M.C. Beaton

Author Information
M.C. Beaton
  • Bibliography:
    79 Books (3 Series)
  • First Book:
    March 1985
  • Latest Book:
    February 2025
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About the Author

Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.

Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.

Marion Chesney died in 2019, but her series are continuing with the help of author R.W. Green.

Full Series List in Order

An Agatha Raisin Mystery

0.5 - Agatha's First Case (Aug-2015)
1 - Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (Dec-1992)
2 - Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (Aug-1993)
3 - Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (Aug-1994)
4 - Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (Apr-1995)
5 - Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Nov-1996)
6 - Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (Oct-1997)
7 - Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (Aug-1998)
8 - Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Apr-1999)
9 - Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (Nov-1999)
10 - Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (Jun-2000)
11 - Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (Dec-2001)
12 - Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came (Jul-2002)
13 - Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate (Feb-2003)
14 - Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (Oct-2003)
15 - The Deadly Dance (Nov-2004)
16 - The Perfect Paragon (Aug-2005)
17 - Love, Lies and Liquor (Sep-2006)
18 - Kissing Christmas Goodbye (Oct-2007)
19 - A Spoonful of Poison (Oct-2008)
20 - There Goes the Bride (Oct-2009)
21 - Busy Body (Oct-2010)
22 - As the Pig Turns (Oct-2011)
23 - Hiss and Hers (Sep-2012)
23.5 - Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble (Sep-2012)
24 - Something Borrowed, Someone Dead (Sep-2013)
25 - The Blood of an Englishman (Sep-2014)
26 - Dishing the Dirt (Sep-2015)
27 - Pushing Up Daisies (Sep-2016)
28 - The Witches' Tree (Oct-2017)
29 - The Dead Ringer (Oct-2018)
30 - Beating About the Bush (Dec-2019)
31 - Hot to Trot (Nov-2020)
32 - Down the Hatch (Oct-2021)
33 - Devil's Delight (Dec-2022)
34 - Dead on Target (Sep-2023)
35 - Killing Time (Oct-2024)
The Agatha Raisin Companion (Nov-2010)

Fellworth Dolphin and Maggie Partlett

1 - The Skeleton in the Closet (Mar-2001)

Hamish MacBeth

1 - Death of a Gossip (Mar-1985)
2 - Death of a Cad (Feb-1987)
3 - Death of an Outsider (Nov-1988)
4 - Death of a Perfect Wife (Nov-1989)
5 - Death of a Hussy (Nov-1990)
6 - Death of a Snob (Jul-1991)
7 - Death of a Prankster (Jun-1992)
8 - Death of a Glutton // Death of a Greedy Woman (Apr-1993)
9 - Death of a Travelling Man (Dec-1993)
10 - Death of a Charming Man (Sep-1994)
11 - Death of a Nag (Jul-1995)
12 - Death of a Macho Man (Aug-1997)
13 - Death of a Dentist (Aug-1997)
14 - Death of a Scriptwriter (Jun-1998)
15 - Death of an Addict (May-1999)
16 - A Highland Christmas (Nov-1999)
17 - Death of a Dustman (Mar-2001)
18 - Death of a Celebrity (Jan-2002)
19 - Death of a Village (Mar-2003)
20 - Death of a Poison Pen (Feb-2004)
21 - Death of a Bore (Feb-2005)
22 - Death of a Dreamer (Feb-2006)
23 - Death of a Maid (Mar-2007)
24 - Death of a Gentle Lady (Feb-2008)
25 - Death of a Witch (Mar-2009)
26 - Death of a Valentine (Jan-2010)
27 - Death of a Chimney Sweep (Mar-2011)
28 - Death of a Kingfisher (Mar-2012)
28 - Death of Yesterday (Apr-2013)
30 - Death of a Policeman (Feb-2014)
31 - Death of a Liar (Feb-2015)
31.5 - Knock, Knock, You're Dead! (Feb-2016)
32 - Death of a Nurse (Feb-2016)
33 - Death of a Ghost (Feb-2017)
34 - Death of an Honest Man (Feb-2018)
34.5 - Death of a Laird (Feb-2022)
35 - Death of a Green-Eyed Monster (Feb-2022)
36 - Death of a Traitor (Feb-2023)
37 - Death of a Spy (Feb-2024)
38 - Death of a Smuggler (Feb-2025)

Book List in Order: 79 titles

  • Death of a Gossip

    Hamish MacBeth - 1

    MOST UNSPORTING BEHAVIOR John Cartwright, owner and fishing instructor at the Lochdubh School of Casting in the wilds of Scotland, had a premonition of evil doings. And when the latest class of anglers appeared, his fears were proved real, in the...

