Books by M.C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin's neighbouring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company - which intends to tap into the village spring - sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps.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.Praise for the Agatha Raisin series:'M. C. Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem.' Publishers Weekly'The detective novels of M. C. Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status.' The Times'Being a cranky, middle-aged female myself, I found Agatha charming!' Amazon customer review'Agatha Raisin is sharp, witty, hugely intelligent, unfailingly entertaining, delightfully intolerant and oh so magnificently non PC. M C Beaton has created a new national treasure... the stories zing along and are irresistible, unputdownable, a joy. If you buy one book a year, let it be this. Agatha Raisin is The Strongest Link.' Anne Robinson

Cold-blooded murder heats up Agatha's summer holiday! Agatha travels to Cyprus, only to contend with her estranged fiance, an egregious group of truly terrible tourists, and a string of murders. . .In this sixth entertaining outing Agatha leaves the sleepy Cotswold village of Carsely to pursue love - and finds a murderer. Spurned at the altar, she follows her fleeing fianc James Lacey to Cyprus, where, instead of enjoying the honeymoon they'd planned, they witness the killing of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Intrigue and a string of murders surround the unlikely couple, in a plot as scorching as the Cypriot sun! Praise for the Agatha Raisin series:'M. C. Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem.' Publishers Weekly'The detective novels of M. C. Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status.' The Times"e;Anyone interested in a few hours"e; worth of intelligent, amusing reading will want to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Agatha Raisin."e; The Cleveland Pain Dealer"e;M C Beaton has created a new national treasure... the stories zing along and are irresistible, unputdownable, a joy... Agatha Raisin is The Strongest Link."e; Anne Robinson'Being a cranky, middle-aged female myself, I found Agatha charming!' Amazon customer review'I dream of being able to speak out like Aggie . . . she's a heroine!' A. Lucas, Essex, reader review

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 . . .Praise for the Agatha Raisin series:'M. C. Beaton's imperfect heroine is an absolute gem.' Publishers Weekly'The detective novels of M. C. Beaton, a master of outrageous black comedy, have reached cult status.' The Times'Being a cranky, middle-aged female myself, I found Agatha charming!' Amazon customer review'I dream of being able to speak out like Aggie . . . she's a heroine!' A. Lucas, Essex, reader review

Fashionable society regards Sir Benjamin Wright with the utmost honour and respect. Yet Lady Emma knows that her husband is, in fact, a drunken jealous brute who delights in humiliating her both in and out of the bedroom.So, his unexpected murder is a blessing, she thinks - that is, until the constable's accusing finger points to her as the murderer. But it soon becomes apparent that her late husband hid many secrets and enemies.When the practical Comte Saint-Juste arrives on the scene offering his services, Lady Emma is about to discover what the French dedication to l'amour really means...

Isabella Beverley is blessed with unparalleled beauty but, unfortunately, has been raised in the most snobbish and haughty of families. And when her father gambles away their fortune - including Mannerling, the exquisite family mansion, Isabella discovers that there is very little sympathy for her plight. As the eldest, Isabella is chosen to court Mr. Judd, the roguish bachelor who won Mannerling. Surely no sacrifice is too great to regain Mannerling? But tempting her away from Mr. Judd is Lord Fitzpatrick, an Irish rake who fears Isabella can never love a man as she does her home - but is nonetheless determined to convince her to choose man over manse!

A case of mistaken identity is transformed into a case of true love!As usual, the poor relations are in need of money to finance the hotel and this time it is up to Colonel Sandhurst to come to the rescue. After coming across Sir Randolph's daughter Frederica, who is running away to escape an awful marriage to Lord Bewley, the Colonel devises a plan to force Sir Randolph to settle his six month outstanding hotel bill and save Frederica from her terrible fate.The clever plan is thwarted when Lord Bewley shows up at the drop point instead of Sir Randolph, and the poor relations must make a deal with Lord Bewley in order to get their money... and keep Colonel Sandhurst out of gaol!

