A British Regency murder mystery/romance set in 1815, written "with the assistance of Jane Austen's letters." Balls, visits, courtships, gossip (and murder, of course!). Especially for readers who love Jane Austen, Sharon Lathan, Georgette Heyer and Barbara Pym.

Everyone in the small seaside village of Taviscombe is looking forward to the festival. So is Mrs. Sheila Malory-that is, until the unpleasant Adrian Palgrove joins the planning committee. Mrs. Malory, an avid reader of nineteenth century literature, is dismayed to find the man constantly in her path. First Adrian gleefully informs her that he has been appointed executor of the estate of a renowned author, whose private life he intends to expose. Soon his bad behavior has alienated his fel...

While in Stratford, widow Sheila Malory always stays with her old friend, actor David Beaumont. On this visit she finds him in dire straits: his career is on the skids and his finances are in ruins. Unless he can convince his penny-pinching brother Francis to sell their jointly owned family home in the seaside village of Taviscombe, the bank will repossess his cottage. Francis, Dean of the Culminster Cathedral, does not believe that charity begins at home. He refuses to put the house on th...

A small university in Pennsylvania has engaged Mrs. Sheila Malory to teach a course on Nineteenth-Century Women writers, and so, with some reluctance, the widow leaves her home in the charming seaside village of Taviscombe to experience academic life in America. The semester will prove even more challenging than she thought, for no sooner does she arrive than a colleague is found with a bullet in his head. The victim is particularly nasty, a man many would like to see dead. Lieutenant Land...

The sleepy seaside town of Taviscombe has more than its share of gossips and schemers. It also has Mrs. Sheila Malory, a widow whose gift for judging character and unmasking murderers is as impressive as her knowledge of nineteenth-century literature. Mrs. Malory's sleuthing talents are tested once again when she comes upon the body of one of her friends, a sweet elderly lady. Miss Graham's death by poison is quite convenient for a local doctor of dubious reputation; the dead woman's refus...

Something peculiar is going on at the Group Medical Practice in Taviscombe. Sheila Malory can't help but feel it may be linked with the unexpected arrival of Dr Morrison. Arrogant and cold-mannered, his alleged misdiagnosis of a local patient who later died has made him the focus of village rumour. When Dr Morrison is found dead, apparently murdered, it is assumed to be a random act of violence. However Sheila Malory is not convinced. Had Dr Morrison been involved in some sort of dangerous...

Charles Richardson enlists the talents of Mr. Sheila Malory whose pastimes include reading nineteenth-century novels and ferreting out the truth. She is soon convinced that Lee Montgomery has been the victim of foul play.

Eva Jackson is Rosemary's cousin ( 'umpteen times removed' ) and she has moved back to her childhood home in Taviscombe after the untimely death of her beloved husband Alan. As is the way of the village, Eva has been pounced upon by the local charities, and it is during a coffee morning that she mentions to Sheila Malory that she fears Alan might have died an unnatural death . Sheila is intrigued and sets out to find out more. But when Eva's body is discovered after a supposed insulin over...

When widower Shidney Middleton is found dead in his cottage from carbon monoxide poisoning, Sheila Malory is deeply disturbed. The old man had seemed in good health and the ageing wood-burning stove, cited as causing the fatality, had just been serviced. Sheila's suspicions that this was no accidental death just won't be quietened. Sidney had always seemed a pleasant, unassuming gentleman. So Sheila is shocked when, at the old man's funeral, she encounters outright hostility. Then Sheila u...

When local author Sheila Malory is asked to research the history of Mere Barton, she has her reservations; particularly as 'The Book' is one of the many projects of Annie Roberts, the most unpopular resident.Indeed, it seems that hardly anyone has a good word to say about her. When Annie suffers a fatal bout of self-inflicted food poisoning, there is more relief than grief around the village. However, as Sheila continues work she discovers there is more to Annie's unpopularity than ...

When Sheila Malory reluctantly agrees to help out in one of Taviscombe's charity shops, she is warned about the 'control freak' manager Desmond Barlow. But still, surely no-one would wish him harm? When his lifeless body is discovered, Sheila finds herself at the heart of the investigation. Unofficially, of course.

Taviscombe's veterinary practice is facing closure unless they can find a new partner to invest money in the business. Enter Malcolm Hardy; tall, good looking and rich enough to save the surgery. But soon he has offended most of the town, accusing a colleague of malpractice and installing his girlfriend as a veterinary assistant. As far as Sheila Malory is concerned, there is nothing to like about the new vet. But despite his unpopularity it is still a shock when Hardy collapses and dies a...