Showing results by author "M.C. Beaton" in All Categories

Private Detective Agatha Raisin immerses herself in the glittering lifestyle of the fabulously wealthy when Sir Charles Fraith is accused of murder - and Agatha is named as his accomplice! A high-society wedding, a glitzy masked ball and an introduction to the world of international show-jumping, where the riders are glamorous, the horses are beautiful and intrigue runs deep, leave Agatha with a list of suspects as long as a stallion's tail.

Poor little Susie. A beautiful dreamer, she imagined herself happy in a rose-covered cottage, only to find herself mistress of a great damp castle and wife to the elderly Earl of Blackhall. Luck, not the lecherous earl, contrived to spare her, and by her wedding night she was transformed to a wealthy young widow. But her trials had just begun. The old countess was determined to turn the simple country miss into a sophisticated lady. Meanwhile, handsome Sir Giles was determined to unmask her as a dangerously cunning young minx.

It's a maiden's miracle! Annabelle Quennell, daughter of a poor country parson, gets a chance at a London season to snare a wealthy husband. But before she sets off, Mad Meg the gypsy predicts trouble ahead, and it is nothing but woe that Annabelle finds. Godmother Lady Emmeline sponsors Annabelle's spree - and demands she wed the oafish Captain MacDonald. But things get worse when Annabelle fears she is losing her heart to Lord Varleigh - elegant, well-pursed, but who is taken by another mistress.

When Agatha, who just happens to be handling the PR for the water company, finds the council chairman murdered at the basin of the spring, tongues start wagging. Could one of the council members have polished off the chairman before he could cast the deciding vote? Poor Agatha, still nursing a bruised heart from one of her unsuccessful romantic encounters, must get cracking, investigate the councillors and solve the crime.

She was a lady's maid who longed to be a lady. How else could Lucy Balfour hope to win the favor of Andrew, Viscount Harvey, the toast of the town, who seemed ready to take a bride at last? There was only one way to do it, and that was to command his attention. It seemed an impossible dream; first she had to become the peer of her own mistress, the coldly beautiful Lady Angela, who was determined to claim Andrew as her own.

In any given glittering social season, Edwardian London's dizzying whirl had its share of surprises. The latest was Kitty Harrison, once achingly poor, suddenly an heiress and now, thanks to her determined mother, she was about to become a baroness. From the moment Kitty set eyes on Lord Chesworth she found him to be the most exciting man she had ever seen. But Kitty was young, innocent, and easily dazzled. She did not even question the motives of the dashing bachelor who swore he loved her even as he courted the scandalously beautiful Mrs. Jackson.

It was an unfair decision - to be forced to choose between her home and her heart…When one of her sisters is attacked by Harry Devers, the lecherous son of Mannerling's present owner, Abigail Beverley puts her obsession with reclaiming the mansion on hold. It is then that Abigail meets the dashing and extremely eligible Lord Burfield, fresh back from the army and in full-time pursuit of a bride. She must be quick to grab his attention lest he be snapped up by Prudence Makepeace.

Après un séjour de six mois à Londres, Agatha retrouve enfin ses chères Cotswolds - et le non moins cher James Lacey. Même si le retour au bercail de son entreprenante voisine ne donne pas l'impression d'enthousiasmer particulièrement le célibataire le plus convoité de Carsely. Heureusement, Agatha est très vite happée par son sport favori : la résolution d'affaires criminelles. Comme le meurtre d'une certaine Jessica, qui militait pour le droit de passage de son club de randonneurs dans les propriétés privées des environs.

As one of the two remaining unmarried Beverley sisters, Belinda considers herself the last hope for Mannerling, the beloved estate gambled away by their father. Each of her four elder sisters had hoped – even schemed - to marry one of Mannerling's successive owners. But all had chosen truelove over their ancestral home. Practical and duty-bound, Belinda would woo and wed Lord St. Clair, current holder of the estate. True, he is a silly fop, hardly what she desires in a husband, but she vows to make the man love her – even at the expense of her own happiness.

After ten long years, the Earl of Devenham has returned to wed Mary Anstey, only to find that their feelings for each other have cooled off considerably. Nevertheless, they both put on bright faces for the benefit of family and friends. But Mary's younger sister Emily sees through their masquerade and would sacrifice anything rather than see her retiring sister married to the now-haughty earl.

