The Skeleton in the Closet - Softcover

Beaton, M. C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312981457 ISBN 13: 9780312981457

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2002

Synopsis

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 inheritance. confused, Fell teams up with Maggie, a plain girl with a similar background, to investigate the source of the riches. But what they find is a closet full of skeletons...

Is it really possible Fell's father was involved in a long-ago train robbery? Who's the mysterious woman in the portrait hidden in his mother's wardrobe? As Maggie and Fell poke around the village for answers, they find themselves on a surprise-filled path to danger and adventure, and--just possibly--love. But Fell's sudden good fortune could come to an abrupt end if he doesn't stay one step ahead of a cunning killer... from beloved novelist M.C. Beaton comes this thrilling stand-alone mystery, The Skeleton in the Closet.

About this title

About the Author

M. C. BEATON, the British guest of honor at Bouchercon 2006, is a New York Times bestselling romance and suspense writer who has been hailed as the "Queen of Crime" (The Globe and Mail). She is the author of more than twenty Agatha Raisin novels, whose fans range from the actress Elizabeth Hurley to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as the Hamish Macbeth series. Born in Scotland, she now divides her time between Paris and the English Cotswolds.

From Publishers Weekly

Taking a break from her two long-running series (Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth), Beaton introduces a pair of engaging misfits whose struggles to cope with overbearing families and overweening circumstances teach them, eventually, to rely on each other. When diffident fortyish virgin Fellworth Dolphin's mother dies, he finds himself surprisingly relieved and freed from a bondage he was only partially aware of. That's nowhere near the astonishment he feels when he learns that, in spite of their penurious existence, he's heir to a large sum. In a moment of panic, when it seems an aunt might assume the tyrannical role his mother once played, Fell pretends an engagement to mousy waitress Maggie Partlett. In fits and starts, Maggie and Fell begin their separate transformations--she to a swan, he to a drake. One catalyst is the money and its questionable provenance--perhaps the result of an infamous train robbery that occurred many years ago and that Fell's father might have been involved with. The other is the transformation wrought by their shared investigation and their shared lives, as Maggie falls in with the pretended engagement for her own purposes. Various relatives and villains attempt to derail the couple as they journey, but there's never a question of where the author is taking her odd couple, and never a doubt they will arrive safely. The trip will delight fans of either of Beaton's other series. (Mar. 21)will be published on Mar. 6 (see Forecasts, Dec. 18, 2000).

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312981457
• ISBN 13: 9780312981457
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240