When a prominent village resident is found murdered, Agatha Raisin ignores the talk of fairies and supernatural happenings and begins to search for a human killer.

Agatha Raisin is bored. Her detective agency in the Cotswolds is thriving, but she'll scream if she has to deal with another missing cat or dog. Only two things seem to offer potential excitement: Christmas and her ex, James Lacey. This year Agatha is sure that if she invites James to a splendid Christmas dinner, their love will rekindle like a warm Yule log. But that fantasy will have to wait for now. A wealthy widow-who had sent Agatha a letter...

Agatha Raisin's quiet town of Carsely is outraged when local scrooge John Sunday begins creating laws that prevent the townspeople from having any fun, and when he tries to cancel the annual Christmas festivities, someone's anger turns violent and Mr. Sunday is murdered, leaving Agatha to find the killer before Christmas.

Agatha has fallen head over heels in love--again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man, including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. When George doesn't show up, Agatha finds his dead body in a compost heap. The killer chose no ordinary weapon: a poisonous snake...