The Poor Relation hotel is the toast of London and its owners are preparing to sell up and retire - but one last romantic adventure awaits them!Driven into hiding at the hotel by a tyrannous father and a rich but wizened suitor, Lady Jane Fremney attempts to end her life. The poor relations save the young lady and determine to improve her lot in life by bringing her out for the Season.All the young bucks call on Jane, among them the handsome but racy Comte de Mornay, an exile from Napoleon's France who has broken many a heart and so far eluded matrimony. Jane is quite adamant he is unsuitable for her - but when his life is threatened by an assassin's pistol, it is up to her to help him escape from danger... and into l'amour!

Lizzie is the sixth and youngest daughter of the late Sir Beverley, the patriarch who gambled away their beloved estate, Mannerling. Each of Lizzie's sisters had been entrusted by their ambitious mother to cast lures for the various owners of their former home. Instead, each one happily married for love. Now it's Lizzie's turn to save Mannerling.Yet the new owner, the Duke of Severnshire, is far too arrogant for Lizzie's heart. And while the duke has no intentions toward the saucy chit, her curt dismissal of him is perplexing--for no woman has ever refused him! Now, as his lavish house party to select a bride becomes a whirlwind of mismatches and scandal, lovely Lizzie is turning the duke's own thoughts away from a suitable marriage--to the wonders of falling in love!

Commotion reigns at the Poor Relation hotel when two unwelcome ladies create chaos among the established order of things!Sir Philip Sommerville is quite the antique, but not too old to bring home a paramour: fat, vulgar and greedy Mrs Budge who, the other poor relations are agreed upon, has to go.And then there is Lady Carruthers, a highly rouged widow who passes off her grown daughter, Arabella, as a school miss while setting her own cap for the young Earl of Denby, despite the fact that young Arabella is quite smitten with the dashing golden-haired earl! So once again it is up to the other poor relations to straighten out the course of true love...

The final book in M.C. Beaton's charming A House for the Season series. Love comes home to A House for the Season!When the Duke of Pelham returns to his town house at 67 Clarges Street he is grimly determined to find himself a suitable wife, and love will have nothing to do with his selection.The duke's search is soon disrupted by the arrival in town of Miss Jenny Sutherland - a beautiful but hugely spoilt country girl whose vanity is overwhelming. In fact it was her guardian who brought her to London in the hope her ward will get the put-down she so sorely deserves. But no one had counted on the intervention of Rainbird, the duke's shrewd and resourceful butler. Befriending Jenny, they devise a mischievous scheme that will ensure Jenny's social success - and secure, once and for all, the fate of the close-knit family of servants at No. 67 Clarges Street!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The fifth book in M.C. Beaton's charming A House for the Season series. Appearances can be very deceptive...At first, Emily Goodenough and her uncle are exactly what the servants at No. 67 Clarges Street are hoping for: respectable tenants to usher in an uneventful Season. But all is not what it seems and it's not long before Rainbird the butler uncovers their secret: Mr Goodenough is an ex-butler and his 'daughter' a runaway chambermaid!Rainbird's resolve is tested, however, when he learns of villainous Mr Percival Pardon's plot to unmask the pair and force his attentions on Emily. So the staff join forces with their former fellow servants in a scheme to make the Goodenoughs Society's darlings, foil Mr Pardon's plot, and snare the man of her dreams for Emily in the bargain!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The fourth book in M.C. Beaton's charming A House for the Season series. He's just not the marrying kind...Lord Guy Carlton, late of His Majesty's Regiment and weary from the war in France, has only wine, women and song in mind when he rents No. 67 Clarges Street for the season. He certainly has no desire for a serious attachment - and as for marriage: never! But Lord Guy Carlton didn't factor in the lovely but very proper Miss Esther Jones. Although one of the richest women in England she is also one of the most innocent, which could make her an unwilling victim of the philandering lord... and so, once again, it is up to the downstairs staff at Clarges Street to devise a campaign to reform the rake who is laying siege to her heart!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The third book in M.C. Beaton's charming A House for the Season series. It's double trouble for poor, put-upon Harriet!Lovely but penniless Harriet Metcalf is horrified when she is named in a nobleman's will as guardian of his two ghastly and snobbish twin daughters. The innocent Harriet doesn't feel wily enough to cope with the intricacies of the London Season - not to mention two of its most eligible bachelors, the Marquis of Huntington and Lord Vere.Harriet views them only as suitors for the twins, while the gentlemen see only Harriet's charms. And soon she finds herself falling for one of them... but a cruel betrayal will be her ruin unless the Clarges Street servants can save her honour, while she loses her heart!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The second book in M.C. Beaton's charming A House for the Season series. It's up to the servants of No. 67 Clarges Street to hatch a scheme... and arrange a match!'Oh, to be as beautiful as Euphemia!' sighs plain Jane Hart when she joins her sister at No.67 for the Season, as then Lord Tregarthan might notice her... as she has noticed him and forever lost her heart. And while it is Euphemia's fate to flit her way through balls and into the arms of a marquis, Jane's is to stay at home... until the Downstairs staff transform the plain Miss into the Season's sensation and send her waltzing into a daring liaison with the man of her dreams'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The first book in M.C. Beaton's charming A House for the Season series. Is Number 67 Clarges Steet the unluckiest house in Mayfair?Every Season the beaux mondes of the Regency would hire a house in the heart of London's fashionable West End at a disproportionately high rent for often inferior accommodation and yet No.67 Clarges Street, a town house complete with staff, remains vacant from year to year. Could it be that it is associated with ill luck and even death? Something must be done so that the servants of the house don't lose their livelihood...Salvation seems to come in the form of Roderick Sinclair who confirms he wishes to rent the house for the current Season. The staff are overjoyed - until they find that Mr Sinclair is a terrible miser who is planning no parties. Furthermore, his ward, Fiona, though a dazzling Highland beauty, does not seem to possess one bright idea in her head. But it is Rainbird, No.67's clever and elegant butler, who sees through her facade and resolves to help his mysterious mistress in whatever way he can...'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The 15th mystery featuring Hamish Macbeth from teh bestselling M.C.Beaton, author of the Agatha series.

