Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

Book excerpt: The morning of Agatha Raisin's long-awaited marriage to her attractive and elusive neighbor, James Lacey, dawns bright and clear. But the storm clouds of the day before would have been more appropriate. A new anti-wrinkle cream turns Agatha's face into one large red rash, James refuses to discuss his feelings for her, and then Agatha's first husband, Jimmy Raisin, reappears just in time to keep her from committing bigamy. The ensuing brouhaha - Agatha tries to strangle Jimmy, whom she had thought long dead - humiliates and embarrasses James Lacey, who abruptly breaks his engagement to Agatha. When Jimmy is found murdered the next morning, Agatha and James are the prime suspects. Since the easiest way to clear their names is to find the real murderer, Agatha convinces James to help her investigate. But will their subsequent close proximity - which has them, ironically, pretending to be man and wife - be enough to soothe James's bruised pride?