Christmas Crumble by: M.C Beaton

Title: Christmas Crumble
Author: M.C. Beaton
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Pages: 32
Format: ebook
Source: Purchase

Description:

Christmas tale that’s holly, jolly—and deadly, by golly… 

At home alone for the holidays, Agatha Raisin decides to host a dinner party for the elder residents in her Cotswold village of Winter Parva. Agatha’s never been much of a homemaker, but she’s dead-set on making this the perfect holiday for the “crumblies,” as she affectionately calls them. She’s decorated a tree while fending off her cats Hodge and Boswell, and even made a (lumpy) Christmas pudding in between swigs of rum. But when Agatha dumps the pudding on the head of the local self-proclaimed Lothario—an eighty-five year old with a beer belly and fingers like sausages—his death by dessert proves more than a trifle as mysteries mount higher than the season’s snowfall. So much for trying to do good by her neighbors. Now Agatha needs no less than a Christmas miracle to get herself out of this one...

My Thoughts: 

All I can say about Agatha is she has got to be the most dysfunctional cook in the world.  She really makes you laugh at her concoctions.   This year Agatha is attempting to serve a holiday dinner to some local elderly people.  Most of the people learn through the night to appreciate what she did for this holiday except for two people one is Len Leech who seems to think Agatha has the hots for him, boy is he far off in that assumption the other is Freda Pinch who has it out for Agatha from the beginning of the book til the bittersweet end.

When Len makes one pass to many Agatha dumps her concoction of pudding and other things in it on Len's head and he winds up taking the swan dive, Agatha finds herself in deep trouble and can't seem to shake what is going on with Freda Pinch who takes it upon herself to damand that Agatha is guilty, and when that fails she decides to sue Agatha.  

The really mysterious part was after Agatha was declared not guilty by the police and Freda sues Agatha, Agatha goes to see the women to find something else going on and Agatha's spinning mind won't quit til she solves the mystery.

The only thing I disliked, like most people that the book was too short.  Ended before it began,  I was glad to find a quick introduction to Agatha and can't wait to read more of her books!