M.C. Beaton

The bossy, vain and irresistible Agatha is back in this latest short story. Agatha is spending Christmas at home in the Cotswolds - and in a fit of goodwill towards all men (and women) she invites six of Carsley's oldest residents to come around and share Christmas lunch with her. Christmas jollity soon turns to disaster as Agatha accidentally kills one of her guests with a gruesome homemade Christmas pudding... so will it be Christmas in the cells for Agatha? Or can she fix an escape out of this particular festive mess!

Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble

Sarah Escorsa

I absolutely love the Agatha Raisin series but the last few instalments have been quite disappointing. Not that there were completely unenjoyable but they somehow lacked the wackiness of the first books.

The Christmas Crumble wasn't too bad as far as the story and characters are concerned. It lacked substance but it is after all a short story. The main problem here was the ending, which felt rushed and didn't make any sense. Ultimately I think Agatha Raisin is too well-developed a character to be featured in a short story and the usual "Agatha Raisin recipe" doesn't work well in so short a form.

Amanda Wells

Short but sweet, and now I want to make Christmas dinner.

Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble

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