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

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.

Local police stations all over the Scottish Highlands are being threatened with closure. This presents the perfect opportunity for Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who would love nothing more than to get rid of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth. Blair suggests that Cyril Sessions, a keen young police officer, visit the town of Lochdubh to monitor exactly what Macbeth does every day. Macbeth hears about Blair's plan and is prepared to insure that Cyril returns back to headquarters with a full report. But Cyril is soon found dead, and Hamish quickly becomes the prime suspect in his murder.

When Lady Anne Sinclair vowed to marry before her spoiled beauty of a sister, she had no idea the "anyone" would be the marquess of Torrance. Long the darling of the town—and considered quite the confirmed bachelor—he succumbed to Annie's charms and almost magically made her his wife. But Annie's lifelong battle for attention had ill prepared her for married life.

The morning of Agatha's marriage to James Lacey dawns bright and clear. But her luck runs out in the church when Jimmy, the husband she had believed long dead, turns up large as life and twice as ugly. Agatha has a go at strangling him. James breaks off the engagement. So when Jimmy is found murdered next day, Agatha and James are both the prime suspects. And they'll have to work together in order to clear their names . . .

She had dared turn a cold shoulder to London's prize catch. She was a precocious American upstart who thought beauty, brains, and bravery were enough to conquer London society. Well, he'd show her! Nobody spurned Lord David Manley, the most eligible bachelor in town - not publicly, not privately. He was determined that she'd soon be trembling in his arms, desperately in love with the man she had dared mock. David Manley always got his way, and Miss Molly Maguire presented a challenge he couldn't resist.

Even though Agatha Raisin loathes Christmas panto, her friend Mrs Bloxby, the vicar's wife, has persuaded her to support the local am dram society in their festive offering. Stifling a yawn at the production of Babes in the Wood, Agatha watches the baker playing an ogre strut and threaten on stage until a trapdoor opens... followed by a scream and silence! Surely this wasn't the way the scene was rehearsed? When it turns out the local baker had been murdered most horribly, Agatha puts her team of detectives on the case.

The team of bells at St. Ethelred church is the pride and glory of the idyllic Cotswolds village of Thirk Magna, together with the most dedicated bell ringers in the whole of England: the twins Mavis and Millicent Dupin. As the village gets ready for the Bishop's visit, the twins get overly excited at the prospect of ringing the special peal of bells created for the occasion and start bullying the other bell ringers, forcing them to rehearse and rehearse...so much so that Joseph Kennell, a retired lawyer, yells at the sisters that he 'felt like killing them'!

Must one sister suffer in poverty while the other lives in the lap of luxury? This question plagued Harriet Clifton incessantly. Inviting herself to her widowed sister Cordelia's posh London townhouse for the season was surely the only way to meet a suitable partner - as well as escape drafty old Pringle House forever. The vain Cordelia was meanwhile casting her net for the notorious Marquess of Arden, a man who would rather court a mistress than wed a wife.

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!

Tras haber desenmascarado al asesino de la quiche letal, la fortuna parece sonreír a Agatha Raisin. Aceptada por la pintoresca comunidad de Carsely, y felizmente acompañada de sus dos gatos, su vida transcurre sin otro objetivo que doblegar la indiferencia de James Lacey, militar jubilado por el que Agatha siente verdadera devoción.

He stated quite bluntly--and much to Isabella's relief--that theirs would be a marriage in name only. But neither Harry nor Isabella was aware of the other's disguise, contrived in vain to thwart the impending nuptials. Isabella was not the selfish ice princess she seemed, nor was Harry a mincing dandy but rather a merry profligate.

Reports of a haunted house soon have amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin snooping around, only to discover the victim of the haunting is a universally disliked old biddy on whom someone is playing a practical joke. But then the old lady is murdered, and, for Agatha - Miss Marple with attitude - solving a crime is much more fun than ghostbusting. Very soon she’s up to her usual tricks, involving the villagers, local police, and, naturally, her handsome new neighbour....

After being nearly killed by both a hired hit man and her former secretary, Agatha Raisin could use some low-key cases. So when Robert Smedley walks through the door of her detective agency, determined to prove that his wife is cheating on him, Raisin Investigations immediately offers to help. Unfortunately for Agatha, Mabel Smedley appears to be the perfect wife: young, pretty and a regular volunteer at church.

When a Puritan miss discovers the joys of Christmas, love's as near as the mistletoe. The Davenport sisters were alone, without even a dour-faced maid to supervise their strict puritanical devotions, until the elder, flame-haired Gillian boldly decided it was high time they let their hair down. Now, with the help of a kindly relation, the two daring misses exchange their somber attire for modish gowns and hairstyles that would surely give their parents apoplexy. But the best is yet to come: plum pudding, eggnog, carols, and a most breathtaking tree.

For lovely young Miss Patricia Patterson, life seemed a delightful dream - until the specter of her guardian, Lord Charles Gaunt, cast a shadow over her carefree days of idleness and enchanting evenings of dazzling balls and delicious flirtations. Lord Charles demanded she act the part of a proper and perfectly boring young miss. Even worse, he insisted she devote her waking hours to cultivating her mind rather than captivating her swarm of admirers. Thus, the battle was joined - between the handsome, arrogant aristocrat who had Patricia in his lawful power, and Patricia, who vowed to turn this hateful tyrant into her lovelorn slave.

The tenth earl of Berham does not know what to do. An attractivethirty-two-year-old bachelor, he has been appointed guardian of the youngFreddie Armstrong, the eighteen-year-old grandson of his late father's dearfriend. That's bad enough. Then he discovers that the boy is really a girl! It isagainst all convention and against his personal code to keep a young ladyconcealed in his own home. He must find a solution.

The earl's frequent visitor, Lady Clarissa Rennenord,heartily agrees - but for less noble reasons. Lady Clarissa hopes to snare theearl in marriage and does not want any competition. She recommends that Freddiebe sent to a seminary. No one but Lady Rennenord knows what a horrid place it is - andno one, including Lady Rennenord, expects Freddie to escape. Now Freddie isback, and the earl finds her presence unsettling in more ways than one.

Love and jealousy abound in this playful romance, set during the British Regency. Everyone in the ton knew that Lord Hubert Challenge had married country mouse Mary Tyre for her dowry, but no one had yet guessed that Mary had actually fallen in love with her husband! And she was willing to try anything - sumptuous clothes, a saucy manner, even flirting with another man - to get her handsome husband's attention…until she learned that two could play at that particular game.

Agatha non ce la fa proprio a smettere di correre dietro agli uomini. Questa volta prende una cotta per George, un ex soldato particolarmente aitante che si propone come giardiniere e tuttofare. Ma non è l’unica donna di Carsely ad avergli messo gli occhi addosso; anzi, la concorrenza è agguerrita. Una sera, però, Agatha fa un’atroce scoperta: George è stato ucciso e gettato in una compostiera. La sorella di George assolda Agatha per scoprire l’assassino, che però non si accontenterà di una sola vittima...

Alice Lovesey is a poor, mistreated scullery maid whose desperate plea for help miraculously summons Wadham Hall's rakish eighth duke - summons him from the dead! Though caught up in the delights of being newly materialized, the duke promises to return the favor by helping Alice become a lady of quality. But does Alice's heart stand a ghost of a chance now that she has lost it to a restless spirit?

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.