Cozy Mystery Book Review

Honest reviews of cozy mysteries & series

Writer

M.C. Beaton Books in Order: Agatha Raisin, Hamish Macbeth and More

Writer at a glance

Series
Hamish Macbeth Mysteries, Agatha Raisin Mysteries
First novel
1985
Novels in total
76

A week at a fly-fishing school in Lochinver gave a Glasgow journalist the idea for a lazy Highland constable. The journalist was Marion Chesney, and the constable became Hamish Macbeth. His first case appeared in 1985 under the name M.C. Beaton, and seven years later Agatha Raisin followed. Below is the full book list for both series, the story of her life and our reviews.

M.C. Beaton Biography: How She Created Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin

Marion Chesney was born in Glasgow in 1936, the daughter of a coal merchant. Her first job was selling fiction at the John Smith & Son bookshop. At nineteen she was a theatre critic in Glasgow, and she later worked as a fashion editor. As a crime reporter for the Scottish Daily Express she covered the city’s razor gangs.

In 1963 she moved to Fleet Street and became chief woman reporter of the Daily Express. In 1969 she married Harry Scott Gibbons, a fellow Express journalist, and they had one son, Charles. The family moved to the United States, where she began writing historical romance novels. Her first, Regency Gold, sold within three days.

She pitched Hamish to her American editor, Hope Dellon, and chose a new name for the mysteries. The family moved to the Cotswolds in 1990. Dellon asked for a detective set there, and Agatha was born in 1992. Her husband died in 2016. She died on 30 December 2019, aged 83, after more than three decades of mysteries and over 21 million copies sold. Her son Charles shared the news.

M.C. Beaton Books in Order: Both Mystery Series

Read each in publication order, because the characters’ love lives and careers move on. Every mystery is solved by the last chapter, though.

Agatha Raisin (37 Novels)

Agatha Raisin sells her Mayfair PR firm and takes early retirement in Carsely, a village in the Cotswolds. She is bossy, lonely and terrible at baking. In the first case she buys a quiche for a village contest, and the judge dies after eating it. Early UK titles begin “Agatha Raisin and the…”; later editions drop the prefix.

  1. The Quiche of Death (1992)
  2. The Vicious Vet (1993)
  3. The Potted Gardener (1994)
  4. The Walkers of Dembley (1995)
  5. The Murderous Marriage (1996)
  6. The Terrible Tourist (1997)
  7. The Wellspring of Death (1998)
  8. The Wizard of Evesham (1999)
  9. The Witch of Wyckhadden (1999)
  10. The Fairies of Fryfam (2000)
  11. The Love from Hell (2001)
  12. The Day the Floods Came (2002)
  13. The Case of the Curious Curate (2003)
  14. The Haunted House (2003)
  15. The Deadly Dance (2004)
  16. The Perfect Paragon (2005)
  17. Love, Lies and Liquor (2006)
  18. Kissing Christmas Goodbye (2007)
  19. A Spoonful of Poison (2008)
  20. There Goes the Bride (2009)
  21. Busy Body (2010)
  22. As the Pig Turns (2011)
  23. Hiss and Hers (2012)
  24. Something Borrowed, Someone Dead (2013)
  25. The Blood of an Englishman (2014)
  26. Dishing the Dirt (2015)
  27. Pushing Up Daisies (2016)
  28. The Witches’ Tree (2017)
  29. The Dead Ringer (2018)
  30. Beating About the Bush (2019)
  31. Hot to Trot (2020)
  32. Down the Hatch (2021)
  33. Devil’s Delight (2022)
  34. Dead on Target (2023)
  35. Killing Time (2024)
  36. Sugar and Spite (2025)
  37. Dead Before Tea Time (2026)

Three short stories, among them Agatha’s First Case (2015), can be read at any point.

Hamish Macbeth (38 Novels)

Hamish is the village constable of Lochdubh, a fictional village in Sutherland, in the Scottish Highlands. Easy-going, some say downright lazy, he keeps sheep and dodges promotion so that he can stay where he is. Yet when murder comes to his corner of the Highlands, Hamish is the one who solves it.

  1. Death of a Gossip (1985)
  2. Death of a Cad (1987)
  3. Death of an Outsider (1988)
  4. Death of a Perfect Wife (1989)
  5. Death of a Hussy (1991)
  6. Death of a Snob (1992)
  7. Death of a Prankster (1992)
  8. Death of a Glutton (1993)
  9. Death of a Travelling Man (1993)
  10. Death of a Charming Man (1994)
  11. Death of a Nag (1995)
  12. Death of a Macho Man (1996)
  13. Death of a Dentist (1997)
  14. Death of a Scriptwriter (1998)
  15. Death of an Addict (1999)
  16. Death of a Dustman (2001)
  17. Death of a Celebrity (2002)
  18. Death of a Village (2003)
  19. Death of a Poison Pen (2004)
  20. Death of a Bore (2005)
  21. Death of a Dreamer (2006)
  22. Death of a Maid (2007)
  23. Death of a Gentle Lady (2008)
  24. Death of a Witch (2009)
  25. Death of a Valentine (2010)
  26. Death of a Chimney Sweep (2011)
  27. Death of a Kingfisher (2012)
  28. Death of Yesterday (2013)
  29. Death of a Policeman (2014)
  30. Death of a Liar (2015)
  31. Death of a Nurse (2016)
  32. Death of a Ghost (2017)
  33. Death of an Honest Man (2018)
  34. Death of a Green-Eyed Monster (2022)
  35. Death of a Traitor (2023)
  36. Death of a Spy (2024)
  37. Death of a Smuggler (2025)
  38. Death of a Groom (2026)

