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Agatha Raisin fans will be pleased to find she's in fine form in THE WITCHES' TREE, the latest installment of the series by M.C. Beaton. Featuring the signature breakneck speed of the previous novels, with twists in Agatha's love life and murder victims showing up at practically every turn of the page, THE WITCHES' TREE is an easy, entertaining read with a plot just convoluted enough to keep interest high.
Set in a surprisingly less-than-charming Cotswold village and starring the usual cast of quirky village inhabitants, including several recurring favorites as well as Agatha, the novel begins with the discovery of an apparent suicide hanging in what is locally known as the Witches' Tree. The suicide is quickly shown to be murder and is followed by others, including (almost) both James Lacey and Agatha. Agatha dashes from place to place, questioning witnesses, digging into suspects' pasts, angering a coven, and falling in and out of love with any number of men, all the while questioning herself and her involvement with murders, especially considering the number of narrow escapes she has experienced over the course of the series. In the end, though, Agatha solves the mystery and avoids becoming a victim with the help of her friends and employees.
As with the previous novels, neither characters nor plot elements are deeply developed. Events—some quite serious—and people flash by in a rather off-handed manner, but that's part of the fun. Even the ending is swiftly dealt with as Beaton dispenses with complications that might arise from lack of hard evidence. For those unfamiliar with the series, this works fine as a stand-alone or starting place. For fans, you won't find any real surprises other than, possibly, the revelation of the murderer.
§ Meredith Frazier, a writer with a background in English literature, lives in Dallas, Texas
Reviewed by Meredith Frazier, January 2018
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