Hot to Trot (Agatha Raisin Mystery #31). By M. C. Beaton with R. W. Green, Narrator: Penelope Keith. 2020. Blackstone Audiobooks (ARC audiobook).

This was my introduction to this series and I really couldn’t get past my indifference to Agatha Raisin. Yes, this character may be advertised as cranky, but I was still expecting more of a feisty J. B. Fletcher/Angela Lansbury. Or even an Archie Bunker or George Jefferson, who sure are cranky, but hilarious. Agatha is just plain miserable and I couldn’t really invest more than a superficial interest in the mystery. The narration by Penelope Keith was excellent for the character however.

I struggled with this novel. I just couldn't stay engaged. The author didnt keep my attention. as my review reflects

I love reading anything about Agatha Raisin.  I have read the whole series. With MC Beaton's passing, this book was written by the person MC Beaton chose to continue the series. While, this is a Agatha Raisin book, it does miss some the MC Beaton charm. The atmosphere of the book felt more harsher then previous books. And for some reason, the rear end was made to be a target on several occasions. I listen to the audiobook as I do with all of Agatha Raisin books except for the previous one, and it held my interest. But still, you can tell it wasn't written by MC Beaton. 5 stars. Cause I love the series so much.

Hot to trot by M.C Beaton with R.W. Green.
The Agatha Raisin series. 
Narrated by Penelope Keith.
Mary Brown-field is found hanging.  Agatha says it's murder. The police look at Sir Charles Fraith is accused of the murder. He is innocent so its up to Agatha and her team to find out the truth. 
Wow I loved this audiobook.  Penelope was perfect for this. I loved the story. Some great characters.  Will definitely read more from this series.  5*.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Hot to Trot by M.C. Beaton. It was delightful and easy to follow. The narrator was pleasant. Great story, highly recommend.

This is Number 31 in the Agatha Raisin series, finished by Rod Greene after Beaton's death last year. It was my first Agatha Raisin book, and I found it really enjoyable and very funny, and intend to go back and read more Agatha Raisin books.

Agatha runs a detective agency in a small town north of London. When she hears that her prior lover and still friend, Charles Fraith is about to marry a much younger socialite from a wealthy family, Mary Brown-Field, she has to find out more about her. She joins her former husband and next door neighbor, James, to crash the wedding. They leave when security arrives. After the honeymoon, the newly married couple have a masked ball. Again, Agatha, crashes the ball. When Mary discovers her there, they have an altercation and Mary pushes Agatha into the Champaign fountain. In retaliation, Agatha throws ketchup and mustard at Mary's gown. Charles escorts her down the driveway to catch a cab home, while Mary goes to her room to shower and change. Near the end of the driveway, Charles and Agatha hear a piercing scream from the stables. When they get there, a young couple had discovered Mary hanging from a rafter. After Charles and Agatha cut her down, the police arrive. Soon the police take Charles and Agatha off to prison as Mr. and Mrs. Brown-Field accuse them of the murder. When they get out, Agatha knows she has to solve the murder to keep herself and Charles from being convicted of murder.

It turns out that Mary is a despicable character and has very few friends and lots of enemies. It seems she participated in equestrian activities, and often cheated to win, including trying to poison someone else's horse. As she gains names of new enemies of Mary, she visits several in their homes and stables, including a trip to Bourgogne. Will Agatha be able to determine which enemy was the murderer before the police come back for her?

I thank Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for letting me listen to the Audio book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m such a massive fan of Agatha Raisin and picking up the mantle from the late great MC Beaton would have been no small feat. RW Green has captured the exact essence of all the characters that have made this entertaining series such a Wonderful Success. Agatha is her grumpy, looks obsessed self and her little village family are their charming quirky selves.
I just loved this book and am keen to see more.

M.C. Beaton was introduced to me some years ago. I enjoy reading adventures of individuals. This one was a bit different for me. I was able to see a different side of the writing. I enjoyed the audio because it gave me accents to allow for a better immersion in the story. Agatha Raisin was  a new character to me and in modern times. I enjoyed the journey of the story and its entertaining qualities. She was one of those women who believed that if it needed to be done, why not do it yourself. She was a suspect for a murder she did not commit so decided to investigate herself and find the culprit. I love cozy mysteries with women that can be woman and still be about their business. Fun, light, entertaining.

