Reading order · 37 books · 1992 to 2026 · Set in the fictional Carsely, Cotswolds
Agatha Raisin Books in Order
Agatha Raisin is a brash, lonely public relations executive who retires early to a picture-postcard Cotswolds village, where she finds murders to solve and a neighbour to fall for. In later books she runs her own detective agency.
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Series facts
- Books
- 37
- Published
- 1992 to 2026
- First book
- The Quiche of Death
- Latest
- Dead Before Tea Time (2026)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional Carsely, Cotswolds
The reading order
Every Agatha Raisin book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
37 books · Set in the fictional Carsely, Cotswolds
- 1The Quiche of Death1992With Agatha RaisinAgatha Raisin retires to the Cotswolds village of Carsely and, wanting to fit in, enters a shop-bought quiche in the village baking competition.Buy on Amazon
- 2The Vicious Vet1993With Agatha RaisinThe new vet in Carsely, a handsome man who has charmed the village women, dies while treating a horse, and Agatha suspects foul play.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Potted Gardener1994With Agatha RaisinAgatha comes back from holiday to find a new woman in the village has taken over the gardening and her neighbour James Lacey.Buy on Amazon
- 4The Walkers of Dembley1995With Agatha RaisinThe leader of a ramblers’ group, a woman who has made many enemies, is found dead in a field she was trying to open to walkers.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Murderous Marriage1996With Agatha RaisinAgatha’s wedding to James Lacey is interrupted by a man who claims she is already married to him, and when he turns up dead, both Agatha and James are suspects.Buy on Amazon
- 6The Terrible Tourist1997With Agatha RaisinAgatha follows James Lacey to Cyprus, and on holiday she falls in with a group of loud tourists, one of whom is soon murdered.Buy on Amazon
- 7The Wellspring of Death1998With Agatha RaisinA company plans to bottle the water from a spring in a neighbouring village, and the parish councillor who backs it is found dead in the spring.Buy on Amazon
- 8The Wizard of Evesham1999With Agatha RaisinAgatha falls for a charming hairdresser in Evesham, but their romance is cut short when he is poisoned in his salon.Buy on Amazon
- 9The Witch of Wyckhadden1999With Agatha RaisinAgatha, whose hair has fallen out, hides away at a seaside hotel and visits a local witch for a hair tonic.Buy on Amazon
- 10The Fairies of Fryfam2000With Agatha RaisinTold by a fortune teller that her true love lies in Norfolk, Agatha rents a cottage in the village of Fryfam, where strange lights fuel talk of fairies, and then a resident is murdered.Buy on Amazon
- 11The Love from Hell2001With Agatha RaisinAgatha and James are married but living apart, and when James vanishes after a row in the pub, leaving a bloodstain behind, Agatha is the prime suspect.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Day the Floods Came2002With Agatha RaisinAgatha flees to a South Pacific island, where a bride drowns in suspicious circumstances, and back home a young woman in a wedding dress is found in a river.Buy on Amazon
- 13The Case of the Curious Curate2003With Agatha RaisinAgatha is drawn to Carsely’s handsome new curate, until he is found dead in the vicar’s study.Buy on Amazon
- 14The Haunted House2003With Agatha RaisinAgatha and her new neighbour investigate an elderly woman’s claims that her house is haunted.Buy on Amazon
- 15The Deadly Dance2004With Agatha RaisinAgatha opens her own detective agency, and her first big job, protecting a bride from a death threat, ends with a death in the groom’s family.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Perfect Paragon2005With Agatha RaisinAgatha is hired to find out whether a pompous man’s seemingly perfect wife is unfaithful, and stumbles on a missing teenager.Buy on Amazon
- 17Love, Lies and Liquor2006With Agatha RaisinJames invites Agatha on holiday to a run-down seaside resort, where a fellow guest is murdered and Agatha is the chief suspect.Buy on Amazon
- 18Kissing Christmas Goodbye2007With Agatha RaisinAgatha plans a perfect Christmas, but a wealthy widow who hired her to watch for a threat from her family dies after tea.Buy on Amazon
- 19A Spoonful of Poison2008With Agatha RaisinAgatha helps promote a village church fete, and poisoned jam at the tasting stall leads to two deaths.Buy on Amazon
- 20There Goes the Bride2009With Agatha RaisinA bride is shot dead before she can say her vows, and Agatha, who once joked about shooting her, is the prime suspect.Buy on Amazon
- 21Busy Body2010With Agatha RaisinA self-important health and safety officer bans the village’s Christmas traditions, and the ladies of Carsely vow to stop him.Buy on Amazon
- 22As the Pig Turns2011With Agatha RaisinAgatha and her assistant Toni attend a village hog roast, where the pig on the spit turns out to be something far worse.Buy on Amazon
- 23Hiss and Hers2012With Agatha RaisinAgatha sets her sights on the handsome village gardener, but when he fails to turn up at a charity ball, she goes looking for him.Buy on Amazon
- 24Something Borrowed, Someone Dead2013With Agatha RaisinA newcomer is found dead in a secretive village, and a parish councillor hires Agatha to find out why.Buy on Amazon
- 25The Blood of an Englishman2014With Agatha RaisinDuring a village pantomime, the popular baker playing the ogre vanishes through a trapdoor and does not reappear.Buy on Amazon
- 26Dishing the Dirt2015With Agatha RaisinA therapist moves to Carsely and takes up with Agatha’s former husband, James, and when she is found dead, Agatha is under suspicion.Buy on Amazon
