M C Beaton Agatha raisin: hiss and hers

Agatha has fallen in love - again.

This time it's the local gardener, George Marston, she has her eye on.

But competition for his attention abounds.

With her shameless determination Agatha will do anything to get her man - including footing the bill for a charity ball in town just for the chance to dance with him.

But when George is a no-show Agatha goes looking for him - and finds he has been murdered, having been bitten by a poisonous snake and buried in a compost heap.

Agatha and the rest of her crew plunge into an investigation and discover that George had quite a complicated love life.

And if Agatha now can't have George, at least she can have the satisfaction of confronting those women who have and finding a murderer in the process.

Praise for the Agatha Raisin series: 'M.

Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem' Publishers Weekly 'Clever red herrings and some wicked unfinished business guarantees that the listener will pant for a sequel' The Times (audio review).