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Abbot Agency #12
False Pride
A brown leather briefcase containing priceless family jewels brings chaos and carnage to Bea’s ordered life in the latest lively Abbot Agency mystery.
Looking forward to a peaceful weekend, Bea Abbot’s plans are disrupted by the unexpected arrival of one of her clients, bearing a brown leather briefcase full of expensive jewellery. Magda Summerleys has been working as a housekeeper for wealthy art expert Lucas Rycroft who, she says, entrusted her with the briefcase for safekeeping – and who seems to have disappeared without trace.
Drawn into the tangled affairs of the dysfunctional Rycrofts, Bea soon discovers that other members of the family are determined to get their hands on the jewels – by whatever means necessary. Also caught up in the chaos is her ex-husband Piers, who had been commissioned to paint Lucas Rycroft’s portrait. Then a body is discovered at Lucas’s home …and events begin to spiral out of control.
Looking forward to a peaceful weekend, Bea Abbot’s plans are disrupted by the unexpected arrival of one of her clients, bearing a brown leather briefcase full of expensive jewellery. Magda Summerleys has been working as a housekeeper for wealthy art expert Lucas Rycroft who, she says, entrusted her with the briefcase for safekeeping – and who seems to have disappeared without trace.
Drawn into the tangled affairs of the dysfunctional Rycrofts, Bea soon discovers that other members of the family are determined to get their hands on the jewels – by whatever means necessary. Also caught up in the chaos is her ex-husband Piers, who had been commissioned to paint Lucas Rycroft’s portrait. Then a body is discovered at Lucas’s home …and events begin to spiral out of control.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2018
275 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Veronica Heley
100 books131 followersVeronica Heley has published more than fifty books, including crime fiction, historical, and children's titles. She is currently involved in the Ellie Quicke series of crime stories and a variety of other projects. A full-time writer, she has been married to a London probation officer since 1964, and has one musician daughter.
AKA Veronica Thorne
AKA Veronica Thorne
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 24, 2022
Widowed businesswoman Bea Abbott has kept in touch with her lothario ex-husband — the handsome, charming Piers, a famous portrait painter — for decades, even through her happy marriage to her second husband, Harrison. As usual, Piers deposits his own problem at Bea’s door — literally, in this case. Magda Summerlys, a housekeeper to wealthy art expert Lucas Rycroft, has been dispatched by Piers to Bea’s house. Her employer has vanished, and he left her with a fortune in family jewels in a briefcase. She and Piers were manhandled and threatened by a pair of twins who are Rycroft cousins, and Magda fears for her life — and Leon Rycroft’s.
False Pride proves as exciting as it sounds as the practical, clever Bea explores what’s going on (I don’t want to spoil things by describing future mayhem). However, it’s not as fine as most of author Veronica Heley’s novels. In addition, most readers will find their enjoyment dampened by the introduction of an improbable love interest for Bea. Intelligent, self-sufficient Bea Abbott has never been desperate for a man, no matter how immature or flawed; too bad that, suddenly, author Veronica Heley begs to differ.
False Pride proves as exciting as it sounds as the practical, clever Bea explores what’s going on (I don’t want to spoil things by describing future mayhem). However, it’s not as fine as most of author Veronica Heley’s novels. In addition, most readers will find their enjoyment dampened by the introduction of an improbable love interest for Bea. Intelligent, self-sufficient Bea Abbott has never been desperate for a man, no matter how immature or flawed; too bad that, suddenly, author Veronica Heley begs to differ.
February 26, 2018
The latest book in this long-running series. Bea Abottt runs a domestic agency that brings workers and employer together. She has accepted Bernice as her ward. This one we find Bea looking forward to a visit from Bernice, only to be dismay when Bernice changes the plan. A former client arrives carrying briefcase contains a fortune of jewelry. She needs help as her employer, Loud Rycroft gave her the briefcase to keep for him and he has disappeared. Bea is drawn into a situation where she becomes involved in the dysfunctional Rycroft family. She will find pride, greed, bullies, and jealousy before she finds the answer which will surprise you as it did me. I highly recommend this book and series.
Disclosure: Many thanks to Severn House for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.
Disclosure: Many thanks to Severn House for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.
September 23, 2019
The End - Book #12, I have finally finished this series. I inadvertently started with the most recent book first.
Bernice has turned into a cheeky pre-teen, Piers is still wooing Bea and she is as annoying as ever. I won’t miss any of the characters except Winston the cat. Bea is a terrible pet owner, she overfeeds the poor animal and allows him up on counters and tables amid all the food she is constantly preparing.
I think it’s time both the author and Bea retire.