  • Death of a Cad

    Hamish MacBeth - 2

    THE HUNTER IS HUNTED When Priscilla Halburton-Smythe brings her London playwright fiance home to Lochdubh, the whole town is delighted, save perhaps for lovesmitten bobby Hamish Macbeth. But the morning after a tastefully posh engagement party, on...

  • Death of an Outsider

    Hamish MacBeth - 3

    IT'S A WONDER SOMEONE DIDN'T MURDER WILLIAM MAINWARING LONG AGO. Nobody in the Scottish town of Cnothan had liked the abrasive Englishman, and now that he has been murdered--in a most original fashion--nobody much minds. Constable Hamish Macbeth's...

  • Death of a Perfect Wife

    Hamish MacBeth - 4

    CONSTABLE HAMISH MACBETH IS A HAPPY MAN He has his home, his cattle, hens and geese, his friends and neighbors, and soon, he hopes, he'll have lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe as well. God's in his heaven and all's right with the world...until so...

  • Death of a Hussy

    Hamish MacBeth - 5

    WEALTHY MAGGIE BAIRD IS NEITHER NICE NOR KIND NOR GENEROUS. About the best that can be said of her is that inside her middle-aged body, there still beats the heart of a beautiful tart. So when her car catches fire, with Maggie in it, there are ...

  • Death of a Snob

    Hamish MacBeth - 6

    IT'S CHRISTMAS, AND CONSTABLE HAMISH MACBETH IS ONE BIG BUNDLE OF MISERY. With a cold in his head and no place to go for the holidays, Hamish snaps up the invitation of gorgeous Jane Wetherby to spend Christmas at her Scottish island health farm -- ...

  • Death of a Prankster

    Hamish MacBeth - 7

    WHEN IT COMES TO MURDER, CONSTABLE HAMISH MACBETH CAN'T SEE THE JOKE. Admittedly there's a touch of black humor in the case. Rich, old practical joker Andrew Trent summons his kin to remote Arrat House in the dead of winter for a deathbed farewell...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 1

    AH-H-H... THE CLOUDLESS PEACE OF THE BEAUTIFUL COTSWOLDS... After Agatha's years of slaving to promote other people's success, her new life in a picture-book English village is a dream come true. And how better to make friends than by entering th...

  • Death of a Glutton // Death of a Greedy Woman

    Hamish MacBeth - 8

    THERE'S NOT A CLOUD IN CONSTABLE HAMISH MACBETH'S SKY.... Just plenty of warm sunshine and not quite enough of beautiful Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. But as eight hopeful members of the Checkmate Singles Club converge on Tommel Castle Hotel for ...



  • Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 2

    ROMANCE--ANDMURDER--WAFT UPON THE SWEET COTSWOLD AIR.... The feisty Agatha Raisin, until recently a London public-relations executive, believes that the attractive new village vet has taken a shine to her. Yet before romance can bloom, Dr. Paul Bl...

  • Death of a Travelling Man

    Hamish MacBeth - 9

    Hamish Macbeth's life is going to pot. He's been promoted (horrors!), his boss is a dunce, and--to add insult to injury--a sinister self-proclaimed gypsy and his girlfriend have parked their rusty, eye-sore-of-a-van in the village. Hamish smells tro...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 3

    Never say die. That's the philosophy Agatha Raisin clings to when she comes home to cozy Carsely and finds a new woman ensconced in the affections of her attractive bachelor neighbor, James Lacey. The beautiful newcomer, Mary Fortune, is superior in ...

  • Death of a Charming Man

    Hamish MacBeth - 10

    HE COULD CHARM YOUR PANTS OFF. THAT WAS PRECISELY THE PROBLEM. Police constable Hamish Macbeth hears that a posh English chap has moved into an unlikely place--the backwater village of Drim. Indeed, Peter Hynd has the town's matrons giggling like ...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 4

    After six months in London, Agatha Raisin returns to her beloved Cotswold village--and to her attractive neighbor, James Lacey. True, James is less than thrilled to see her, but Agatha is soon consoled by a sensational homicide. The victim, found ...

