Oh my goodness! What a romp! Thank you Ms. Beaton, for an Agatha Raisin that rings true, and is so different than the TV series (even though I like it VERY much, too). Clever writing, dry humor, and endearingly flawed people that I want to read more and more about! ( )

Das zweite Buch "Der tote Tierarzt" habe ich jetzt gelesen. Im Dorf Carsely gibt es einen neuen Tierarzt, der bei den Frauen gut ankommt. Zwar mag er scheinbar Katzen gar nicht so gern, aber mit Pferden kann er gut umgehen. Dennoch stirbt er an einer Überdosis Pferdebetäubungsmittel, was zunächst wie ein Unfall wirkt. Aber Agatha und James kommen der Sache natürlich auf die Spur. In diesem Buch tat mir Agatha ein wenig Leid. Überall eckt sie an und James kommt auch nicht in die Spur. Natürlich gab es tolle Szenen, etwa die mit dem Waschbecken, genügend zum Schmunzeln war dabei. Aber ich würde Agatha wünschen, mal ein wenig Frieden und Zuneigung zu finden.
Als Zusatz ist im Buch eine Geschichte "Agatha Raisins erster Fall", in der Agatha als junge Frau ihren ersten Mord aufklärt. Die Geschichte gefällt mir und auch hier zeigt sich, dass Agatha zwar kämpfen kann, aber auch immer kämpfen muss. ( )

A quick read and with some mildly amusing moments. Agatha is what I think these days is referred to as a cougar, a 50s woman in pursuit of men, or at least one man in particular, her neighbour James. The story opens with her returning from a miserable holiday where she anticipated meeting up with him but didn't because he promptly changed his destination when he heard she was going there too. Agatha subsequently tries to play it cool and make him think he imagined her obsessive interest, though she occasionally forgets.

As part of this tactic, she nearly gets involved with the newly arrived vet but chickens out about staying there for the night and is subsequently relieved when, after he dies in a seeming accident, it comes out that he was a conman preying on a lot of local women. She sets out to prove he was murdered, not so much because she wants justice to prevail, but mostly because James is keen to solve the mystery and it gives her an excuse to spend time with him, so contrary to back cover blurb, she is nothing at all like Miss Marple.

The story is set in a village and there is some sense of the community and nosiness associated with such, but there is no evocation of the Cotswolds where it supposedly is set. The constant head hopping and omniscient author style is also old fashioned in contrast with the close third person narrative of most books these days, possibly as it was written in the 1990s. ( )

This is an Agatha Raisin novel from early in the series that I seem to have missed back in the day. I have found the older ones to be more fun. Agatha's cats have a small part in this one. ( )

Molto carino, migliore del precedente.
Un giallo leggero che occhieggia soprattutto alla vita dei piccoli centri e dove le vicende personali diventano facilmente le vicende di tutti. I vari personaggi cominciano a delinearsi chiaramente e le storie, seppure diverse, seguono un ritmo e uno schema abbastanza cadenzato che le rende simili nello svolgimento.
Una lettura, comunque, sempre piacevole e rilassante. ( )