Bernice has turned into a cheeky pre-teen, Piers is still wooing Bea and she is as annoying as ever. I won’t miss any of the characters except Winston the cat. Bea is a terrible pet owner, she overfeeds the poor animal and allows him up on counters and tables amid all the food she is constantly preparing.
I think it’s time both the author and Bea retire.
December 21, 2017
Family greed can lead to murder.
Magda, the trusted housekeeper of Lucas Rycroft is given the family jewels to look after while Lucas has a haircut. He has supposedly been told by his older brother to withdraw the jewels and take them to a studio where Lucas has to sit for a portrait. Before he gets there other Rycroft members arrive and threaten the housekeeper and the painter.
Magda makes her way to her old employer, Bea Abbot Agency, with a desperate plea to help find Lucas and hide the jewels.
Before long bodies, dead and alive start to appear and it becomes obvious that someone is out to change the lives of the Rycrofts.
This book is perfect for ladies of a certain age meeting for coffee and cake and to discuss this rather thrilling story. The grammar is perfect as is the syntax and the obvious attraction between Magda and Lucas, while the other Rycrofts are cads and get what they deserve.
This is the picture I kept getting while I read it. The story is good although quite predictable. I suppose it could be called a ‘Cosy’ mystery, with lots of ‘old-fashioned looks’ and tea.
A well-written tale, ideal to read on a Sunday afternoon with a cuppa and a piece of sponge cake.
Shesat
Breakaway Reviewers were given a copy of the book to review.
Magda, the trusted housekeeper of Lucas Rycroft is given the family jewels to look after while Lucas has a haircut. He has supposedly been told by his older brother to withdraw the jewels and take them to a studio where Lucas has to sit for a portrait. Before he gets there other Rycroft members arrive and threaten the housekeeper and the painter.
Magda makes her way to her old employer, Bea Abbot Agency, with a desperate plea to help find Lucas and hide the jewels.
Before long bodies, dead and alive start to appear and it becomes obvious that someone is out to change the lives of the Rycrofts.
This book is perfect for ladies of a certain age meeting for coffee and cake and to discuss this rather thrilling story. The grammar is perfect as is the syntax and the obvious attraction between Magda and Lucas, while the other Rycrofts are cads and get what they deserve.
This is the picture I kept getting while I read it. The story is good although quite predictable. I suppose it could be called a ‘Cosy’ mystery, with lots of ‘old-fashioned looks’ and tea.
A well-written tale, ideal to read on a Sunday afternoon with a cuppa and a piece of sponge cake.
Shesat
Breakaway Reviewers were given a copy of the book to review.
December 11, 2018
I enjoy Healey's light series about a clever woman who runs her own agency to supply domestic workers for a variety of positions. Her characters are well drawn and the plots are sometimes complex -- perhaps too complex this time. The story had so many victims that it became repetitive instead of intriguing. I'm sure, leaving aside a mass murder, one could kill a few people in one family. This plot surely was overkill. I wondered what was gained by having so many victims which made the story more tedious at times. I liked the live characters, liked the story line, would have appreciated meeting some of the family before they all died.
December 27, 2018
The plot is too complicated for my taste. Halfway through the book the central characters tape some paper together and create a timeline: who did what, who was where, who knew this ... but one is not provided for the reader. Much of the book is characters speculating about the above, and it is not really that interesting.
June 2, 2018
Isn't Mrs. Abbott the one that knows the security wiz who is a bodyguard? Why wasn't he brought in here?
January 11, 2019
A motley collection of women trying to fix a lot of problems created by a, predominately, useless group of males, peers of the realm even!!
Mostly harmless.
Mostly harmless.
April 3, 2018
Do you like mysteries with very complicated plots? If so, then you’ll want to read Veronica Heley’s False Pride. Bad things happen faster than the police can keep up with them, and Bea Abbot, owner of the Abbot Agency, an employment service, finds herself in the middle of events surrounding the mysterious and secretive Rycroft family. Is this a power play or could the motive be greed or maybe revenge? Is one person behind all the crimes? Bea is forced to unite forces with her ex-husband Piers as he too is unintentionally pulled into a slew of deadly happenings.
While Bea is trying to survive threats, violence, and home invasions, she also has to deal from afar with the willfulness of her precocious ward Bernice. Romance is in the air for some of the characters, but these personal affairs take a back seat to a series of crimes so involved that the main characters unite to create a timeline to try to piece together the information they have acquired in order to discover who is behind these robberies and deaths.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Severn House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
While Bea is trying to survive threats, violence, and home invasions, she also has to deal from afar with the willfulness of her precocious ward Bernice. Romance is in the air for some of the characters, but these personal affairs take a back seat to a series of crimes so involved that the main characters unite to create a timeline to try to piece together the information they have acquired in order to discover who is behind these robberies and deaths.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Severn House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 10, 2018
Bea Abbot is planning a relaxing weekend at home when one of her clients arrives in a panic bearing a briefcase and a wild story involving Bea's ex-husband, Piers. The next thirty-six hours are wild, headache-inducing ordeals of threats, beatings, burglaries, murders, and general mayhem. Not to mention (alright, I will) Bernice, Bea's ward, instead of coming home for the weekend, leaves for the Isle of Wight without letting Bea or her mother know. Chaos all around. It's exhausting, but very entertaining and it turns out fine in the end.