  • Death of a Nag

    Hamish MacBeth - 11

    A FORGOTTEN NORTH SEA RESORT IS A PLACE TO GET AWAY FROM EVERYTHING. EXCEPT MURDER. Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth is more dour than ever after losing both his promotion and his girl, the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. A trip to a charming ...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 5

    WEDDING BELLS SOUND A DEATH KNELL Moonstruck Agatha Raisin is tying the knot with distinguished but reserved James Lacey before he can have second thoughts. After all, her first husband Jimmy must be long since dead of alcohol poisoning. But Jimmy...

  • Death of a Dentist

    Hamish MacBeth - 13

    MURDER WITH BITE In Scotland, where thrift and a "nice set of dentures" are admired, Dr. Frederick Gilchrist's cheap rates and penchant for pulling teeth have gained him a clientele. However, wiser Highlanders--like Lochdubh policeman Hamish Macbe...

  • Death of a Macho Man

    Hamish MacBeth - 12

    WHAT ACCOMPANIES A HUGE, TATTOOED STRANGER TO A TINY HIGHLAND TOWN? DEATH. Everybody in Lochdubh knew about the Macho Man, a mean bully claiming to be a professional wrestler. His insults at the local pub caused some bonny brawls. His sneaking aro...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 6

    COLD-BLOODED MURDER HEATS UP AGATHA'S GREEK HOLIDAY... Everyone loves Agatha! Called "a glorious cross between Miss Marple, Auntie Mame, and Lucille Ball" by the St. Petersburg Times and "refreshingly sensible, wonderfully eccentric, thoroughly li...



  • Death of a Scriptwriter

    Hamish MacBeth - 14

    HOLLYWOOD IN THE HIGHLANDS With the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe away in London, Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth pines for company during the long Scottish winter. He gets his wish--and more--when a troupe of flashy, urbane filmmakers clamo...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 7

    AGATHA IS AT IT AGAIN! This time, the feisty sleuth stumbles upon the victim of an unnatural death in a Cotswold village's famous natural spring. Who was the unlucky corpse? The Ancombe Parish Council chairman--and the only uncommitted member voti...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 8

    HE WAS A HAIRDRESSER TO DYE FOR -- UNTIL SOMEONE DID HIM IN... The local ladies deemed him a "wizard." So when, to Agatha's horror, she finds several coarse gray hairs poking out of her head-and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair a lovel...

  • Death of an Addict

    Hamish MacBeth - 15

    LETHAL HALIBUTS Recovering addict Tommy Jarret rented a chalet to check on reports of a sea monster near the dour village of Drim. But when he turns up dead, apparently of a drug overdose, Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth finds the lad's demise t...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 9

    EYE OF NEWT, TOE OF FROG..AND MURDER Left with bald patches thanks to the wicked doings of a murderer from a previous investigation, Agatha flees to Wyckhadden to grow her tresses back in privacy. When a local witch provides her with hair tonic (a...

  • A Highland Christmas

    Hamish MacBeth - 16

    In the dark, wintry highlands of Lochdubh, Scotland, where the local Calvinist element resists the secular trimmings of Christmas, the spirit of Old St. Nick is about as welcome as a flat tire on a deserted road. Nor is crime taking a holiday, as Con...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 10

    DANCING LIGHTS, DISAPPEARING VALUABLES....AND MURDER--A FANCIFUL MYSTERY FOR THE INDOMITABLE AGATHA Feeling jilted, cross and desperate to reclaim James, the love of her life, Agatha Raisin follows a fortune-teller's advice and rents a cottage in...

  • Death of a Dustman

    Hamish MacBeth - 17

    CRIME AND PUNISHMENT The garbage collectors in Britain are still called dustmen, and Lochdubh's dustman is an abusive drunk named Fergus Macleod. When Fergus is put in charge of a recycling center and dubbed the "environment officer," Constable Hami...

  • The Skeleton in the Closet

    Fellworth Dolphin and Maggie Partlett - 1

    IGNORANCE IS BLISS... Ever since the death of his father, poor Fellworth Dolphin has slaved away as a waiter to support his miserly, cold-hearted mother. When his mother suddenly dies, Fellworth is shocked to discover that she has left him a sizable...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 11

    AGATHA RAISIN HAS FINALLY MARRIED THE MAN OF HER DREAMS, BUT NOW HER LIFE IS NOTHING SHORT OF A NIGHTMARE... The honeymoon is most definitely over for Agatha Raisin and her new husband, James Lacey. It's only been a short time since their wedding-...



