To impress her neighbor, James Lacey, Agatha Raisin takes up gardening and plans to enter the prestigious Carsely Horticultural Contest, but the competition is soon threatened by sabotage and murder. Agatha (Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, LJ 7/93) returns to quiet Carsely after a lengthy tour to find that a newcomer has supplanted her in the affections of James Lacey, her sleuthing partner and next-door neighbor. This newcomer, a very attractive woman of means, has wriggled her way into the good graces of the villagers. But an upcoming gardening competition reveals hidden animosities and leads to the woman's murder. A simple plot embellished with horticultural manipulations provides the perfect background for the lovelorn Agatha and her unique brand of humor. For series fans and others. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. That intrepid British sleuth-by-default Agatha Raisin returns in a third adventure that's even more cozy, charming, and witty than her previous two. With a name like Agatha Raisin and a tendency toward pugnacious pudginess, Agatha may not seem a likely sort of detective, but when a crime is committed in her adopted village of Carseley, she's first on the scene. Mary Fortune, an attractive divorc‚e newly arrived in Carseley, has raised local eyebrows with her on-again, off-again friendliness, nasty remarks, sharp tongue, and--worst of all--her very public affair with the love of Agatha's life, James Lacey. When several local gardens are destroyed, the villagers believe Mary is involved--until she's found murdered in a particularly nasty manner. The local coppers move too slowly for Agatha's taste, so she dons her detective hat and, through a combination of tenaciousness and curiosity, discovers the identity of the killer. Beaton captures perfectly the tenor of life in a quiet, quaint English village; the Miss Marple-like Raisin is a refreshingly sensible, wonderfully eccentric, thoroughly likable heroine; and the latest Raisin escapade is lively, funny, and entertaining. A must for cozy fans. Emily Melton Beaton, author of the Hamish MacBeth stories, offers another anemic adventure for second-string sleuth Agatha Raisin. Agatha, a retired PR whiz, has opted to live in the tiny Cotswold village of Carsely. Returning to her cats and cottage after some extensive (and lonely) travel, she finds most of the villagers, including her eligible neighbor, James Lacey, enthralled with newcomer Mary Fortune--a beautiful blonde divorc‚e who's also a super organizer, gardener, and cook. Agatha, besieged by her massive insecurities, arranges an elaborate hoax to stun the village with her gardening skills while Mary slowly reveals a side that's not so beguiling. One day she's found murdered in her greenhouse--possibly the climax to a series of acts of vandalism plaguing the village. Agatha and James team up as before (Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, 1993, etc.) to find the culprit, just ahead of police detective Bill Wong. The absurd plot gets no help here from the author's literary style--as blunt and unpolished as her heroine--or from the story's underdeveloped characters. A mildly cozy but totally forgettable excursion--strictly for forgiving fans. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.