The 12th mystery featuring Hamish Macbeth from the bestselling M.C.Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin series

Whether dressed in her finery or disguised as a frump, he wanted her just the same!How can plain Frederica withstand a Season's scrutiny after the five beauties before her have married so magnificently? The only solution is to run away from home...Disguised as a chambermaid, Freddie soon finds her way into the household of the fashionable Duke of Pembury. But the wild gentleman is soon on to her tricks and finds himself escorting Freddie back to London, where, once again on the marriage mart, her sisters make over the tomboyish runaway until even she cannot recognise herself!But a certain gentleman can, and so it would seem that Freddie is not fated to be plain - or unmarried - after all....

Diana's passion is a rather strange one for a lady - she loves to hunt while dressed as a man!With her lustrous black hair and enormous dark eyes, Diana is shy of men yet dreams of the freedom they must enjoy. Only when she is invited to Town by the icily blond Lord Mark Dantrey does she begin to realise that being a women does have unexpected advantages. And what of the gypsy, who prophesised a dark stranger, and warned of a fair one? Surprising twists and turns await Diana on the path of true love.

The second book in M.C. Beaton's charming Waverly Women trilogy. Modern notions were all well and good - but where did one find a man to share them?Though Frederica chafes at the restricted life she lives as the adopted daughter of an infamous bluestocking, she does agree with the philosophy: until men learn to appreciate women as intellectual equals, Frederica is better off without them!But her sister's recent elopement sparks fires of romance in Frederica's well-educated head. She is ripe to accept the considerable charms of Lord Harry Danger who saves her from a pack of drunken thugs - but if only he would treat her as an equal and stop all that silly flirting!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The first book in M.C. Beaton's charming Waverly Women trilogy. His kiss has left her flushed and disconcerted - perhaps men are best avoided after all!The Earl of Tredair has had his fill of balls, routs, and silly misses, and he despairs of finding anyone out of the ordinary - that is, until he meets Miss Fanny Waverley.Most unique and intriguing, she and her two sisters are the adopted daughters of the reclusive bluestocking Madame Waverley. They have been raised as her disciples to spread the word of women's rights and to encourage poor oppressed females to stand up against the iniquities of the male sex. But, can they resist love?The beautiful Miss Fanny finds it quite hard to think of all men as cruel and lustful beasts - how can she, when now she finds herself longing to kiss one of the most hated of the species!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

Red-haired, jade-eyed Deirdre is determined to marry for Love - nothing else will do. So the fact her father's candidate for her hand, Lord Harry Desire, is well bred and good looking, interests her not a jot! But the feelings he arouses in her are truly distracting.Deirdre's discovery of what desire can mean and where her heart really lies brings about a delicious climax to this adventure of intrigue, misunderstanding - and love!