Short works such as A Highland Christmas sit outside the numbered list.

Who Writes Agatha Raisin Now? The Books After Sugar and Spite

Since her death, the series has been written by R.W. Green, a long-time friend and former journalist. Every Agatha novel from Hot to Trot (2020) carries the credit “M.C. Beaton with R.W. Green”, and the Hamish novels have carried it since 2022. The first of them were begun together with her and finished after her passing.

So, will there be a 37th Agatha Raisin book? It is already here. After Sugar and Spite (2025), the latest title is Dead Before Teatime, published in the UK on 1 October 2026. The US edition, Dead Before Tea Time, follows on 10 November 2026. The Red Lion pub in Carsely may close, and a body turns up at a battle re-enactment. No 38th has been announced yet.

The newest Hamish novel is Death of a Groom (February 2026). The next one, Death of a High-Flyer, is due in February 2027.

Does Agatha Raisin Find Love? Does Hamish Marry Priscilla?

Love keeps finding Agatha, but it never stays for long. Her great love is her neighbour, the retired colonel James Lacey, who moves in at the end of book 1. Their romance is on and off: they become a couple, part and stay friends. Sir Charles Fraith is her other on-and-off lover. In Dead Before Tea Time, Charles and James compete for her attention once again.

Hamish does not marry Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. She is his great might-have-been, and they even get engaged in the tenth novel. As of 2026, Hamish is still unmarried.

Other Books by M.C. Beaton: Romance Novels, Pen Names and a Lady Detective

Before the mysteries she wrote 99 historical novels set in the Regency and Edwardian eras. Most appeared as Marion Chesney. Each publisher wanted its own name, so she also wrote as Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward and Sarah Chester. Her best-known sets include The Travelling Matchmaker, The Six Sisters, A House for the Season and The Daughters of Mannerling.

As Marion Chesney she also wrote four Edwardian Murder Mysteries, from Snobbery with Violence (2003) to Our Lady of Pain (2006). The heroine is Lady Rose Summer, who solves crimes with Captain Harry Cathcart. Under her detective–fiction name there is one standalone, The Skeleton in the Closet (2001), a comic mystery about a waiter who inherits a fortune.

TV, Radio and Audiobooks

Both reached the screen. The BBC’s Hamish Macbeth show ran from 1995 to 1997 with Robert Carlyle, a loose adaptation the author did not like. Agatha Raisin began on Sky in 2014 with Ashley Jensen and continued on Acorn TV until 2022.

BBC Radio 4 adapted the Agatha books in 2004, with Penelope Keith as Agatha. She also reads the Agatha audiobooks. The Hamish recordings are read by David Monteath in the UK edition and by Antony Ferguson in the US edition.

Where Should a New Reader Start?

For village gossip, a difficult heroine and plenty of humour, start with The Quiche of Death. For a shorter, quieter read with Highland scenery, start with Death of a Gossip. Both introduce the main cast. In our view her style is quick and funny, and she never lingers on gory detail.

Books by M.C. Beaton Reviewed on This Site

Our two reviews cover the first novel of each. The Death of a Gossip review follows a fishing class and a society gossip who knows too much. The Quiche of Death review explains why a shop-bought quiche gets Agatha into trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions About M.C. Beaton

How many books did M.C. Beaton write?

We count 76 mystery novels under this name: 37 about Agatha, 38 about Hamish and one standalone. Twelve were written with R.W. Green. With the romances under other names, the total is far higher.

Is M.C. Beaton a cozy mystery author?

Her crime fiction fits the genre, with village settings and no graphic violence. She disliked the label, though, and pointed out that nobody calls Agatha Christie cosy.

Was M.C. Beaton a pseudonym?

Yes. M.C. Beaton’s real name was Marion Chesney, and her married name was Marion Gibbons. She picked a new name so that readers would not compare the mysteries with her romances.

Which authors are similar to M.C. Beaton?

For another long cozy series with a strong sense of place, try Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who novels. For English village policing, read Caroline Graham’s Chief Inspector Barnaby novels, the books behind Midsomer Murders. For an American bookshop sleuth, try Carolyn Hart.