Number 22 in the series and the second one I have read, having borrowed some from the library including this one.

Things have moved on a lot from book 2 where Agatha was in desperate pursuit of James as he is now apparently her ex husband and she runs a detective agency. The initial crime in this story is very grisly though the cartoonish nature of this series avoids it developing beyond the cosy crime genre. There is a lot about the personal life of Toni, the young woman she employs, since Agatha discouraged an ex employee, Simon, from getting serious with her, and he joined the army, Agatha feeling guilty and Toni feeling resentful.

The style is bare, sometimes to the point of reading like a synopsis, and there is no sense of place, either of the usual setting or of Las Vegas when Toni and Agatha visit. Continual head hopping is again a feature, and the constant use of "howled" to describe how people speak is very wearing.

There is a lot of running around over a protracted period, with the agency employees being threatened at various times by the unknown perpetrators of the original crime. I actually thought this one was worse than book 2 which rated 2 stars. ( )

read 2023

3.5 * These are quick, fun enjoyable reads ( )

silly fun ( )

Agatha at the Pig Roast
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (October 2011) of the original St. Martin's Press Minotaur hardcover (October 2011)

As the Pig Turns finds Agatha and the gang attending a winter festival in the Cotswald village of Winter Parva where Agatha spots something amiss in the celebratory hog roast. They are soon on the hunt for the identity of a headless murdered man. Aside from the rather grotesque murder method and aftermath, this a typical cozy in the series, with Agatha continuing to meddle in the private life of her protegee Toni Gilmour.

I'm continuing to enjoy the fun of these cozies which are somewhat different from the TV-series which I saw first. Agatha is definitely more cranky in the books, but it is her human faults that make us accept her. Young detective Toni Gilmour continues here in this book #21 (in the TV series she was brought in at the beginning of Season 3, but as the niece of the housekeeper Simpson). Sir Charles is much more of a recurring character and occasional love interest than he is in the screen adaptation and his cheap and chintzy manners are played up quite a bit.

The narration of this book #22 continues the return of the series regular reader Penelope Keith after Wanda MacCaddon narrated books #18 & #19. MacCaddon was fine in the role but gave a much more restrained performance than Keith does in the other voices e.g. the exaggerated vocal mannerisms of Roy and Sir Charles.

Most (28 of 32) of the Agatha Raisin audiobooks are free on Audible Plus. A continuation series Book 32 Down the Hatch is yet to be released, and is expected to be published in October 2021. Down the Hatch is apparently entirely written by continuation writer R.W. Green whereas #31 Hot to Trot was a collaboration with M.C. Beaton.

Trivia and No Link
As the Pig Turns was adapted for Series 3 Episodes 7 & 8 of the currently ongoing Agatha Raisin TV series (2016-). There does not appear to be a trailer for it. ( )