
The Walkers of Dembley
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Walkers of Dembley - Book 6:
The Murderous Marriage
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Murderous Marriage - Book 7:
The Terrible Tourist
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Terrible Tourist - Book 8:
The Wellspring of Death
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wellspring of Death - Book 9:
The Wizard of Evesham
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wizard of Evesham - Book 10:
The Witch of Wyckhadden
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Witch of Wyckhadden - Book 11:
The Fairies of Fryfam
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fairies of Fryfam - Book 12:
The Love from Hell
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Love from Hell - Book 13:
The Day the Floods Came
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Day the Floods Came - Book 14:
The Case of the Curious Curate
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Case of the Curious Curate - Book 15:
The Haunted House
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Haunted House - Book 16:
The Deadly Dance
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Deadly Dance - Book 17:
The Perfect Paragon
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Perfect Paragon - Book 18:
Love, Lies and Liquor
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Love, Lies and Liquor - Book 19:
Kissing Christmas Goodbye
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Kissing Christmas Goodbye - Book 20:
A Spoonful of Poison
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Spoonful of Poison - Book 21:
There Goes the Bride
Alternative text for cover: Cover of There Goes the Bride - Book 22:
Busy Body
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Busy Body - Book 23:
As the Pig Turns
Alternative text for cover: Cover of As the Pig Turns - Book 24:
Hiss and Hers
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hiss and Hers - Book 25:
Christmas Crumble
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Christmas Crumble - Book 26:
Something Borrowed, Someone Dead
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Something Borrowed, Someone Dead - Book 27:
The Blood of an Englishman
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Blood of an Englishman - Book 28:
Dishing the Dirt
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dishing the Dirt - Book 29:
Pushing Up Daisies
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pushing Up Daisies - Book 30:
The Witches' Tree
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Witches' Tree - Book 31:
The Dead Ringer
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Dead Ringer - Book 32:
Beating About the Bush
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Beating About the Bush - Book 33:
Hot to Trot
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hot to Trot - Book 34:
Down the Hatch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Down the Hatch - Book 35:
Devil's Delight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Devil's Delight - Book 36:
Dead on Target
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead on Target - Book 37:
Killing Time
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Killing Time - Book 38:
Sugar and Spite
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sugar and Spite
About the Agatha Raisin series
Agatha Raisin is a brash, hard-drinking, sharp-tongued former London PR executive who retires early to the impossibly quaint Cotswolds village of Carsely expecting a peaceful life — and instead finds a body practically on arrival. M. C. Beaton built the series around a heroine who is deliberately unlikeable in the traditional cozy sense: vain, competitive, prone to disastrous crushes (most enduringly on her handsome neighbor James Lacey), and far more comfortable interrogating suspects than making friends. That abrasiveness is the joke and the appeal — Agatha solves crimes as much to prove herself right and be the center of attention as out of any civic-minded impulse, and the village regulars who put up with her (mild-mannered Sir Charles Fraith, her long-suffering employees Toni and Simon) provide the warmth she can't quite generate herself.
The series runs on a steady diet of village fetes, jealous rivalries, and murders dressed up in cozy English trappings, narrated with real bite and comic timing. After M. C. Beaton's death in 2019, author R. W. Green — who had ghostwritten several late Beaton novels — took over the series with Beaton's blessing, continuing it at the same brisk pace. It's the series for readers who want a cozy mystery with an actual edge to its heroine, and it was adapted into the Agatha Raisin TV series starring Ashley Jensen.
How to read this series
Publication order is standard, starting with The Quiche of Death (1992). Agatha's romantic entanglements (especially the on-and-off relationship with James Lacey) and her detective agency staff develop across the series, so reading in sequence pays off, though most individual mysteries can be followed on their own. Agatha's First Case (2015) is a prequel novella set during Agatha's PR career before she moves to Carsely — read it first if you want her origin story in story order, though it was published as book 25½ and works fine read at that point too. Since 2020, the series has been written by R. W. Green, continuing directly from where M. C. Beaton left off with no change in tone or continuity.
Frequently asked questions
How many Agatha Raisin books are there?
38 entries as of Sugar and Spite (2025): 36 numbered novels plus the prequel novella Agatha's First Case and the short story Christmas Crumble. A further book, Dead Before Tea Time, is expected in late 2026.
What order should I read the Agatha Raisin books in?
Publication order, starting with The Quiche of Death. Agatha's relationships and business evolve across the series, though each mystery is largely self-contained.
Who writes Agatha Raisin now?
R. W. Green has written the series since 2020's Hot to Trot, continuing after M. C. Beaton's death in 2019 in the same voice and style Beaton established.
Is Agatha's First Case a prequel?
Yes. This 2015 novella is set during Agatha's London PR career, before The Quiche of Death, and can be read first for story chronology or at its publication-order position.
Is there a new Agatha Raisin book coming?
Dead Before Tea Time is expected in late 2026, though an exact date has not been confirmed as of this writing.
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Reading order last verified .