When Bea Abbott returns to London after burying her husband in New Zealand, she finds her Kensington house has been rearranged by her daughter-in-law who had been house-sitting. Her life is turned upside down: Bea can't cope with the loss of her beloved partner, and the two people who work for her husband's chaotic agency, which handles domestic crises, are young and needy. In the capable hands of Heley, author of the "Ellie Quicke" series (Murder by Committee), Bea overcomes all obstacles and finds that life, while challenging, can be good. The first Abbott Agency mystery is a winner that will appeal to fans of British cozies. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The creator of Ellie Quicke (Murder of Identity, 2007, etc.) rolls out a new series featuring the Abbott Agency, which handles domestic crises with efficiency and discretion. Bea Abbott is a recent widow saddled with a strong moral compass and a grasping, presumptuous child. Max Abbott, MP, expects Bea to close down the agency founded by her late husband Hamilton and slope on off to England's south coast so that he and his ultrachic wife Nicole can continue to live in her Kensington home, located conveniently near Westminster. But Bea has other ideas--first and foremost to clear up the loose ends Max left while she and Hamilton were in New Zealand on what they knew would be their last trip together. For example, on the agency's recommendation, Coral Payne catered two events for a charity that paid her with two bad checks, pushing her business to the edge of insolvency. Max thinks that's Coral's tough luck, but Bea, disagreeing, sets Maggie, the hyperactive agency temp Max hired in her absence, and Oliver, the teenaged computer geek Maggie took in when his family cast him out, to track down the con artists who staged an elaborate event for the benefit of tsunami victims and pocketed the proceeds, leaving a trail of unpaid bills. Although the two heroines are cut from similar cloth, Heley's new series has a quirky vibe that edges it beyond its pedestrian plot. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

At the start of this ingenious series debut from British veteran Heley (Murder at the Altar), Bea Abbot, recently widowed in New Zealand, has returned to London hoping for an empty house in which to grieve and put her life back together. Instead, she finds that her son, Max, recently elected to the House of Commons, has deserted the family investigation business, Abbot Agency, now destined for closure. To make matters worse, Max has hired Maggie, a young woman with pink hair, who has befriended a teenage boy, Oliver, and both are living in Bea's house. When caterer Coral Pyne, Bea's old friend, arrives saying she's been stiffed by a client and wants Bea's help recovering the money, Bea wants to tell them all to leave her alone. Nonetheless, feeling obliged to help Coral, she begins to investigate her claims and unknowingly finds herself one step behind a murderer. The cast of outrageous characters compliments a complex mystery. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved