Summary
New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin is back on a case and poking around where she doesn't belong.
When Agatha Raisin left behind her public-relations business in London, she fulfilled her dream of settling in the cozy British Cotswolds where she began a successful private detective agency. Unfortunately, the village she lives in is about to get a little less cozy. Lord Bellington, a wealthy land developer, wants to turn the community garden into a housing estate. When Agatha and her friend Sir Charles Fraith attempt to convince Lord Bellington to abandon his plans, he scoffs, "Do you think I give a damn about those pesky villagers?" So when Agatha finds his obituary in the newspaper two weeks later, it's no surprise that some people in town are feeling celebratory.
The villagers are relieved to learn that Bellington's son and heir, Damian, has no interest in continuing his father's development plans. But the police are definitely interested in him --as suspect number one. His father's death, it seems, was no accident. But when Damian hires Agatha to find the real killer, she finds no shortage of suspects.
The good news is that a handsome, retired detective named Gerald has recently moved to town. Too bad he was seen kissing another newcomer. But when that woman is also found murdered, Gerald is eager to help Agatha with the case. Agatha, Gerald, and her team of detectives must untangle a web of contempt in order to uncover a killer's identity.
Pushing Up Daisies continues the tradition of this beloved mystery series.
M. C. Beaton's real name is Marion Chesney. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1936. She has written over a hundred books under her own name and other pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Helen Crampton, Jennie Tremaine, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester. She started her writing career while working as a fiction buyer for a bookstore in Glasgow.
Working at one time or another as a theater critic, newspaper reporter, and editor, she used her British background to write a series of regency romances set in England and Scotland. Some of her regency romances include The Folly, Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue, and Regency Gold. In 1986, she was awarded the Romantic Times Award for Outstanding Regency Series Writer.
She has also written two mystery series under the pseudonym M. C. Beaton: The Hamish Macbeth Series, which became the inspiration for a television show in England, and The Agatha Raisin Series, about a retired advertising executive. Her title His and Hers made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012.
Marion Chesney passed away on December 31, 2019 at the age of 83.
(Bowker Author Biography)
