I am a long-time fan of M.C. Beaton's "Hamish MacBeth" series, and I always look for these as audiobooks when we travel by car. But I have never been particularly fond of her "Agatha Raisin" series nor was I enthralled with the Acorn TV series based on these books. This is the 30th book in the series and, although I still don't like Agatha, maybe you're not supposed to, and you have to admire her for never taking guff from anyone. Besides, she lives in the Cotswolds, one of my favorite parts of the world. Agatha's detective agency is hired by a battery manufacturing company, ostensibly to find out who started a fire in their research department. What starts out as an industrial espionage investigation quickly reveals that something very fishy is going on at the client's business. When the elderly receptionist, Mrs. Dinwiddy, dies and a pet donkey gets blamed for the death, Agatha is sure it was really murder staged to look like an accident. Teaming up with a former colleague from London who is still in the PR business, they create a campaign to save the donkey as a means to keep the case open. As Agatha's team figures out the shady backgrounds of several company employees, it's starting to look like her client is involved in the drug trade, and Agatha's curiosity could just get her killed.
Kirkus concludes their review by saying, "As usual, Beaton conceals any number of surprises behind her trademark wry humor." And Publishers Weekly offers, "The obnoxious, rude, and outspoken Agatha may not appeal to every reader, but cozy fans with a taste for the silly and the offbeat will be gratified. This long-running series shows no sign of losing steam."
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