Defending Angels by Mary Stanton Receives Starred Publishers Weekly Review

Defending Angels by Mary Stanton has received a starred review in the October 13, 2008 issue of Publishers Weekly. The first in Stanton's Beaufort & Company mystery series featuring protagonist Brianna "Bree" Winston Beaufort, Defending Angels will be released by Berkley Prime Crime on December 2, 2008.

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 16, 2008 -- Defending Angels by Mary Stanton has received a starred review in the October 13, 2008 issue of Publishers Weekly. The first in Stanton's Beaufort & Company mystery series featuring protagonist Brianna "Bree" Winston Beaufort, Defending Angels will be released by Berkley Prime Crime on December 2, 2008.

Publishers Weekly reports: "A unique angle and smart plotting highlight the launch of Stanton's paranormal mystery series. Engaging and charismatic, angel's advocate Bree will be a breath of fresh air."

Twenty-eight years old and fresh out of Duke law school, Bree, the oldest daughter of a wealthy, eccentric South Carolina family, is fed up with the loving but stifling interference of her parents and siblings. Determined to build a law practice on her own terms, Bree packs up a U-Haul and moves to Savannah, Georgia.

From the moment she arrives in Savannah, Bree is thrust into a whirlwind of activity. From finding an office to hiring staff, there's a lot to be done in preparation for her firm's grand opening. She's suspiciously lucky to find the ideal office space - a tiny, early 19th century house tucked away in the back streets of the Historic Landmark District - perfect but for the fact that it's located in the middle of a neglected cemetery.

Despite a series of curious obstacles, Bree, with the help of her loyal and intuitive canine companion Sasha, finally manages to open Beaufort & Company for business. When she lands her first client, Bree's excitement quickly turns to dismay when she realizes the nature of the case. Liz Overshaw wants to sue the estate of her dead partner, Benjamin "Blackheart" Skinner. The cause of action? Liz claims Skinner has told her he was murdered and demands that Bree finds out who did it.

When her staff convinces her to take on the case, Bree finds herself in the middle of a terrifying hunt on behalf of this revenge-seeking ghost. In the course of this case, Bree learns the uncomfortable truth: she is the temporal defender of those dead souls who want to appeal their sentences to the circles of heaven and hell.

If Bree thought her family was meddlesome, heaven help her. As founder of the highly unusual Beaufort & Company, this plucky but reluctant heroine is getting off to one hell of a start.

According to Madelyn Alt, best-selling author of No Rest for the Wiccan, "Spooky Southern charm and a wonderfully inventive approach to the afterlife with a celestial twist makes Mary Stanton's Defending Angels a real stand-out. Brava!"

Mary Stanton divides her time between an 850-head goat farm in upstate New York, and West Palm Beach, Florida. Beaufort & Company: Defending Angels (Berkley Prime Crime, ISBN: 978-0425-224984, $7.99) is her thirty-third novel. Beaufort & Company: Defending Angels will be available where better books are sold on December 2, 2008. For more information, please contact Maryglenn McCombs by phone - (615) 297-9875.

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