Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

CHEERS FOR AGATHA RAISIN!

"Anyone interested in ... intelligent, amusing reading will want to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Agatha Raisin."

--Atlanta Journal Constitution

"The Raisin series brings the cozy tradition back to life. God bless the Queen!"

--Tulsa World

"[Beaton's] imperfect heroine is an absolute gem!"

--Publishers Weekly

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE WIZARD OF EVESHAM

"Beaton masterfully describes the annoyances and ego deflations suffered by the middle-aged Agatha, as well as the summertime blues caused by unusually hot weather."

--Publishers Weekly

"Another delightful cozy featuring Cotswolds surroundings, a bit of history, and buoyant characters."

--Library Journal

"[A] smartly updated Miss Marple ... Beaton's books about this tough little Raisin cookie are well-made and smoothly oiled entertainment machines ... Trust Agatha to solve it all in style."

--Amazon.com

"The return of Agatha Raisin, amateur sleuth extraordinaire, is always a treat and M. C. Beaton does not miss a beat... Another fabulous English cozy by the great M. C. Beaton."

--Harriet Klausner, Painted Rock Reviews

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE WELLSPRING OF DEATH

"Tourists are advised to watch their back in the bucolic villages where M. C. Beaton sets her sly British mysteries ... Outsiders always spell trouble for the inbred societies Beaton observes with such cynical humor."

--The New York Times Book Review

"Outspoken, chain-smoking, aggravating Agatha roars back for a[n] ... outing that will keep fans cheering. Must be something in the water."

--The Poisoned Pen

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE TERRIBLE TOURIST

"Another refreshing and delightful series addition."

--Library Journal

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE MURDEROUS MARRIAGE

"Beaton gleefully creates one excruciating situation after another for her indomitable heroine to endure."

--Publishers Weekly

ST. MARTIN'S PAPERBACKS BY M. C. BEATON

Agatha Raisin

The Perfect Paragon: An Agatha Raisin Mystery

The Deadly Dance: An Agatha Raisin Mystery

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House

Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came

Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell

Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam

Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

Love, Lies, and Liquor

The Skeleton in the Closet

Hamish Macbeth

Death of a Bore

Death of a Poison Pen

Death of a Village

Death of a Celebrity

A Highland Christmas

Writing as Marion Chesney

Our Lady of Pain

Sick of Shadows

Hasty Death

Snobbery with Violence

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE WITCH OF WYCKHADDEN

M. C. BEATON

Copyright (c) 1999 by M. C. Beaton.

For Gladwen Williams of Claverdon

With love

ONE

THERE is nothing more depressing for a middle-aged lovelorn woman with bald patches on her head than to find herself in an English seaside resort out of season. Wind ripped along the promenade, sending torn posters advertising summer jollities flapping, and huge waves sent spray high into the air.

Agatha had lost her hair when a vengeful hairdresser had applied depilatory to it rather than shampoo. It had grown back in tufts but leaving distressingly bare patches of scalp. Not wishing the love of her life, James Lacey, to return from his travels and find her in such a mess, Agatha had fled from Carsely to this seaside resort of Wyckhadden to wait for her hair to grow.