Defending Angels (A Beaufort & Company Mystery) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: sea mew, corporate tax law, Defending Angels, Mary Stanton, Professor Cianquino (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A unique angle and smart plotting highlight the launch of Stanton's Beaufort & Company paranormal mystery series. After inheriting her uncle's Savannah, Ga., law practice, Bree Winston-Beaufort gets a call from Benjamin Skinner, a despised—and deceased—billionaire. Bree, thrust into the mysterious world of Celestial Law, agrees to represent the late Mr. Skinner before the Celestial Court, where he is on trial for greed. A cast of colorful and imaginative characters, including handsome, annoying PI Gabriel Striker, support her as she searches for witnesses to Skinner's rare altruism and untimely death. Stanton (A Taste for Murder and others as Claudia Bishop) balances the pace skillfully, seamlessly weaving Bree's bewildering supernatural experiences into her investigation. Engaging and charismatic, angel's advocate Bree will be a breath of fresh air for fans of paranormal cozy mysteries. (Dec.)
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Review

“Should give Mary Stanton the same kind of cult following usually reserved for Charlaine Harris.”
—RHYS BOWEN

“An elegant enchantment with a delightful heroine and a historic setting.”
—CAROLYN HART

“Spooky Southern charm...A real stand-out.”
—MADELYN ALT, NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HEX MARKS THE SPOT

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425224988
• ISBN-13: 978-0425224984
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,434 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Defending Angels has every element needed that makes for a great story, December 2, 2008

By	Rachel P. Smith "BittenbyBooks.com" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Imagine this: You are new in town, ready to take on your late uncle's law firm, and totally gung ho about it. You finally find a place to set up your temporary office. Unfortunately it is in the middle of a cemetery that has only murderers buried in it, and your landlady seems a bit eccentric but hey! At least the rent is cheap. You finally hire two intelligent assistants who seem to be relatively sane. Then voila, you receive that first call from someone (and not just any someone, mind you, but one of the biggest and meanest tycoons in the state) who wants you to represent them. The only problem is, when you immediately call him back, you find out that he's been dead for hours. What would you think?

Brianna Winston Beaufort (but please call her "Bree") thinks it is nothing more than a practical joke brought on by her ex-boyfriend. It just HAS to be. Either that, or everyone around her is completely crazy or it is just her that is losing it.

Bree has to figure things out before she goes mad with frustration. Who are these people she has surrounded herself with? Why are they telling her to take on dead people as clients? Why have her nightmares been coming back? And why is that painting of the cormorant coming to life? What secrets had her uncle been keeping from her about his clientèle? She begins to think that maybe it would be best if she did not bother taking on her uncle's firm.

Defending Angels has every element needed that makes for a great story. The words will captivate you while the story will haunt you. There were so many elements to this story that simply cannot be expressed without giving away too many details. Simply put this is a book that is going on my "must keep" pile.

Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Lyda

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing mystery!, January 7, 2009

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (1/09)

Brianna Winston-Beaufort thinks that she is lucky to find an inexpensive office for rent in a prime business area of Savannah. When she goes to see the property she discovers that the building is sitting next to a private, all-murderers cemetery. The landlord, Lavina, who lives in the building, also appears to be very eccentric. Strange things begin happening immediately. Brianna takes the space and obtains a client list that she has inherited from a recently-deceased relative. She also receives some gifts from a former professor who was very special to her. The gifts include a cell phone which has a message from a recently-deceased, publically-known man who wants to hire her.

Brianna discovers that she is to be part of an organization that will represent deceased clients who are trying to defend their way into heaven. She isn't too sure that she wants this job, but people and even animals come into her life to help give her support with her cases. She also uncovers some important secrets about her own past. She learns that in addition to her education, she also has special gifts that can help her with her cases and deal with the evil that she encounters.

I loved reading "Defending Angels" by Mary Stanton! It is a "Beaufort & Company Mystery," so I hope that there are many more books to follow in this series. Mary Stanton has developed a wonderfully unique idea as a basis for this paranormal murder mystery series. I really enjoyed that she included animals with special abilities in this book. She also did an excellent job of bringing the magic and mystery of Savannah alive to make you feel like you are really there. This is a must read for all fans of paranormal mysteries. It would also make a great book for a reader's group. It will definitely generate some fun discussions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angels and Demons, February 15, 2009

By	Sassy girl "Sassy" - See all my reviews

I am happy to have found a new cozy mystery. This one was written by Mary Stanton (Claudia Bishop). I have enjoyed her "Hemlock Falls" and "Casebooks of Dr. McKenzie" mysteries. Now we have a new series called "Beaufort & Company".
This mystery centers around a woman lawyer named, Brianna Winston-Beaufort. Bree inherits her uncle's law practice in Savannah, Georgia.
Little does she know, her first client will be a ghost. This ghost is a tough cookie. He wants answers as to who killed him and he wants the answers NOW!
Bree has her hands full with some "unusual helpers" on the job ,to get the case solved.
With the "company of angels" by her side, she delvers the goods.
As Shakespeare wrote, "There are more things in heaven and Earth".
This mystery definitely shows us more. An interesting concept to be sure.
I am looking forward to the next installment in this mystery series.