(15/30) The Deadly Dance
Read (15/30) The Deadly Dance Online
Authors: M. C. Beaton
| (15/30) The Deadly Dance |
| 30 [15] |
| Beaton, M. C. |
| Minotaur Books (2010) |
impulsive, and unlucky in love, the all-too-human Agatha Raisin has
proved to be a surprisingly effective---and endearing---amateur sleuth.
But can Agatha make it as a private investigator? After getting mugged
on vacation, in what she will always think of as the Paris Incident, she
decides to find out.
Agatha soon learns that running her own
detective agency in the Cotswolds is not quite like starring in a
Raymond Chandler movie. Instead of dames in distress with big shoulder
pads, her clients are ladies with missing cats and a man whose son has
run off with his car. Agatha even worries that she might be outclassed
by her sixty-seven-year-old secretary, Emma Comfrey.
But then wealthy
divorcée Catherine Laggat-Brown walks in with their first
"real" case. Mrs. Laggat-Brown's daughter has received a death threat,
and when Agatha thwarts an attack on the girl at a dinner dance, she
recognizes an opportunity to show what Raisin Investigations can do.
Even better, the case gives her a chance to reunite with her long-absent
friend, Sir Charles Fraith. As they scour the Cotswolds in search of
leads, Charles' insights prove invaluable and his charms irresistible,
leading poor Emma to fall madly in love with him.
As ever, Agatha
bumbles her way through the case, trying her friends' patience and
flirting shamelessly with the chief suspect. Will she put her tiny
agency on the map, or has even the outrageous Agatha finally bitten off
more than she can chew?
| (15/30) The Deadly Dance |
| 30 [15] |
| Beaton, M. C. |
| Minotaur Books (2010) |
Bossy, impulsive, and unlucky in love, the all-too-human Agatha Raisin has proved to be a surprisingly effective---and endearing---amateur sleuth. But can Agatha make it as a private investigator? After getting mugged on vacation, in what she will always think of as the Paris Incident, she decides to find out.
Agatha soon learns that running her own detective agency in the Cotswolds is not quite like starring in a Raymond Chandler movie. Instead of dames in distress with big shoulder pads, her clients are ladies with missing cats and a man whose son has run off with his car. Agatha even worries that she might be outclassed by her sixty-seven-year-old secretary, Emma Comfrey.
But then wealthy divorcée Catherine Laggat-Brown walks in with their first "real" case. Mrs. Laggat-Brown's daughter has received a death threat, and when Agatha thwarts an attack on the girl at a dinner dance, she recognizes an opportunity to show what Raisin Investigations can do. Even better, the case gives her a chance to reunite with her long-absent friend, Sir Charles Fraith. As they scour the Cotswolds in search of leads, Charles' insights prove invaluable and his charms irresistible, leading poor Emma to fall madly in love with him.
As ever, Agatha bumbles her way through the case, trying her friends' patience and flirting shamelessly with the chief suspect. Will she put her tiny agency on the map, or has even the outrageous Agatha finally bitten off more than she can chew?
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C
RITICS HAIL
A
GATHA
R
AISIN AND
M. C. B
EATON
!
“Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series just about defines the British cozy.”
—Booklist
“Few things in life are more satisfying than to discover a brand new Agatha Raisin mystery.”
—
The Tampa Tribune-Times
“Beaton has a winner in the irrepressible, romance-hungry Agatha.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“The Raisin series brings the cozy tradition back to life. God bless the Queen!”
—
Tulsa World
T
HE
D
EADLY
D
ANCE
“Its been 40 years since Dame Agatha Christies death, and in that time, reviewers have often bestowed her mantle on new authors. M. C. Beaton is one of those so honored, and she deserves it. When it comes to artfully constructed puzzle plots and charming settings, Beaton serves it up … This is a classic British cozy plot, and a setting done with panache. Maybe M. C. Beaton really is the new ‘Queen of Crime.’”
—
The Globe & Mail
“It is always fun to read an Agatha Raisin mystery, but the latest installment freshens up a delightful series by converting the heroine from amateur sleuth to professional without changing her caustic wit. Agatha remains crude and rude even to clients, but also retains that vulnerability that endears her to readers ”
—Midwest Book Review
“A very satisfying change for the smart woman of mystery with a new cast of colorfully realized characters blending with a few old favorites.”
—
Mystery Lovers Bookshop
“The story was first-rate and moved along with many twists and turns that kept me always guessing … I read this book in one sitting, which I think speaks for itself”
—
I Love a Mystery
“Fans of Agatha Raisin will be absolutely delighted at this latest addition to the series. Ms. Beaton has surpassed herself in
The Deadly Dance.”
—Reviewing the Evidence
A
LSO BY
M. C. B
EATON
Agatha Raisin
Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House
Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
The Skeleton in the Closet
Writing as Marion Chesney
Snobbery with Violence
Hasty Death
Sick of Shadows
THE DEADLY DANCE
M. C. BEATON
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
NOTE:
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed ” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
For Richard Rasdall of Stow-on-the-Wold,
his wife, Lyn, and children, Luke, Samuel, and Bethany,
and with many thanks to Richard for freeing up Agatha’s brain
THE DEADLY DANCE
Copyright © 2004 by M. C. Beaton.
Excerpt from
The Perfect Paragon
© 2005 by M. C. Beaton.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004049036
ISBN: 0-312-98474-X
EAN: 9780312-98474-8
Printed in the United States of America
St. Martin’s Press hardcover edition / November 2004
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / January 2006
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
ONE
THE thing that finally nudged Agatha Raisin into opening her own detective agency was what she always thought of as the Paris Incident.
Made restless by the summer torpor blanketing the village of Carsely in the Cotswolds, Agatha decided to take a week’s holiday in Paris.
She was a rich woman, but like all rich people was occasionally struck by periods of thrift, and so she had booked into a small hotel off Saint Germain des Prés in the Latin Quarter. She had visited Paris before and seen all the sights; this time wanted only to sit in cafés and watch the people go by or take long walks by the Seine.
But Paris, after the first two days, became even hotter than Carsely and her hotel room did not have any air-conditioning. As the heat mounted to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and she tossed and turned on her damp sheets, she discovered that Paris never sleeps. There were two restaurants across the road with outside tables, and, up until one in the morning, the accordion players came around to get money from the diners. Agatha, as she listened to another rendering of “La Vie en Rose,” fantasized about lobbing a hand grenade through the window. Then there was the roar of the traffic and the yells of the tourists who had drunk not too wisely. Later on, as they felt not too well, she could hear moans and retching.
Nonetheless, she decided to see as much of Paris as possible. The Metro was cheap and went all over the place.
On the fourth day of her visit, she went down into the Metro at Maubert-Mutualité. She sat down on a hard plastic seat on the platform and pulled out her subway map. She planned to go to W. H. Smith on the Rue de Rivoli and buy some English books.