I put off listening to Hot to Trot until I couldn't bear it any more, because while I adore the Agatha Raisin series, I was leery of R.W. Green's contributions. What a wonderful surprise the book was. It's the same Agatha Raisin, only quite different, if you get what I mean. R.W. Green's foreword is enlightening and beautifully written--even comforting. M.C. Beaton was a genius at what she wrote, and a sly observer of human nature. I think that one reason her series books are wildly popular is because she created delightful characters who were fairly predictable in their reactions to to her main characters' quirky behaviors (definitely looking at Hamish and Agatha!). I never tire of a new Hamish MacBeth or Agatha Raisin book. Beaton gave us so much to treasure, and I'm selfishly grateful she lived such a long, full literary life.

Enter R.W. Green, the mostly subtle magician on the planet. With Hot to Trot, he has breathed fresh, 21st century breezes into Agatha's life, and the dear characters around her. Agatha's still the same flame-tongued fury we all love when it comes to those who cross her, but she's grown up a bit, had her raw emotions and ego soothed and smoothed. She even dares to answer the door to a man in a silly, cozy, laughable onesie--though you can bet she's wearing lipstick. And she has fun with friends who aren't the rector's wife or Roy. The plot is great fun and devious as always, and the bad 'uns are rude, crude, and deliciously naughty. Green has also let former lover and friend, Sir Charles, es-husband James, and the rector's wife, Mrs. Bloxby off their leashes a bit, and given former employee and friend, Roy, a fun subplot. It's all to the good, though I feel like James has gotten a tad too approving and self-effacing with Agatha. Maybe all this nicety will take a nasty reversal in the next book, as it usually does on poor Agatha? I do hope there is a next Agatha Raisin. I will be first in line to read it.
Confession: I am not a big fan of the television series, and think that the show's fans would very much enjoy the books. It's a fine show in and of itself, and the actors are terrific, but it doesn't have the whimsy and atmosphere of the books. It's rather like watching abbreviated stories set in an Agatha Raisin theme park.

Hot to Trot  By M.C Beaton

An Agatha Raisin murder mystery beautifully naratored by Penelope Keith. Penelope reads the book in a way that makes you feel like you are with Agatha as she solves the murder of Lady Mary Brown-Field Fraith. 
Agatha is the kind of Heroine you really can go to bat for. She is witty and cunning. The way that she puts things together is simply amazing. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I never expected who was guilty of the crime. I love how the story is not just about solving the murder but what is happening in Agatha live. Simply said, most read. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Audiobooks for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Agatha Raisin's erstwhile lover Sir Charles weds another, but all is not bliss (of course).  Agatha is on the case with her team of private detectives.  Fans of the series will not be disappointed as this entry is beautifully true to the others in Beaton's stable of Raisin investigations.

I used to really like MC Beaton novels. Now I wonder why. Perhaps it was the narrator, who I couldn’t relate to, but I just felt so outside this story. I think this book might be more my mum’s style than mine

This is a fantastic contribution to the Agatha Raisin series! I really enjoyed the characters and the plot twists. Definitely recommend for M.C. Beaton fans.

Agatha Raisin is the lead detective of her own private investigative firm and when her former lover Charles announces he is getting married to a mysterious bride, Agatha is determined to get to the bottom of the unlikely match.

This was my first Agatha Raisin mystery and I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, this was a fun, lighthearted, cozy mystery with some likeable and outrageous characters.

On the other hand, Agatha herself is not exactly my cup of tea. She tends to be quite rude and has an internal monologue that seems to revolve almost entirely around her clothing and appearance and how it compares and contrasts with other peoples’ clothing and appearance. Not to say that there aren’t people who think and speak this way, but I am not particularly interested in reading about those people. There is also some questionable use of language bordering on the realm of fatphobia and transphobia that didn’t sit well with me. I think the use of a more diverse group of sensitivity readers could have weeded out these missteps before publication.