From the moment honey-tressed young Annabelle met her sister Minerva's intended, Lord Sylvester, she developed a secret passion for him that obsessed her. Now she was determined to take him away from Minerva - no matter what!But Annabelle hadn't reckoned on Lord Sylvester's best friend, Peter, who falls in love with her and decides to tame her growing passions towards the wrong man!

The 25th Hamish Macbeth crime mystery, delightfully recovered and re-issued for all the fans of Agatha Raisin.

The third book in M.C. Beaton's charming Waverly Women trilogy. By day she champions women's rights but by night she plots romance! No young lady can be more devoted to the teachings of the infamous blue stocking Mrs Waverley than Felicity, her adopted author. Yet Felicity leads a secret life: that of an author of a scandalous new novel - the tale of a lady "e;rake"e; and her passionate exploits. Yet there is one titled gentleman who is intrigued with this mysterious, headstrong young woman who is taking Society by storm - and Felicity soon learns that real life is infinitely more interesting than fiction!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The second book in M.C. Beaton's charming Travelling Matchmaker series. The delightful Miss Hannah Pym returns to the English countryside in search of adventure and romance in distress.No sooner does Miss Pym board her next stagecoach than she finds herself embroiled in the plight of Miss Belinda Earle, a spirited heiress banished to Bath after swearing off the marriage market.When the coach founders near Baddell Castle, and the dashing Marquis of Frenton comes to the rescue, Miss Pym decides to give Fate a hand. Although the austere bachelor disdains romance, his furtive glances towards Belinda prove to Miss Pym that her expert matchmaking will soon turn this star-crossed couple into a heavenly match!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

The first book in M.C. Beaton's charming Travelling Matchmaker series. A dead employer's legacy of five thousand pounds allows spinster Hannah Pym to resign from housekeeping and find adventure travelling the English countryside by stagecoach. But adventure soon finds Miss Pym in the form of Miss Emily Freemantle, a spoilt violet-eyed beauty fleeing an arranged marriage to a rake she has never met.When the girl's darkly handsome betrothed boards their stage, Miss Pym is certain Emily was rash to bolt from this aristocratic catch! And so as soon as the travellers repair to an inn, Miss Pym begins her matchmaking... and although Lord Ranger Harley complains he'll not marry an ungrateful minx, Miss Pym suspects once she's marshalled the couple into sharing intimate household chores, all romantic knots will be untangled!'Romance fans are in for a treat' - Booklist'[M. C. Beaton] is the best of the Regency writers' - Kirkus Reviews

Ignorance is bliss... especially when it comes to murder!Ever since the death of his father, Fellworth Dolphin has slaved away as a waiter to support his miserly, cold-hearted mother. So when she suddenly dies Fellworth is shocked to discover she has left him a fortune. Somewhat confused, Fell teams up with a girl from work, Maggie, to investigate the source of the riches. But what they find instead is a closet full of skeletons...Is it really possible Fell's father was involved in a decades-old train robbery? And who is the mysterious woman in the portrait hidden in his mother's wardrobe? As Fell and Maggie poke around the village for answers they find themselves on a surprise-filled path to danger and adventure - but all this good fortune could come to a sudden end if they don't stay one step ahead of a cunning killer...

Another Poor Relation has to resort to genteel thievery to make end meet - but she gets much more than she bargains for!Cut off by her own relations, pretty, dainty widow Eliza Budley must visit some other family manor to purloin expensive baubles. Happily, the rich Marquess of Peterhouse is in his dotage and wouldn't know a relative from a bedpost, so Eliza is sent to play the imposter.But things do not go as planned and Eliza is met by the new Marquess - wickedly handsome, and with all his wits about him. And somehow Eliza finds herself confessing her bluff to him and he in turn is much taken with her daring and charm - but can he fall in love with such a scheming widow from the world of trade? Time for the other Poor Relations to get involved and help these confused lovers!