Cover 7

Kissing Christmas Goodbye

Kissing Christmas Goodbye

2007

Ratings11

Average rating3.1

15

This is part of the Agatha Raisin series, and it's number 18. It was included with audible, so I gave it a go because the title was Christmasy. The book itself, however, was not, plus this was my first for the series... 
Agatha Raisin has a detective agency and she is looking to hire someone young to handle some of the littler issues. It weirdly talks about education and smarts, teetering on basically mentioning good/bad breed, which was the first thing that threw me off about the novel's time period. It is probably just an English thing that my American-ness does not pick up on, but the fact that the mystery took place and was surrounding the happenings of an estate was another thing that had me wondering the time period. It reads like Agatha Christie, but is apparently modern. It also uses terms like “cellular phone”, “computer games”, and others that makes it not only feel dated, but as if the author doesn't understand the times either. 
The mystery unfolds when an elderly woman hires Raisin to protect her during a family party, assuming someone in her family wants her dead. Naturally, the detective does zero to protect her, and a murder mystery is started up. 
The story itself takes place in fall(ish?) with vague comments of having a Christmas dinner party. Agatha Raisin eventually does, but it has nothing to do with the novel, and I don't think the name for it makes the littlest sense honestly. 
Personally a 2/5*, could be a bad area to start the series, or maybe just not for me. 

December 14, 2022