Mary Stanton - Angels Verdict (A Beaufort & Company Mystery)

Table of Contents

PRAISE FOR

Avenging Angels

Stantons third Beaufort & Company Mystery is a gem. Its an original and thought-provoking concept, and Stantons imagination knows no bounds.

Romantic Times (4 stars)

An engaging tale due to a strong cast starting with the lead attorney. The storyline is fast-paced on Earth and in court ... Fans will enjoy this still unique, quirky, angelic spin on the afterlife.

Genre Go Round Reviews

A witty and engaging mystery of life after death... An entertaining and fun read.

The Romance Readers Connection

Quick paced with an unusual twist... A devilishly good read.

The Mystery Reader

As intriguing and exciting as the first two books.

Fresh Fiction

Angels Advocate

Stanton packs this story with murder, mystery, and suspense... An entertaining mystery with a dash of the unknown.

Darque Reviews

Stanton has melded legal procedure, medieval philosophy, and theology into a fresh, unique, and ever-expanding world.

ReviewingTheEvidence.com

A very intriguing, impossible-to-put-down mystery.

Romance Junkies

A brilliantly plotted whodunit... I couldnt put it down!

Fresh Fiction

Highly original and plain fun!

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Great new series from Mary Stanton... A very unique take on a cozy legal!

Gumshoe Review

Defending Angels

Engaging and charismatic... A breath of fresh air for fans of paranormal cozy mysteries.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Mary Stanton brings a unique mixture of charm and quirkiness... Bree and her unconventional employees are impossible to resist.

Suspense Magazine

Dont start reading too late at nightits one of those books you cant put down until you finish.

The Compulsive Reader

Packed with Southern charm and spooky foreshadowing that will delight readers!

Fresh Fiction

This is not one of the cozies that make for some mundane reading, but instead it is a mix of hilarity, heart-stopping danger, and clever storytelling.

Roundtable Reviews

Spooky Southern charm and a wonderfully inventive approach to the afterlife with a celestial twist makes Mary Stantons Defending Angels a real standout. Brava!

Madelyn Alt, bestselling author of A Witch in Time

Defending Angels successfully spices the madcap zaniness of Bridget Jones with the determined goodness of a young lawyer fighting to build her first practice.

Mindy Klasky, author of To Wish or Not to Wish

Mary Stanton has truly captured the spiritor spirits of Savannah.

Don Bruns, author of Stuff to Spy For

Intriguing and wholly different and original. Defending Angels is at once charming, erudite, and chilling. This book should give Mary Stanton the same kind of cult following usually reserved for Charlaine Harris.

Rhys Bowen, award-winning author of the Royal Spyness Mysteries

An elegant enchantment with a delightful heroine and a historic setting.

Carolyn Hart, author of Laughed Til He Died

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Mary Stanton

DEFENDING ANGELS
ANGELS ADVOCATE
AVENGING ANGELS
ANGELS VERDICT

Titles by Mary Stanton writing as Claudia Bishop

Hemlock Falls Mysteries

A TASTE FOR MURDER
A DASH OF DEATH
A PINCH OF POISON
MURDER WELL-DONE
DEATH DINES OUT
A TOUCH OF THE GRAPE
A STEAK IN MURDER
MARINADE FOR MURDER
JUST DESSERTS
FRIED BY JURY
A PUREE OF POISON
BURIED BY BREAKFAST
A DINNER TO DIE FOR
GROUND TO A HALT
A CAROL FOR A CORPSE
TOAST MORTEM

The Casebooks of Dr. McKenzie Mysteries

THE CASE OF THE ROASTED ONION
THE CASE OF THE TOUGH-TALKING TURKEY
THE CASE OF THE ILL-GOTTEN GOAT

Anthologies

A PLATEFUL OF MURDER
DEATH IN TWO COURSES

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

ANGELS VERDICT

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / February 2011

Copyright 2011 by Mary Stanton.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN: 9781101481165

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group
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For Sally, Bud, and Phoebe

Authors Note

I have taken liberties with the geography of that most beautiful of cities, Savannah, Georgia, for the purpose of this novel. My apologies to her citizens.

Neither the characters nor situations in this novel are based on actual events.

Cast of Characters

The Winston-Beauforts

Brianna Bree Winston-Beaufort... appeals attorney for dead souls

Antonia Winston-Beaufort... Brees sister, an aspiring actress

Royal Winston-Beaufort... Brees adoptive father

Francesca Winston-Beaufort... Brees adoptive mother

Cecilia Cissy Carmichael... Francescas sister, Bree and Antonias aunt

Franklin Winston-Beaufort... deceased, Royals uncle

The Company of Angels (Angelus Street Office)

Lavinia Mather... Brees landlady
Ronald Parchese...Brees secretary
Petru Lucheta... Brees paralegal
Armand Cianquino... director, retired law professor
Gabriel... the enforcer
Sasha... a guard dog

Some Citizens of Savannah (1952)

Haydee Quinn... a dancer at the Tropicana Tide nightclub

William Bagger Bill Norris... gangster-owner, Tropicana Tide nightclub

Alexander Bulloch II... son of Alexander and Consuelo Bulloch

Consuelo Bulloch... matriarch of the Bulloch family

Lt. Edward OMalley... homicide detective