  • Death of a Celebrity

    Hamish MacBeth - 18

    MURDER ON THE TELLY Lochdubh, a remote village reached only by a one-track lane, nestles serenely amid Scotland's hills...until well-known TV reporter Crystal French races into town in her bright BMW. And Constable Hamish Macbeth, dourly wed to duty...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 12

    'TIL DEATH DO YOU PART... Crankier than ever, Agatha Raisin wants to forget that her husband left her to enter a monastery--a turn of affairs more humiliating than when she caught him with a mistress. She feels abandoned, fat, frumpy, and absolute...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 13

    Wretched after being dumped by her husband, bored with pottering about Carsely, and wishing every man would sod off, including her neighbor John Armitage, Agatha Raisin is unmoved by news of the captivating new curate. But when she meets the golden-h...

  • Death of a Village

    Hamish MacBeth - 19

    TOWN WITHOUT PITY...OR A GOOD PUB Trouble is afoot in the remote Scottish fishing village of Stoyre, where the inhabitants are acting, well, fishy. On a routine visit, Constable Hamish Macbeth finds the pub empty, the church unexpectedly full, and...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 14

    THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT... Agatha Raisin, snug and warm in her Carsely cottage, has that same old feeling--boredom--until a report of a haunted house sends her and handsome new neighbor Paul Chatterton to investigate. Suddenly, middle-ag...

  • Death of a Poison Pen

    Hamish MacBeth - 20

    MURDEROUS MISSIVES A sudden plague of maliciousness strikes the beautiful Highland town of Lochdubh in the form of a rash of poison pen letters. Things turn deadly when the local postmistress is found hanged in her room...with a vicious note benea...

  • The Deadly Dance

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 15

    SHE'S OUTCLASSED, OUTMATCHED, AND OUTGUNNED Infuriated that her holiday was ruined by a mugging, Agatha Raisin decides to open up her own detective agency. The romance-minded sleuth is thrilled by visions of handsome fellow gumshoes and headline-m...

  • Death of a Bore

    Hamish MacBeth - 21

    THE INK IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD Famous writer John Heppel is a bitter, self-important man who cruelly belittles the scribblings of the locals signed up for his writing course. So when Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbeth finds Heppel murdered, his...

  • The Perfect Paragon

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 16

    AGATHA RAISIN...AND THE CASE FROM HELL She's nosed in on murder investigations, annoyed law enforcement on two continents, and been targeted by everyone from a hit man to a killer secretary. But now Agatha Raisin must take on her greatest nightmar...

  • Death of a Dreamer

    Hamish MacBeth - 22

    A DREAM OF DYING In the Highlands village of Lochdubh, every season has its special flavor. Lanky, red-haired constable Hamish Macbeth relishes them all, but spring is the grandest. Now the winter storms have blown out to sea, the loch is smooth as ...



  • Love, Lies and Liquor

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 17

    OLD HABITS DIE HARD Agatha Raisin is lonely. Busy as she is with her detective agency and the meetings of the Carsely Ladies' Society, she still misses her ex-husband, James Lacey. So when he suddenly resurfaces and invites her on holiday at a sur...

  • Death of a Maid

    Hamish MacBeth - 23

    A DEATHLY MESS A housecleaner who damages more, items than she dusts, Mrs. Gillespie is a notorious snoop who spreads malicious gossip throughout the Highlands. After winning her cleaning services in a church raffle, Lochdubh constable Hamish Macbet...

  • Kissing Christmas Goodbye

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 18

    BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR Agatha Raisin is bored. Her detective agency in the Cotswolds is thriving, but she'll scream if she has to deal with another missing cat or dog. Only two things seem to offer potential excitement: Christmas, and her ex...

  • Death of a Gentle Lady

    Hamish MacBeth - 24

    You are cordially invited to the wedding of Hamish Macbeth... Living in her castle near the village of Lochdubh, the elderly Mrs. Gentle wears lavender-colored clothes and is kind and solicitous of her neighbors. Everyone in town adores her -- exc...

