M C Beaton Books

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M C Beaton is a pseudonym used by prolific and popular British romance, mystery and crime fiction writer, Marion Chesney. She was born in 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland. She is married to Middle East Correspondent – Harry Scott Gibbons and has a son called Charles Gibbons. She has worked in several places such as John Smith & Sons Ltd as a book seller in the fiction department, Scottish Daily Mail as theatre critic, Scottish Daily Express as a crime reporter and Fleet Street as a journalist. Currently, she currently divides her time between Paris and Cotswolds, where she and her husband live in a small village.

Order of Agatha Raisin Series

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

Order of Agatha Raisin Non-Fiction Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Agatha Raisin Companion 2010 Description / Buy

Order of Hamish Macbeth Series with R.W. Green

# Read Title Published Details
1 Death of a Gossip 1985 Description / Buy
2 Death of a Cad 1987 Description / Buy
3 Death of an Outsider 1988 Description / Buy
4 Death of a Perfect Wife 1989 Description / Buy
5 Death of a Hussy 1990 Description / Buy
6 Death of a Snob 1992 Description / Buy
7 Death of a Prankster 1992 Description / Buy
8 Death of a Glutton / Death of a Greedy Woman 1993 Description / Buy
9 Death of a Travelling Man 1993 Description / Buy
10 Death of a Charming Man 1994 Description / Buy
11 Death of a Nag 1995 Description / Buy
12 Death of a Macho Man 1996 Description / Buy
13 Death of a Dentist 1997 Description / Buy
14 Death of a Scriptwriter 1998 Description / Buy
15 Death of an Addict 1999 Description / Buy
16 A Highland Christmas 1999 Description / Buy
17 Death of a Dustman 2001 Description / Buy
18 Death of a Celebrity 2002 Description / Buy
19 Death of a Village 2003 Description / Buy
20 Death of a Poison Pen 2004 Description / Buy
21 Death of a Bore 2005 Description / Buy
22 Death of a Dreamer 2006 Description / Buy
23 Death of a Maid 2007 Description / Buy
24 Death of a Gentle Lady 2008 Description / Buy
25 Death of a Witch 2009 Description / Buy
26 Death of a Valentine 2009 Description / Buy
27 Death of a Chimney Sweep / Death of a Sweep 2011 Description / Buy
28 Death of a Kingfisher 2012 Description / Buy
29 Death of Yesterday 2013 Description / Buy
30 Death of a Policeman 2014 Description / Buy
31 Death of a Liar 2015 Description / Buy
32 Knock, Knock, You're Dead! 2016 Description / Buy
33 Death of a Nurse 2016 Description / Buy
34 Death of a Ghost 2017 Description / Buy
35 Death of an Honest Man 2018 Description / Buy
36 Death of a Green-Eyed Monster / Death of a Love ( With: R.W. Green) 2022 Description / Buy
37 Death of a Laird (Short Story) ( With: R.W. Green) 2022 Description / Buy
38 Death of a Traitor ( With: R.W. Green) 2023 Description / Buy
39 Death of a Spy ( With: R.W. Green) 2024 Description / Buy

Order of M.C. Beaton Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Poor Relation 1984 Description / Buy
2 Summertime Splendor 1992 Description / Buy
3 The Skeleton in the Closet 2001 Description / Buy
4 Summer of Discontent (Short Story) 2015 Description / Buy

