John Pickett Mysteries 1-5 box set

Book excerpt: In this witty and romantic series, idealistic young Bow Street Runner and former pickpocket John Pickett, age twenty-four, meets beautiful widow Julia, Lady Fieldhurst quite literally over her husband’s dead body. The two are destined to cross paths again and again. But nothing can ever come of a relationship between persons of such very different backgrounds…can it? “John Pickett…[is]…a little young, but wholly delectable.” —All About Romance IN MILADY’S CHAMBER Estranged from her aristocratic husband through her failure to produce an heir, Lady Fieldhurst resolves to repay his neglect by taking a lover. Fate intervenes when she and her paramour enter her bedchamber and find Lord Fieldhurst on the floor—with her nail scissors protruding from his neck. Idealistic young Bow Street Runner John Pickett has spent most of his brief career chasing petty thieves. Nothing has prepared him for low dealings in high society…or for the beautiful young widow who is the chief suspect. A DEAD BORE Eager to escape the scandal of her husband's death, Lady Fieldhurst accepts an invitation to a house party. When a dinner party ends with the death of the vicar, she suspects murder and sends for John Pickett. He obliges by presenting himself as her footman, complete with livery and powdered hair. But he soon has his white-gloved hands full sifting through old secrets, uncovering hidden passions, and dealing with a demanding housekeeper. Then there is the problem of Lady Fieldhurst, at once an able assistant and an all-too-pleasant distraction. FAMILY PLOT John Pickett accompanies his magistrate to Scotland to investigate a woman found unconscious on the beach—a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the local laird’s daughter, missing and presumed dead for the last fifteen years. Pickett is surprised and gratified to discover that the woman was found by Lady Fieldhurst and her young nephews—and that she has registered at the seaside inn as Mrs. Julia Pickett. When old Angus Kirkbride dies only hours after announcing his intention of changing his will, “Mr. and Mrs. Pickett” must discover the truth about a lethal family reunion. DINNER MOST DEADLY When Lady Fieldhurst returns from Scotland blue-deviled, her friend Lady Dunnington plans a select dinner from whose guests she may choose a lover. But the evening ends in disaster when one of the men is shot. When Bow Street Runner John Pickett arrives to investigate, he is faced with the task of informing Lady Fieldhurst that their recent masquerade as man and wife has resulted in a legal marriage. Beset by distractions—including the humiliating annulment procedure and the flattering attentions of a pretty housemaid—Pickett must find the killer of a man everyone wanted dead. TOO HOT TO HANDEL When Drury Lane Theatre is plagued with jewel thefts, John Pickett goes incognito as a “gentleman” to investigate. His magistrate suggests an aristocratic female companion might prevent him from making any glaring faux pas, but the only lady Pickett knows is Julia, Lady Fieldhurst—to whom he is accidentally married, and with whom he is hopelessly in love. Then the theatre catches fire, and the pair must escape their box via a makeshift rope. When Pickett is struck in the head and left unconscious, Julia is determined to nurse him back to health and to discover his attacker. But can she walk away afterward?