Free Agatha Raisin Companion by MC Beaton

way, and often warns her off cases and scolds her
for sticking her nose in. He is a ‘thin, cadaverous man with little sense of humour.
    Carsely Ladies’ Society
    Although the genteel company of the Carsely Ladies’ Society is anathema to the brash businesswoman in Agatha, she agrees to join through respect for Mrs Bloxby. An
old-fashioned group, they never call each other by their first names, preferring instead full titles, such as Mrs Raisin. They meet regularly at the vicarage and organize village fundraising events
and good works, such as taking elderly neighbours for a day out. Agatha is often roped in to run tea stalls and help out at fêtes and, on one memorable occasion, she is duped into driving the
village’s most unsavoury couple, the Boggles, over to Bath for the day. Agatha is at her best and most useful, however, when she is using her PR skills to boost the profits at the events and
gain maximum publicity.
    As well as fundraising, the group often meet with Ladies’ Societies from neighbouring village and towns, particularly in Ancombe. To Agatha’s surprise, the first such outing she
attends, expecting to be fed tea and cake, turns out to be a boozy lunch, followed by a male strip show!
    Mrs Mason is chairwoman of the society when Agatha first joins (chair ‘persons’ do not exist in Carsely because, as Mrs Bloxby points out, once you start
that sort of thing you don’t know where to stop, and things like manholes would become personholes) but Mrs Bloxby is elected chairwoman in Curious Curate.
    Mrs Mason
    The chairwoman of the Society is a large, strident woman with a taste for nylon dresses. When Agatha first moves to Carsely and vows to learn to cook, Mrs Mason gives her a
few lessons in the basics, although Agatha soon resorts to the microwave again. In Walkers of Dembley, Mrs Mason asks Agatha to help her niece, Deborah, discover the real killer of a
murdered rambler and get Sir Charles off the hook.
    Miss Simms
    Secretary of Carsely Ladies’ Society and the village’s only unmarried mother. In her twenties when they first meet, the slim, pretty girl favours tiny
miniskirts and very high heels at all times. She entertains a string of partners, always married and usually in a lucrative business, but gets bored easily. Eventually, she falls for Agatha’s
employee, Patrick, but the union is predictably brief.
    Mrs Davenport
    An incomer to Carsely in Haunted House, Mrs Davenport is anexpat who favours print dresses and hats. She is extremely nosy and
disapproving of Agatha’s relationships. Having presented Paul Chatterton with ‘her best chocolate cake and followed it up with two jars of home-made jam’, she is miffed to
discover that Agatha has been spending time with him and spreads a rumour that they are having an affair. This sparks a feud between the two women.

    Mrs Josephs
    Local librarian who, in Quiche of Death, points Agatha in the direction of the killer by revealing the loan of a book on poisonous plants. Sadly, after her cat is
put down unnecessarily in Vicious Vet, she is also found dead, the victim of a murder herself.
    Mrs Darry
    Nosy, gossiping busybody from London who moves into the village in Wellspring of Death. She has ‘a face like a startled ferret’, and Agatha dislikes her
intensely. Constantly sticking her nose into other people’s business, she delights in spreading gossip about Agatha around the village, but ends up a victim of one of the local murderers.
     

    ‘Mrs Bloxby is such a sensible, calming sort of lady,’ comments Phil in There Goes the Bride. In fact, everybody should have a Mrs Bloxby in their life.
While Agatha seems to attract chaos and turbulence, her placid friend is an oasis of calm and always has exactly the right words for each occasion. Never flustered, or too busy to help, she
dispenses wisdom to all the troubled souls of the parish, along with endless cups of tea and home-made teacakes. In fact, she is considerably better