"Beaton ... does a brilliant job of depicting Agatha's struggles with aging and keeping her detective agency afloat. Her romantic upheavals (will she ever marry close friend Sir Charles Fraith?) continue to tantalize."--"Publishers Weekly "(Starred Review) "Testy Agatha, continuing her habit of falling for unsuitable men, scores again with a cunning mixture of satire and mystery."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Beaton is a master of the cozy formula -- there are plenty of red herrings, a large cast of suspects and an eagle-eye view of village life."--"RT Book Reviews"

M. C. Beaton has been hailed as "the new Queen of Crime." She is the "New York Times" bestselling author of the Agatha Raisin mysteries, including "A Spoonful of Poison" and "As the Pig Turns." She has also written more than 100 historical romance novels under the name Marion Chesney. Before writing her first novels, Beaton worked as a bookseller, a newspaper reporter and fashion critic, and a waitress in a greasy spoon. Born in Scotland, she currently divides her time between Paris and a village in the English Cotswolds. She was selected the British Guest of Honor for the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in 2006.