What do You think about The Deadly Dance (2005)?
Deadly DanceMC Beaton (Author)To say that the work of MC Beaton is popular is something of an understatement. Beaton's two most well known characters, Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth have provided her loyal readers with many books, characters, and story lines to enjoy. In Deadly Dance, the lady Sleuth Agatha Raisin is in familiar territory, in her fifteenth book. She has started a new business as a private investigator as you do, and the course of the novel follows her many travails in this new career choice.So, we meet many new characters, from her assistant who is not what she seems, to the many people who come to her seeking to make use of her talents. The novel is fluently written, it has engaging stories and is peopled with believable characterisations, and there would be much for people to discuss in a reading group. The book really is not up my street, but I could appreciate the craft that went into the writing of the story, and I can see why the continuing adventures of Agatha Raisin have found so many fans.
—Ben
Four stars, to me, is almost like five stars....only the absolute best books on the planet get five stars out of me. with that quantifier out of the way, THE DEADLY DANCE was lots of fun. I realized in this installment of the Agatha Raisin series that I like Agatha. If I knew this character in "real life," she would most likely drive me crazy, but I bet I would see the good in her before too long and begin to count her among my friends. With this book, Agatha finaly opens her own detective agency (which is no spoiler since this fact is in every review. In other words, people are actually soliciting her to solve cases for them instead of the other way around. I didn't figure out whodunit until it was time. What I enjoyed most is realizing how much Agatha has grown into her own skin - she actually finds herself caring about others and the friendships she has made....sometimes it is pointed out to her, and then other times, she even recognizes it on her own! The epilogue is typical Agatha, and it had me laughing out loud. Oh, I also realized in this installment that even though I sure wouldn't want someone like Roy in my life, I sure would miss it if he didn't pop in over a weekend from London to throw a monkey wrench in Agatha's latest shenanigans!
—Sue
In this Agatha Raisin mystery, Agatha finds herself busy running her detective agency and ends up hiring her new neighbor, (living in her former ex's cottage next door) as her secretary. She gets her first significant case when a Mrs. Laggat-Brown asks them to find out who threatened her daughter. When Agatha and Emma foil a shooting at the engagement party she feels that her agency is more than able to handle cases like this. While working the case, Emma develops a massive crush on Sir Charles Fraith, a long term friend of Agatha's. She becomes insanely jellous of Agatha. As Agatha and Charles and Roy Silver work on the case, Agatha finds herself in danger. This story had lots of twists and turns making it exciting to read. Agatha never fails to please.
—Sallee