  • A Spoonful of Poison

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 19

    THIS TIME, SHE'S GOT HERSELF IN A JAM Agatha Raisin's detective agency has become so successful that now all she wants is some R&R. But as soon as she cuts back her hours, Agatha remembers that when she has too much quality time, she doesn't know wh...

  • Death of a Witch

    Hamish MacBeth - 25

    A DEADLY BREW OF TOIL AND TROUBLE Returning from a vacation, Constable Hamish Macbeth senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over his Scottish village of Lochdubh. Newcomer Catriona Beldame has cast a bewitching spell over the town, causing the local m...

  • There Goes the Bride

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 20

    For whom the wedding bells toll... Much as it goes against the grain, Agatha Raisin is trying to be a good sport. Even though her ex-husband James Lacey's upcoming marriage to the beautiful Felicity Bross-Tilkington fills her heart with dread, she t...

  • Death of a Valentine

    Hamish MacBeth - 26

    Amazing news is spreading across the Scottish countryside. The most famous of highland bachelors, police sergeant Hamish Macbeth, will be married at last. While everyone in Lochdubh adores Josie McSween, Macbeth's newest constable and blushing bride-...

  • Busy Body

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 21

    This Christmas, be careful what you wish for... Cranky yet lovable Agatha Raisin has always been ambivalent about holiday cheer, though her cozy village of Carsely has long prided itself on its Christmas festivities. Until now. This year, local He...

  • The Agatha Raisin Companion

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery

    This book is a celebration of all things Agatha Raisin. It includes an introduction by M C Beaton, Agatha's biography, her background and retirement to the Cotswolds, her complex love life and the details of village life in Carsely. There are bri...



  • Death of a Chimney Sweep

    Hamish MacBeth - 27

    In the south of Scotland, residents get their chimneys vacuum-cleaned. But in the isolated northern villages, the people rely on the services of the itinerant sweep, Pete Ray, and his old-fashioned brushes. Pete is always able to find work in the Hig...

  • As the Pig Turns

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 22

    Winter Parva is a "picturesque" (touristy) Cotswold village with gift shops, a medieval market hall, and thatched cottages. After a disappointing Christmas season, the parish council has decided to hold a special event in January, complete with old-f...

  • Death of a Kingfisher

    Hamish MacBeth - 28

    When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other ...

  • Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 23.5

    Christmas Crumble continues the tradition in M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series -- now a hit show on Acorn TV and public television.At home alone for the holidays, Agatha Raisin decides to host a dinner party for the elder resid...

  • Hiss and Hers

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 23

    If only the bossy, beloved Agatha Raisin were as lucky at finding the right man as she is at catching killers in M. C. Beaton's New York Times bestselling mystery series Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of everyone's favorite sleuth, M. C. Be...

  • Death of Yesterday

    Hamish MacBeth - 28

    When a local woman tells Sergeant Hamish Macbeth that she doesn't remember what happened the previous evening, he doesn't begin to worry. She had been out drinking, after all, and he'd prefer not to be bothered with such an arrogant and annoying woma...

  • Something Borrowed, Someone Dead

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 24

    Gloria French was a jolly widow with dyed blonde hair, a raucous laugh and rosy cheeks. When she first moved from London to the charming Cotswolds hills, she was heartily welcomed. She seemed a do-gooder par excellence, raising funds for the church ...

  • Death of a Policeman

    Hamish MacBeth - 30

    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...

  • The Blood of an Englishman

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 25

    "Fee, fie, fo, fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman..." Even though Agatha Raisin loathes amateur dramatics, her friend Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar’s wife, has persuaded her to support the local pantomime. Stifling a yawn at the production of "Bab...

  • Death of a Liar

    Hamish MacBeth - 31

    Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is alarmed to receive a report from a woman in the small village of Cronish in the Scottish Highlands. She has been brutally attacked and the criminal is on the loose. But upon further investigation, Hamish discovers that she ...

  • Agatha's First Case

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 0.5

    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 o...

  • Dishing the Dirt

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 26

    When therapist Jill Davent moved to the village of Carsely, Agatha Raisin was not a fan. Not only was this therapist romancing Agatha's ex-husband but she dug up details of Agatha's not-too-glamorous origins. Jill also counsels a woman, Gwen Simple, ...

