Agatha Raisin: Dead on Target 

Krystyna Green, Publishing Director of Constable, writes:

When Marion Chesney, aka M.C. Beaton, was asked why she started the Agatha Raisin series, she always said she wanted to write books which entertained people for a few hours during a rainy day or long winter’s evening… and 34 books on, the series is still doing that, although of course Marion is sadly no longer with us. I was her publisher for the best part of 25 years and so it’s only right and fitting that the author to take on the mantle of responsibility for continuing the series is my husband, R.W. Green, who over the course of a quarter of a century, got to know Marion very well and they became good friends – both being Scottish, leaving school early and becoming Fleet Street journalists. They had a lot in common and latterly Marion loved working with Rod and was happy for him to continue with Agatha’s sleuthing adventures.

And so we have Agatha number 34 – Dead on Target – which features all the Cotswold staples you would hope for: a village fete, a body in the woods, an adversarial chief inspector, mortal danger for Agatha… and a clever yellow Labrador who discovers the corpse who just so happens to be named the same as ours. The result is, I hope you agree, definitely a good few hours’-worth of entertainment, just as Marion would have expected!