- 27Pushing Up Daisies2016With Agatha RaisinA lord plans to build houses on the village’s community garden, and when he is found dead, his son hires Agatha.Buy on Amazon
- 28The Witches’ Tree2017With Agatha RaisinA new vicar and his wife find an elderly woman’s body in a tree outside a Cotswold village, and the village’s secrets begin to multiply.Buy on Amazon
- 29The Dead Ringer2018With Agatha RaisinA retired lawyer clashes with the bell-ringers of a Cotswold village, and soon one of them is found dead.Buy on Amazon
- 30Beating About the Bush2019With Agatha RaisinAgatha finds a leg in a hedge, and takes on a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is what it seems.Buy on Amazon
- 31Hot to Trot2020With Agatha RaisinAgatha gatecrashes the wedding of her friend Sir Charles Fraith to a mysterious socialite, and when the bride is murdered, Agatha is a suspect.Buy on Amazon
- 32Down the Hatch2021With Agatha RaisinOut power-walking, Agatha finds an elderly man’s body in a park, a death the police at first call an accidental poisoning.Buy on Amazon
- 33Devil’s Delight2022With Agatha RaisinOn the way to a friend’s wedding, Agatha and Toni meet a terrified young man, and are drawn into a naturist group and a disappearing body.Buy on Amazon
- 34Dead on Target2023With Agatha RaisinAt a village fete, Agatha finds a local landowner dead with an arrow in his chest, and the police begin to suspect her.Buy on Amazon
- 35Killing Time2024With Agatha RaisinAgatha’s agency investigates a string of burglaries after a friend is killed in a raid on his antiques shop, while she receives death threats of her own.Buy on Amazon
- 36Sugar and Spite2025With Agatha RaisinAn angry stranger threatens three bird watchers at a village talk, and soon one of them is found dead.Buy on Amazon
- 37Dead Before Tea Time2026With Agatha RaisinBuy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Each book is a self-contained comic mystery, but Agatha’s private life, especially with James Lacey and Sir Charles Fraith, develops across the series, so publication order is best.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Agatha Raisin | James Lacey | Bill Wong | Mrs Bloxby | Roy Silver | Sir Charles Fraith | Toni Gilmour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Quiche of Death | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 2 The Vicious Vet | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 3 The Potted Gardener | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 4 The Walkers of Dembley | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 5 The Murderous Marriage | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 6 The Terrible Tourist | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 7 The Wellspring of Death | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 8 The Wizard of Evesham | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 9 The Witch of Wyckhadden | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 10 The Fairies of Fryfam | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 11 The Love from Hell | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 12 The Day the Floods Came | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 13 The Case of the Curious Curate | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 14 The Haunted House | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 15 The Deadly Dance | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 16 The Perfect Paragon | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 17 Love, Lies and Liquor | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 18 Kissing Christmas Goodbye | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 19 A Spoonful of Poison | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 20 There Goes the Bride | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 21 Busy Body | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 22 As the Pig Turns | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 23 Hiss and Hers | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 24 Something Borrowed, Someone Dead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 25 The Blood of an Englishman | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 26 Dishing the Dirt | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 27 Pushing Up Daisies | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 28 The Witches’ Tree | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 29 The Dead Ringer | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 30 Beating About the Bush | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 31 Hot to Trot | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 32 Down the Hatch | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 33 Devil’s Delight | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 34 Dead on Target | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 35 Killing Time | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 36 Sugar and Spite | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 37 Dead Before Tea Time | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Agatha Raisin books
7 characters from M.C. Beaton’s chart, with the number of Agatha Raisin books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Agatha RaisinRetired London PR executive turned amateur detective, later private investigator | 37 | The Quiche of Death 1992 |
| James LaceyAgatha’s neighbour and ex-husband | 37 | The Quiche of Death 1992 |
| Bill WongDetective and Agatha’s friend | 37 | The Quiche of Death 1992 |
| Mrs BloxbyThe vicar’s wife | 37 | The Quiche of Death 1992 |
| Roy SilverAgatha’s former assistant | 37 | The Quiche of Death 1992 |
| Sir Charles FraithBaronet and Agatha’s friend | 35 | The Potted Gardener 1994 |
| Toni GilmourYoung detective at Agatha’s agency | 15 | Hiss and Hers 2012 |