  • Death of a Nurse

    Hamish MacBeth - 32

    M. C. Beaton's New York Times bestselling Hamish Macbeth series continues with a new mystery featuring Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman. James Harrison has recently moved to a restored hunting lodge in Sutherland with his gor...

  • Knock, Knock, You're Dead!

    Hamish MacBeth - 31.5

    Hamish Macbeth, Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman returns in a new short story from New York Times bestselling author M.C. BeatonKnock Knock, You're Dead! A Hamish Macbeth Short StoryMrs. Morag McPhie hits upon the idea of sellin...

  • Pushing Up Daisies

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 27

    Agatha Raisin, private detective, resident in the Cotswold village of Carsely, should have been a contented and happy woman… But things are about to get a little less cozy. Lord Bellington, a wealthy land developer, wants to turn the community g...

  • Death of a Ghost

    Hamish MacBeth - 33

    Sergeant Hamish Macbeth--Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman--returns in M.C. Beaton's new mystery in her New York Times bestselling series DEATH OF A GHOST When Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth hears reports of a haunted castl...

  • The Witches' Tree

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 28

    Cotswolds inhabitants are used to inclement weather, but the night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, drive slowly home from a dinner party in their village of Sumpton Harcourt. They strain to see the road a...

  • Death of an Honest Man

    Hamish MacBeth - 34

    Sergeant Hamish Macbeth--Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman--returns in M.C. Beaton's new mystery in her New York Times bestselling series. DEATH OF AN HONEST MAN Nobody loves an honest man, or that was what police sergeant H...

  • The Dead Ringer

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 29

    New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin―now the star of a hit T.V. show―is back on the case again in THE DEAD RINGER. The idyllic Cotswolds village of Thirk Magna is best known for the medieval church of St. Ethe...

  • Beating About the Bush

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 30

    New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin―now the star of a hit T.V. show―is back on the case again. When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is abou...

  • Hot to Trot

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 31

    Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin-now the star of a hit T.V. show-is back on the case again in Hot to Trot. When Private Investigator Agatha Raisin learns that her friend and one-time lover Charles F...

  • Down the Hatch

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 32

    Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin -- now the star of a hit T.V. show -- is back on the case again in Down the Hatch. Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is stridi...

  • Death of a Green-Eyed Monster

    Hamish MacBeth - 35

    Sergeant Hamish Macbeth -- Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman -- is back and may have finally met the woman of his dreams in this new mystery in M.C. Beaton's beloved, New York Times bestselling series. Hamish's new...

  • Death of a Laird

    Hamish MacBeth - 34.5

    A wealthy laird's guests are trapped in his estate during a furious storm--but when the laird turns up dead, Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman, Hamish Macbeth, is on the case in this delightful new short story in M.C. Beaton's&#x...

  • Devil's Delight

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 33

    Beloved New York Times bestseller M.C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin -- the star of her own hit T.V. series -- is back on the case again in Devil's Delight.Agatha and her assistant, Toni, are driving to their friend Bill Wong’s long-awaited...

  • Death of a Traitor

    Hamish MacBeth - 36

    In this addition to a New York Times bestselling mystery series, Sergeant Hamish Macbeth -- Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman -- investigates the disappearance of a local woman who is more than she seems. Kate Hibbert i...

  • Dead on Target

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 34

    Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin -- the star of her own hit T.V. series -- is back on the case again in Dead on Target.A visit to the local village fete for a spot of fun and relaxation turns into a nightm...

  • Death of a Spy

    Hamish MacBeth - 37

    From a New York Times bestselling author, Sergeant Hamish Macbeth faces a string of mysterious robberies that are only the beginning of an international threat to his sleepy Scottish village of Lochdubh. Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is worried about how t...

  • Killing Time

    An Agatha Raisin Mystery - 35

    Beloved New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin -- the star of her own hit T.V. series -- is back on the case again.Agatha Raisin’s private detective agency has their work cut out for them when a series of shop burglar...

  • Death of a Smuggler

    Hamish MacBeth - 38

    From a New York Times bestselling author, a murder, a missing man, and his newest constable’s secret past are all that’s standing in the way of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth's relaxing winter. All Hamish Macbeth wants is a quiet life in his peaceful ho...

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

M.C. Beaton has published 79 books.

The next book by M.C. Beaton, Death of a Smuggler, will be published in February 2025.

The first book by M.C. Beaton, Death of a Gossip, was published in March 1985.

Yes. M.C. Beaton has 3 series.
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