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Book Review By Maureen Evans
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam by M.C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin has retreated to a rented cottage in the Norfolk village of Fryfam to lick her wounds after another disappointment in love. She finds the cottage tiresomely old-fashioned with no central heating or microwave, and is exasperated that the village pub does not serve meals. She is bothered by strange dancing lights at the bottom of the garden which disappear when she tries to track them down. Discovering that the locals attribute the lights to fairies only increases her impatience with the place.

Harriet, Amy, Polly and Carrie of the Women's Group bring around cake and wine to welcome her. When Polly guesses she is escaping a failed love affair, prickly Agatha insists that she has only come to Fryfam to write a book - a detective story. Put on the spot, she quickly invents a title - Death at the Manor - and a baronet detective. When they leave she decides to give writing a whirl and embarks on a few chapters.

Over tea at the manor house she meets the nouveau-riche owners Tolly and Lucy. Tolly, wanting to be a country gentleman, has joined the hunt and acquired a coat of arms, but Lucy, knowing they will never fit in, wants to return to London. She also tells Agatha she is worried Tolly is having an affair. A valuable painting is stolen from the manor, and then Tolly is murdered. The police show great interest in Agatha's unfinished novel, which has some uncanny similarities to the crimes. Agatha and her visitor Sir Charles Fraith decide this is a good enough reason to do some investigating of their own.



Plot & Themes
Tone of story - Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Special suspect? - lover
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets:
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Small town? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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