Lastly, the mystery itself (while generally fun) was not particularly complex and was quite easy to solve once the culprit was introduced.

I’m sure this latest installment of a popular series will be a big hit with those who have enjoyed the series so far, enjoy Agatha’s sassy personality, flaws and all, and don’t mind a mystery that is not challenging to solve in the course of reading. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did a fantastic job and made the listening experience very enjoyable from an auditory perspective. I also quite enjoyed the inclusion of show jumping as a major theme as someone who rode horses for all of my formative years!

I was a little afraid that this book might not be as entertaining as previous books due to the death of M. C. Beaton. Mr. Green has done an excellent job continuing this series. I hope it is not the last. Agatha is still the same feisty character and her friends have not changed either. This is a great addition to the other Agatha Raisin books and I highly recommend continuing!

Thanks to NetGalley & Minotaur for providing a free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read a few of M.C. Beaton's "Hamish MacBeth" mysteries about 20 years ago, and they were innocuous enough: Quick, enjoyable cozy mysteries. I never tried out Agatha Raisin, until now, so I can't speak to whether Ms. Beaton's creation is well-represented here, since the story was finished by another author due to Beaton's death. But I assume that this character's strident manner and excessively snobby attitude is par for the course. 

Penelope Keith does a spectacular job of narrating, her clipped English tones evoking Angela Lansbury on a very stressed out day. Se keeps the characters well-defined, and there is no trouble determining which character is issuing which lines of dialogue under her delivery.

The story is fine: typical upper-crust cozy mystery in the horsey set, with an odd little jaunt to France that I guess is supposed to add a bit of romance and intrigue to the plot, but just leads to it being overcomplicated and unsatisfying in the end. I think the authors perhaps recognized that it was fairly easy to see Whodunnit early on, and needed to toss in a little something extra?

I think that this sort of mystery is not really "for me," as it were, but even so, Agatha Raisin is one of the more judgmental, classist, and weirdly shallow characters I have encountered. She is readily impressed by displays of wealth, seemingly obsessed with clothing and how it looks on her as opposed to her employees, and very easily charmed by handsome men, no matter how they treat her. It feels like Beaton is trying to present a character who is outspoken and "feminist," but Agatha Raisin is way too old fashioned to be any kind of feminist hero (she can't even handle one character's lack of makeup).

It was an OK book, but I won't be going back and reading the back catalogue of this series anytime soon.

Hot to Trot by MC Beaton is the 31th book in the Agatha Raisin series. I had no idea Ms. Beaton passed away, I was saddened by the news.  I love this series, and will miss not getting new books. I have read all the books in this cozy mystery series. I love that Agatha is a strong woman, but can be whiny and has a low self esteem.  She is outspoken and can be dominating, but she seems to be mellowing, at least a little, with age. As with all Agatha Raisin books, it has more twists and turns, that kept me listening until I was done.. It feels like I dropped in for a visit at the Pub, and catching up on all the gossip. I found this book to have  well developed plot and characters.  R. W. Green did an excellent job as narrator. If you love cozy mysteries than I highly recommend this book. To get the most out of this series, I would start book one and read them all in order.  . 
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the 31st addition to the Agatha Raisin series.  It was well narrated and provided a cozy mystery escape for a few hours.  Having not read all of the previous books in the series, I didn't have all of the background info on long-term relationships, but all in all, this was a cute standalone novel.  I would be interested in looking into some of the earlier entries in this series.

I am a fan of all M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin novel's.  This one didn't disappoint.  The narrator does a wonderful job  on bringing the character's to life.  MC Beaton will be missed but hopefully RW Green can keep the Agatha Raisin murder mysteries going for many years to come,

R. W. Green took M. C. Beaton's vision to build this installment of the Agatha Raisin series.  He did a great job and I would not have known it was not written solely by M. C. Beaton.  As always, Penelope Keith was the perfect narrator.  In Hot to Trot, Agatha is up to her usual antics - solving murders, crashing weddings and dreaming of James Lacey. She is determined to stop the marriage of Charles Fraith and ends up investigating the death of his new bride. The ending was perfect .... whether this marks the end of the series or the beginning of a new era with R. W. Green at the helm.