Order of Cozy Case Files Mystery Sampler Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Cozy Case Files Volume 1 ( By: Cynthia Riggs, Mindy Quigley) 2017 Description / Buy
2 Cozy Case Files Volume 2 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Hannah Dennison, Cate Conte, Diane Kelly, E.J. Copperman, Ellie Alexander, Cynthia Riggs, Susan C. Shea, Mindy Quigley) 2017 Description / Buy
3 Cozy Case Files Volume 3 ( With: Donna Andrews, Ellie Alexander, Mindy Quigley) 2017 Description / Buy
4 Cozy Case Files Volume 4 ( By: Parnell Hall, Shari Randall, Ellen Hart, Ellie Alexander, Frances Brody, Tessa Arlen, Vivien Chien, Julia Chapman, Paige Shelton, Jane K. Cleland, Mindy Quigley) 2018 Description / Buy
5 Cozy Case Files Volume 5 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Carola Dunn, Sheila Connolly, Ellie Alexander, Susan C. Shea, Judith Flanders, Mindy Quigley, Auralee Wallace) 2018 Description / Buy
6 Cozy Case Files Volume 6 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Cate Conte, Kylie Logan, Leonard Goldberg, Allison Montclair, Ellen Hart, Sheila Connolly, Mindy Quigley) 2019 Description / Buy
7 Cozy Case Files Volume 7 ( By: Donna Andrews, Diane Kelly, Ellen Crosby, Ellie Alexander, Vivien Chien, Ashley Weaver, Mindy Quigley) 2019 Description / Buy
8 Cozy Case Files Volume 8 ( With: Diane Kelly, Vivien Chien, Paige Shelton, Susan Cox, Elizabeth Penney, Mindy Quigley) 2020 Description / Buy
9 Cozy Case Files Volume 9 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Hannah Dennison, Kylie Logan, Leonard Goldberg, Susanna Calkins, Allison Montclair, Ellie Alexander, Eve Calder, Mindy Quigley) 2020 Description / Buy
10 Cozy Case Files Volume 10 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Cate Conte, Diane Kelly, Ellen Hart, Ellie Alexander, Vivien Chien, Jane K. Cleland, Ashley Weaver, Susan Cox, Elizabeth Penney, Mindy Quigley) 2020 Description / Buy
11 Cozy Case Files Volume 11 ( By: Diane Kelly, Ellie Alexander, Vivien Chien, Paige Shelton, Mariah Fredericks, Elizabeth Penney, Mindy Quigley) 2021 Description / Buy
12 Cozy Case Files Volume 12 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Hannah Dennison, Cate Conte, Kylie Logan, Leonard Goldberg, Allison Montclair, Sheila Connolly, Ellie Alexander, Ashley Weaver, S.C. Perkins, Eve Calder, Jess Dylan, Mindy Quigley, Meri Allen) 2021 Description / Buy
13 Cozy Case Files Volume 13 ( By: Mindy Quigley) 2021 Description / Buy
14 Cozy Case Files Volume 14 ( By: Diane Kelly, Gigi Pandian, Ellie Alexander, Paige Shelton, Mindy Quigley, Korina Moss) 2022 Description / Buy
15 Cozy Case Files Volume 15 ( By: Mindy Quigley) 2022 Description / Buy
16 Cozy Case Files Volume 16 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Diane Kelly, Elizabeth Penney, Mindy Quigley, Korina Moss, M. C. Beaton) 2022 Description / Buy
17 Cozy Case Files Volume 17 ( By: Rhys Bowen, Diane Kelly, Gigi Pandian, Ellie Alexander, Paige Shelton, Jean-Luc Bannalec, Olivia Matthews, Olivia Blacke, Mindy Quigley, Clare Broyles, Korina Moss, Anastasia Hastings) 2023 Description / Buy
18 Cozy Case Files, Volume 18 ( By: Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Leonard Goldberg, Allison Montclair, Vivien Chien, Olivia Matthews, Olivia Blacke, Mindy Quigley, Meri Allen, Katharine Schellman, Korina Moss) 2023 Description / Buy
19 Cozy Case Files, Volume 19 ( With: Donna Andrews, Cate Conte, Diane Kelly, Ellie Alexander, Cynthia Riggs, R.W. Green, Elizabeth Penney, Korina Moss, Celeste Connally) 2023 Description / Buy
20 Cozy Case Files, Volume 20 ( By: Rhys Bowen, Gigi Pandian, Ellie Alexander, Paige Shelton, Olivia Matthews, Jennifer J. Chow, Olivia Blacke, Mindy Quigley, Clare Broyles, Anastasia Hastings) 2024 Description / Buy
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M.C. Beaton Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Mysterious Press Anniversary Anthology: Celebrating 25 Years 2001 Description / Buy
2 Cozy Case Files Volume 3 2017 Description / Buy
3 Cozy Case Files Volume 8 2020 Description / Buy
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After the birth of her son Charles to her husband Harry Scott Gibbons, the family moved to the United States when her husband took a job as the editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. From there, the two of them would go on to work at Rupert Murdoch’s start-up tabloid called The Star. They lived in New York at this time, but Marion’s time with The Star wouldn’t last long as she wanted to spend more time at home with her second child, Marion.

