The Dead Ringer by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
**2.5-stars**
Ugh, guys! This makes me SO SAD!!! I didn’t like this one and I really wanted to…
I read a lot of Agatha Raisin books in high school and during summer break for college. This was a long time ago, certainly before I was a member of Goodreads, so I don’t even recall which ones that I read. From what I remember one of the things I really liked about the series was our protagonist, Agatha Raisin. In my memory, she was snarky, impulsive, man crazy, full of fun and daring. That was not the Agatha I found in this story. This Agatha seemed miserable, desperate in her search for a man (CONSTANTLY) and down-right rude to pretty much everyone around her.
The storyline itself was all over the place in my opinion. We were introduced to quickly to way to many side characters and as the story went on, I found myself confused pretty frequently. Having completed it, I am couldn’t tell you who the killer was or what their motivation was. I have already forgotten.
I have so much respect for M.C. Beaton as an author. She has created some iconic characters with Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth but this just was not a solid story for me. I hope if this series continues on that Agatha gets some of her old fun-loving spark back.
Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate every opportunity I receive to provide my feedback on a story even if it doesn’t go 100% to my tastes.