In this number 17 of the series, Agatha is taken on a surprise holiday by ex-husband James, suspending her critical judgement after their apparently awful marriage, as she is still obsessed with her romantic idea of him. The biggest surprise to me, having read book 2 previously where she was desperately pursuing him and he was running away except when she played it cool and helped him solve a murder, is that they were actually married at some point between the two books.

The seaside town where James takes her is a big disappointment even to him because it has declined severely in the intervening 40 years. The formerly grand hotel is rundown and with worsening sea erosion, in danger of being swept away, a peril that worsens as time goes on. On their first night, over a dreadful dinner, Agatha gets into a slanging match with a thoroughly unpleasant guest who is murdered that night with Agatha's mislaid scarf, and she has to prove her innocence. Soon Agatha is embroiled in a convoluted web as the dead woman turns out to have been a gold digger who married men for money and was involved with criminals. A number of her family and friends are in the frame for her murder and bodies begin to pile up, with Agatha's own life being endangered more than once. And the local police are inept and resentful of her involvement and that of her staff. To make matters worse, James clears off abroad although he later returns, and Agatha is riven with jealousy over his apparent involvement with an attractive divorced woman who has recently arrived in their village.

As I have observed before, these books have a cartoon like quality. You couldn't be involved in this much whistlestop action, with money launderers, hitmen, armed robbers and more, in anything resembling ordinary fiction. Plus Agatha is woefully inept in her chosen career, discussing details of the case in public places and putting others' lives in danger in the process.

The book is a little better than number 22 which I also finished today, as there is quite a well developed sense of place, with the dingy seaside location, crumbling seawall and lashing spray against the hotel and houses. It has the strongest sense of place I've seen so far in this series, and in fact the place is a stronger character than any of the people who are cardboard characters apart from Agatha who is merely irritating and unlikeable. ( )

Continuano le avventure di Agatha Raisin e dei suoi collaboratori e amici. Una lettura sempre piacevole e rilassante, simpatica e anche divertente. ( )

Agatha and the Bitter Vacation
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (February 2013) of the original St. Martin's Press Minotaur hardcover (September 2006)

Love, Lies and Liquor finds Agatha Raisin going off on vacation with ex-husband James Lacey for what she hopes will be a rekindled relationship. Instead they turn up at Snoth-On-The-Sea, a former resort town that had seen better days in the time of James' youth. Agatha gets into an argument with a loud-mouthed woman at a restaurant and later on the woman is found murdered with Agatha's scarf. As usual, Agatha has to solve the case and clear her own name as well. Meanwhile, the relationship with James goes back downhill and Sir Charles shows up to add to the antics.

I'm continuing to enjoy the fun of these cozies which are somewhat different from the TV-series which I saw first. Sir Charles is much more of a recurring character and occasional love interest than he is in the screen adaptation and his cheap and chintzy manners are played up quite a bit. The narration by regular reader Penelope Keith is always excellent in all voices. Keith is as perfect a voice fit for the audiobooks as Ashley Jensen is to the TV role.

Most (28 of 32) of the Agatha Raisin audiobooks are free on Audible Plus. A continuation series Book 32 Down the Hatch is yet to be released, and is expected to be published in October 2021. Down the Hatch is apparently entirely written by continuation writer R.W. Green whereas #31 Hot to Trot was a collaboration with M.C. Beaton.

Trivia and No Link
Love, Lies and Liquor has not yet been adapted for the currently ongoing Agatha Raisin TV series (2016-). It is possibly in the running to be part of Series 4 which will probably be aired late in 2021 as they have been adapting the books roughly chronologically. ( )

It's always lovely to spend a little time with Agatha and thankfully she just manages to not out do her welcome in these short books that pass easily & quickly. Agatha is back to pining after James this time in the seaside village of Snoth on Sea. These are indeed "cozy crime" books as comfortable as worn slippers. ( )

Agatha begins this tale by doing what every divorcée wants to do: go on vacation with her ex-husband. Oh, wait, maybe that isn’t what every divorcée is hoping for. But then, Agatha Raisin isn’t like most people. What starts as James’ stroll down memory lane, much to Agatha’s dismay, gets decidedly worse when an obnoxious women is found strangled with Agatha’s lost scarf. From then on, the story gets even more contrived and convoluted, as Aggie and her crew try solve the murder. If nothing else, an Agatha Raisin tale is entertaining, but one could only hope that Aggie could make up her mind about James once and for all. ( )