This is when she began writing Recency Romance novels at an incredible pace to support her working from home. She wrote close to 100 historical romance novels under her maiden name, Marion Chesney. Writing about the 1811-1820 period of time can get old though, especially when you write so many novels of the time period and she deicided to start writing detective stories under the pseudonym M C Beaton. These stories would be what took her to another level of writing success.

Her characters have been inspired by her surroundings in a lot of ways. A course at a fishing school in Sutherland on holiday inspired her first Hamish Macbeth story. A move to Cotswolds helped create the character of Agatha Raisin. She has used many pseudonyms throughout her career including Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tramaine, Charlotte Ward and Helen Crampton, but in the US and abroad M. C. Beaton is used most often as that is the most successful of her names.

M C Beaton has been writing since 1979, and has authored several successful novels including the Hamish Macbeth and the Agatha Raisin mystery series. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series consists of over 25 mystery novels written from 1992 onwards. It depicts the character of Agatha Raisin as a retired public relations agent who moves from London to Cotswolds and strives hard to solve the mystery murders around her.

The Hamish Macbeth series on the other hand follows Hamish Macbeth, a fictional village police officer who uses his wit to solve crimes in his town, and occasionally bend the rules to suit him or his friends. The series has more than 30 books written from 1985 onwards.

M C BEATON AWARDS

M C Beaton’s long and outstanding writing career has not gone without being noticed. In 1986, she won the Romantic Times Award for Outstanding Regency Series Writer. She has also won international acclaim for her New York best selling Agatha Raisin series and the Hamish Macbeth series.

M C BEATON BOOKS INTO MOVIES

M C Beaton’s novel – Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death from the Agatha Raisin book series, was adapted into an eight-episode comedy drama and aired on Sky1 starting Dec. 2014. It stars actress Ashley Jensen as Agatha Raisin.

The Hamish Macbeth book series was also turned into a comedy-mystery drama series and first aired in 1995 by BBC Scotland. The Hamish Macbeth TV series, which is based loosely on the book series, stars Robert Carlyle as the main character. It aired between 1995 and 1997 before the show was cancelled. The first and second seasons had 6 episodes each, while the third episode had eight episodes.

M.C. BEATON BEST BOOKS

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death: This is the first novel of the Agatha Raisin mystery series. The plot is set in Cotswolds, England and revolves around the main characters’ lives – Agatha Raisin, Bill Wong, Roy Silver and James Lacey. In the novel, Agatha Raisin is introduced as a successful former PR officer who sells her apartment in London and goes to begin a new life in Carsely town. She quickly finds out that she is unable to make friends with the locals because they are very quiet. Encouraged by Bill Wong, a local bobby, she decides to join a quiche competition at the village hoping to win.

However, things take a turn for the worst when the judge at the competition dies suddenly after taking a bite of the quiche that Agatha brought with her. When she becomes the prime suspect in the murder, Agatha decides to prove herself innocent and find the judge’s real killers.

The Vicious Vet: The plot of this novel is also set in Cotswolds. In the beginning, Agatha Raisin is portrayed as a woman who is addicted to city life, and finds it very difficult to adjust to her new life in the village. Quickly, she finds herself attracted to James Lacey, a retired military officer who lives in her neighborhood. However, when she realizes that he isn’t interested in her, she quickly tries to attract the smart and good-looking vet of the town.

However, the vet is found dead a few days later next to a high strung horse. The police believe that his death was accidental, but Agatha thinks he was murdered. She together with James Lacey, work together to investigate who killed him. However, Agatha’s attempts to solve the murder, puts her life in great danger, though she is unaware of it. She has to catch the murderer as soon as she can before she becomes his next victim.

When Does The Next M.C. Beaton book come out?

M.C. Beaton doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Killing Time and was released on October, 8th 2024. It is the newest book in the Agatha Raisin Series.

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1 thought on “M C Beaton”

  1. Mrs. Marion Chesney Gibbons (M. C. Beaton) died on December 30, 2019, according to her obituaries.
    Perhaps she gave Mr. Green permission to continue publishing as a co-author?
    Regardless, the “last” book co-written did not have her “voice,” and had many factual flaws. To be fair, even Mrs. Gibbons at times did not strictly adhere to her character’s back story.
    Mr. Green describes his relationship with Mrs. Gibbons here: femalefirst.co.uk/books/m-c-beaton-hot-to-trot-1260949.html

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