Veronica Heley Bücher

The fake diamond in Dilys Holland's engagement ring implies that all is not well with her marriage. And Bea Abbot has already clashed with Dilys's husband, the bullying Benton, when she refuses to help him rescue his ailing company. But matters are about to turn a great deal worse when Dilys tries to commit suicide. Or does she?

Bea finds herself obligated to help a businessman whose life is in danger . . . and is sucked into a community packed with scandal, intrigue and corruption. Bea Abbot is asked to find the man or woman who laid a booby trap for Sir Lucas Ossett, the powerful head of an international company, in his own block of flats.She finds Sir Lucas's wife in a state of fear, while gossiping elderly ladies cast doubt on the probity of their eclectic neighbours. Soon it's clear that Sir Lucas's influence reaches out to touch and perhaps corrupt even those nearest to Bea, while trivial incidents escalate into violence - and death.

Ellie Quicke is back - Ellie and her new husband Thomas are called to deal with student Ursula, who has staged a sit-in at church. Ursula challenges Ellie to solve three mysteries: a broken engagement, a disappearance and a death. As she investigates, Ellie suspects there is more to these events than anyone is admitting. Soon she finds her own friends and family targeted, as a powerful group hunts her down . . .

Bea Abbot's summer plans go awry when her ward Bernice's schoolfriend finds herself in trouble. Evelina Trescott's uncle died in a mysterious accident, and Evelina arrives on Bea's doorstep heavily drugged up on epilepsy medication and unable to remember finding her uncle's body. Is she really a hapless victim, or is Bea harbouring a wily criminal?

Asked by the wealthy Marcia Tredgold and her daughter, Charlotte, to find replacements for staff that left under a cloud of suspicion, Bea finds that there is more to the story and wonders if the death of two cats points to something more sinister afoot.

Bea Abbot's husband and talented artist, Piers, is in a state. His morning visit to actress and 'national treasure' Karina's Belgravia home has ended in chaos as Karina appears to have been robbed. When some of the missing items are found in Piers' pockets, Bea is dragged into the melee. But as she investigates, events take a chilling turn .

A dinner party descends into chaos – and death – in the latest gripping Abbot Agency mystery.Attending a birthday celebration for two young girls, Bea Abbot tries not to let superstition get the better of her when she realizes they are thirteen at dinner. What she doesn’t anticipate is that the evening will end in sudden, violent death.Suddenly a dining room curtain goes up in flames. While two members of the host family are rushed to hospital, Bea and a fellow guest search for the birthday girls in a house which has been plunged into darkness. And then the chaos begins …Could the fire have been started deliberately – and were young Bernice and Alicia the intended targets? As Bea investigates, she finds herself drawn into the girls’ troubling a world rich in money but lacking in love.