Mary and Bright Series by Sandra Sookoo

Nothing ushers in the holidays like mistletoe… and murder.Widow Mary Tomlinson isn’t looking for romance. At four and thirty, she’s content enough to keep house for her brother in London, but when the opportunity to act as chaperone for her niece at a Christmastide house party comes her way, she jumps at it. Even more when she discovers the party is hosted by Viscount Stanwick, a man she used to fancy in her youth... moreNothing ushers in the holidays like mistletoe… and murder.Widow Mary Tomlinson isn’t looking for romance. At four and thirty, she’s content enough to keep house for her brother in London, but when the opportunity to act as chaperone for her niece at a Christmastide house party comes her way, she jumps at it. Even more when she discovers the party is hosted by Viscount Stanwick, a man she used to fancy in her youth. The fly in the ointment is his brother and the troubling attraction for him she can’t quite ignore.Inspector Gabriel Bright is attending his brother’s house party in the countryside to help his son enter society. He cares not for ton life or for settling down; he feels most vital while working cases for Bow Street, but when the butler turns up dead shortly before dinner one night and Gabriel’s son is found with the murder weapon, he’s thrown into action. This plus an impromptu kiss with a woman in the stables that excites his imagination in fires his libido might prove the company not as dull as he thought.Possessed with organizational skills and an affinity for broken things, Mary soon is recruited to act as the inspector’s assistant as they investigate. Heat and desire simmer between them, but the two have more in common than they think when secrets from their pasts come to light during the case. If they wish to explore a life together beyond the boundaries of their torrid Christmastide affair—as well as solve the case—they’ll need to stay one step ahead of the killer. less

Is it even an engagement unless a dead body is involved?It’s been four months since Mary Tomlinson solved her first murder as well as entered into a passionate affair with her handsome, mysterious Bow Street inspector. Though she’s enjoyed herself hugely, she wonders where the relationship is heading. Surely, she can’t remain his mistress forever even if the bed sport is quite satisfying. There has to be… more to life.Inspector Gabriel Bright is a man on a mission... moreIs it even an engagement unless a dead body is involved?It’s been four months since Mary Tomlinson solved her first murder as well as entered into a passionate affair with her handsome, mysterious Bow Street inspector. Though she’s enjoyed herself hugely, she wonders where the relationship is heading. Surely, she can’t remain his mistress forever even if the bed sport is quite satisfying. There has to be… more to life.Inspector Gabriel Bright is a man on a mission. Old enough to know what he wants from his existence, he’s invited the widow to accompany him to a tea café in a relatively quiet section of London for the specific purpose of asking for her hand. However, during the course of uttering that all-important question, their romance is interrupted with the news of a murder just down the street.Once more Mary and Bright are on the case, for apparently someone has killed a popular butcher’s wife, but shortly into the investigation, they discover it’s no ordinary homicide. The murderer has left a gristly calling card of sorts and it’s connected to Bright’s past. If the case isn’t solved in time, it could have dire consequences for their brand-new engagement as well as terminate the romance that’s barely put down roots. less

It’s a bad omen to find a corpse on the eve of a wedding… unless it was fate’s plan all along.Autumn has arrived in England and so has Mary Tomlinson’s long-awaited wedding day to her handsome former Bow Street inspector. Though her newfound happiness frightens her—she’s had ill-fortune with men in the past—she’s looking forward to what her future will bring, for assisting in solving crimes is quite invigorating, especially when mixing business with heady trysts of pleasure... moreIt’s a bad omen to find a corpse on the eve of a wedding… unless it was fate’s plan all along.Autumn has arrived in England and so has Mary Tomlinson’s long-awaited wedding day to her handsome former Bow Street inspector. Though her newfound happiness frightens her—she’s had ill-fortune with men in the past—she’s looking forward to what her future will bring, for assisting in solving crimes is quite invigorating, especially when mixing business with heady trysts of pleasure.After retiring from his position at Whitehall, on the eve of Inspector Gabriel Bright’s wedding to the intriguing Mary, he attends the opera with her for no other reason than to treat her to her favorite play. Despite their obstacle-strewn path to romance, he’s anticipating wedding—and bedding—the attractive woman and being a husband again as well as making their oftentimes hotly passionate relationship legitimate.Yet when they stumble over a dead body in a shadowy corridor at the opera house, the course of those plans is thrown into jeopardy, especially when the dead man in question had been a one-time suitor of hers. As tension brews between Mary and Bright, and their newly adopted daughter tries to test the boundaries of their newly established family, their investigation takes them to Brighton and plunges them into a secret pleasure spa. The new distractions prove harrowing and dangerous to them both, and unless they solve the case, there will be nothing left of the relationship to warrant a wedding. less

When trying to evade a killer, the best hiding place is in plain sight… with a mask.It’s autumn in London, and with All Hallow’s Eve approaching, Inspector Gabriel Bright is suffering from a bit of anxiety, for he and his wife are helping her niece gain more notice in her Come Out Season. It’s delicate business juggling those duties with keeping his family happy, as well as worrying about a new criminal threat to London he’s been tapped to work—young women vanishing without a trace... moreWhen trying to evade a killer, the best hiding place is in plain sight… with a mask.It’s autumn in London, and with All Hallow’s Eve approaching, Inspector Gabriel Bright is suffering from a bit of anxiety, for he and his wife are helping her niece gain more notice in her Come Out Season. It’s delicate business juggling those duties with keeping his family happy, as well as worrying about a new criminal threat to London he’s been tapped to work—young women vanishing without a trace.Mary Bright can’t believe her niece, Adelaide, is enjoying her Come Out year, and that she and Gabriel have a hand in it. Except as the days count down toward the masquerade ball, the inspector is consulting for Bow Street on a string of missing young women, the first of whom has just been taken. As much as adores working cases with him, she hopes for the best regarding the disappearances… until one of the girls turns up dead.Regardless of the fact Gabriel and his wife will host a ball, the couple is asked to investigate the death from the girl’s parents. As clues present themselves and the suspect list is compiled, another body is discovered. Fear sweeps through London’s ton, which puts strain on Mary and Bright to solve the cases, but when Adelaide has captured the killer’s notice at the ball, all hell breaks loose. It will take every ounce of cleverness to keep their wits about them as well as elude a murderer, but if they can manage that, their own romance—and their family—will come out the stronger. less