M. C Beaton

"Toni and Agatha are in the car on the way to Officer Bill Wong's long-awaited wedding when, much to their shock, a naked young man bursts through a hedge on the side of the road and comes running toward them. Terrified, he explains that he has just seen a dead body in the woods. Toni lends him an old t-shirt to cover himself, Agatha calls the police, and the young man takes them to the spot where he saw the body, across from a meadow where the Mircester...

The New York Times–bestselling author presents a delightful series in which the staff in a London town house helps with much more than the daily chores . . .
 
It was the fashion during the Regency era to hire a house for the season in Mayfair—the heart of London’s West End—at a disproportionately high rent for sometimes very inferior accommodation. But Number 67 Clarges Street,...

A twisting tale featuring a calculating marquess, a marriage of convenience, and a touch of mystery from the New York Times–bestselling author.
Why would the Marquess of Heppleford marry someone like Tilly—plump, penniless, and paid companion to a deeply unpleasant duchess? Why, to insure his inheritance of course, by following the demands of his late father's will. Once they're wed, he can simply return to his rakish adventures...

The loveable characters from the Poor Relation Hotel return in this sparkling and adventurous Regency romance from M. C. Beaton. Eliza Budley is a beautiful widow whose husband gambled away his fortune. So when the poor relations need to acquire some valuables to keep the hotel afloat and Eliza draws the short straw, Lady Fortescue reminds the others that Mrs. Budley has no relatives on whom she can call. Gentle Mrs. Budley thinks she has escaped...

Life is not easy for the poor relations of England's upper crust, but fate and clever schemes bring them together. Lady Fortescue and Colonel Sandhurst hatch a plan: What if they were to transform her decrepit Bond Street home into a posh hotel, offering their guests the pleasure of being waited upon by nobility? With the help of other down-and-out aristocrats, they do just that, and London's newest hotel, the Poor Relation, is born. The establishment...

At age twenty six, Agatha Raisin has already come a long way. She has clawed her way up since leaving the Birmingham slum where she was born. She's lost her Birmingham accent, run away from her drunken husband, and found a job at a public relations office as a secretary. Then her boss asks Agatha to go to the home of Brian Devese to tell him that he is soon going to be arrested for the murder of his wife and that the agency no longer wants to represent...

In this Edwardian romance by the New York Times—bestselling author of the Hamish MacBeth mysteries, a lovelorn debutante finds herself in a deadly plot. In any given glittering social season, Edwardian London's dizzying whirl has its share of surprises. The latest is Kitty Harrison, once achingly poor, suddenly an heiress and now, thanks to her determined mother, she is about to become a Baroness. From the moment Kitty sets eyes on Lord Chesworth,...

Life is finally looking up for the poor relations. The Prince of Wales' coat of arms gleams over the hotel entrance. All but one of the rooms are filled by the open-handed Prince Hugo and his entourage. The owners have taken on a new partner, Mr. Jason Davy, a popular actor. Even curmudgeonly Sir Philip hasn't uttered anything loathsome for days. They have finally reached a position comfortable enough to allow them to consider offers to buy the hotel. The...

A flirtation across the social divide may lead to lasting love- or betrayal- in this sparkling Edwardian romance by the New York Times—bestselling author. Polly Marsh wasn't born into high society, but she has high ambitions-and confidence that her beauty is enough to land a dashing nobleman. Taking a position as a stenographer for a prestigious family firm, she soon finds that she's succeeded in capturing the attention of Lord Peter. Others-such...

How should a proper young lady spend her summer months in Regency England? By getting into plenty of mischief by masquerading as a servant girl, of course. Cassandra, or Cassie to her friends, sticks out like a redheaded weed amidst her family of tidy blooms. At Bramfield Park, Cassie's prim parents and attractive older sister, Sophia, wish for nothing but an advantageous marriage for their eldest and prettiest-and for Cassie to stay out of the way....