There’s not a cloud in Hamish Macbeth’s sky - just plenty of warm sunshine but not quite enough of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. But as eight hopeful members of the Checkmate Singles Club converge on Tommel Castle Hotel for a week of serious matchmaking, the clouds roll in. The four couples, carefully matched by dating director Maria Worth, immediately dislike one another. And the arrival of Maria’s gross, greedy business partner, Peta, kills the last vestige of romance. And as love goes out the window, murder comes in the door.

A visit to the local village fete for a spot of fun and relaxation turns into a nightmare for Agatha Raisin when she discovers the body of the local landowner in the woods - with an arrow in his chest and his trousers round his ankles. At first her old adversary, Detective Chief Inspector Wilkes, declares the death a tragic accident, believing the victim has been hit by a stray arrow from an archery demonstration. Agatha is convinced the man was murdered and is shocked when Wilkes eventually agrees...particularly as he considers her to be his prime suspect!

Maggie Baird is neither kind nor generous, but she is very, very rich. So when her car catches fire, with her inside it, there are five likely candidates for the role of murderer. All five had been houseguests at her luxurious Highlands home - Maggie’s timid niece and four former lovers, one of whom Maggie had intended to pick for a husband. All five are utterly broke and all had ample opportunity to tamper with Maggie’s car. So finding out, who did it will require all of PC Hamish Macbeth’s extraordinary common sense and insight into human nature.

Mannerling, the splendid family estate gambled away by Sir Beverley, remains the passionate desire of his daughters. Beverley himself has died and the eldest daughter, Isabella - having failed in her bid to reclaim their home - is blissfully wed. The mantle of savior then falls to the next eldest daughter, Jessica. How fortunate that the new owner of Mannerling has a marriageable son. In truth, Harry is a brutal lecher, a drunkard, and a wastrel, but Jessica, blinded by determination, vows to secure a betrothal.

She was the flower of an East End slum who rose to become a star. But Poppy Duveen quit the stage to marry Freddie Plummett, the only real gentleman she had ever known - the bounder who died. When Freddie died, Poppy was left the castle, but she was also left in the clutches of Freddie's formidable uncle, Hugo, the dazzling Duke of Guildham.

In the fourth installment of the Daughters of Mannerling series, beautiful Rachel must choose which she wants more - true love or the Mannerling mansion. The haughty Beverley family is obsessed with regaining Mannerling, the exquisite seventeenth-century mansion gambled away by their now-deceased father, Sir Beverley. Three of the six Beverley daughters, including Rachel's twin, have failed to win back their ancestral estate - settling for love matches over Mannerling's heirs.

Maggie Macleod was weary of life with a soul sickness that ate into every fiber of her being. In a mad way, it did not seem strange to her that she should be on her way to the high court to stand trial for the murder of her husband. Her marriage seemed to have been one long, dreary desert lit by flares of cruelty. But Maggie is innocent in the matter of her beastly husband's death, and she resolves to answer the question that plagues her: Who did murder the man?

Hamish Macbeth is savouring the delights of a Highland summer. But as fast as the rain rolls in from the loch, his happy life goes to hell in a handbasket. The trouble begins when his beloved Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns to Lochdubh with a new fiancé on her arm. His miseries multiply when clouds of midges descend on the town. And then a paragon of housewife perfection named Trixie Thomas moves into Lochdubh with her cowed husband in tow. The newcomer quickly convinces the local ladies to embrace low-cholesterol meals, ban alcohol, and begin bird-watching.

Lochdubh, ein kleines Dorf in den schottischen Highlands. Hier genießt Police Constable Hamish Macbeth das ruhige Leben weitab vom Schuss. Dem gutmütigen Dorfpolizisten eilt der Ruf voraus, notorisch faul zu sein - etwas, das Hamish selbst nie bestreiten würde. Als allerdings der Besitzer der örtlichen Angelschule die Leiche einer seiner Schülerinnen aus dem Wasser angelt, ist für Hamish die Zeit des Müßiggangs vorbei und er muss ermitteln.

Agatha Raisin se lía la manta a la cabeza y decide marcharse de Londres para saborear las mieles de una jubilación anticipada en un tranquilo pueblo de los Cotswolds, donde no tarda en aburrirse como una ostra. Desplegar su talento para la alta cocina en el concurso gastronómico de la parroquia tendría que convertirla, por fuerza, en una celebridad. Sin embargo, al primer bocado de su exquisita quiche, el juez del concurso cae desplomado y Agatha se ve obligada a confesar la amarga verdad: la quiche letal era comprada.