March 20, 2018
I'd not read this series before but I quickly dove into this fast paced cozy. Frankly, if I had been Bea, I would have sent Magda and the jewels to the police but then we wouldn't have a novel! There's lots of twists (well, it's not too complicated) involving family issues among the Rycrofts. I also liked the thread of Bernice, who has gone off without letting anyone know. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A quick read for a lazy afternoon.
April 19, 2023
Convoluted
I'd read one or two books by this author when A False Pride turned up on Kindle Unlimited. It's a somewhat convoluted plot concerning a family inheritance and there's quite a lot of explication, but it's still enjoyable, even if at times it feels a little implausible. There are humorous touches and, on this one at least, a positive heap of bodies. All in all, it lives up to its cosy mystery billing.
I'd read one or two books by this author when A False Pride turned up on Kindle Unlimited. It's a somewhat convoluted plot concerning a family inheritance and there's quite a lot of explication, but it's still enjoyable, even if at times it feels a little implausible. There are humorous touches and, on this one at least, a positive heap of bodies. All in all, it lives up to its cosy mystery billing.
May 17, 2023
Too convoluted a plot to be enjoyable reading!
My least favorite Bea Abbott mystery. Too unbelievable for words. I found reading it annoying and trying to keep the characters sorted out gave me a headache. Though her other mysteries are among my favorites, I recommend you give this one a miss.
My least favorite Bea Abbott mystery. Too unbelievable for words. I found reading it annoying and trying to keep the characters sorted out gave me a headache. Though her other mysteries are among my favorites, I recommend you give this one a miss.
July 15, 2023
good adventure
Another complex adventure for Bea she does get into fixes and though so eti es I want her to just turn these people away but then there would be no story. So once I get passed that the story is always fun and keeps me guessing.
Another complex adventure for Bea she does get into fixes and though so eti es I want her to just turn these people away but then there would be no story. So once I get passed that the story is always fun and keeps me guessing.
July 24, 2023
Very convoluted and unrealistic
Not the best one of this series at all. Too ridiculous a story and far too many silly characters and multiple murders . This one was a bit silly and not worth reading
Not the best one of this series at all. Too ridiculous a story and far too many silly characters and multiple murders . This one was a bit silly and not worth reading
August 11, 2023
disappointed
I found this book hard going, the repeating of the story was tedious, however, I finished it and enjoyed the end with Piers and Bea.
Never, will I understand why they don’t call the police!
I found this book hard going, the repeating of the story was tedious, however, I finished it and enjoyed the end with Piers and Bea.
Never, will I understand why they don’t call the police!
June 17, 2025
A good read
Just like the other Abbot books, this was a good read although one of my least favorite plot points. It was a bit slow and the characters were okay. I still enjoyed it, it just took a little more time to get into it.
Just like the other Abbot books, this was a good read although one of my least favorite plot points. It was a bit slow and the characters were okay. I still enjoyed it, it just took a little more time to get into it.
April 1, 2023
Very much enjoying this series.
April 23, 2023
Love this series
Loved the characters. Always enjoy characters from previous books. Interesting plot and how the crime is solved. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
Loved the characters. Always enjoy characters from previous books. Interesting plot and how the crime is solved. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
April 29, 2023
Hmm
Maybe I'm just not posh enough but from loving this I've found this one a bit odd . Okay but not as good as the early stuff . Still a good pace just I didn't really care.
Maybe I'm just not posh enough but from loving this I've found this one a bit odd . Okay but not as good as the early stuff . Still a good pace just I didn't really care.
April 30, 2023
Kooky Read
Bea is always in the middle of the kooky dramas and you never know which way is up. I think anyone with a funny Home will like it.
Bea is always in the middle of the kooky dramas and you never know which way is up. I think anyone with a funny Home will like it.
May 4, 2023
Exciting mystery
There are a lot of twists and turns to this mystery to keep you guessing who the culprits are. Add the amazing characters to the mix is exceptional.
There are a lot of twists and turns to this mystery to keep you guessing who the culprits are. Add the amazing characters to the mix is exceptional.
June 24, 2023
The Rycroft clan made this more complex than usual.
Piers a hero!
Piers a hero!
October 3, 2024
Bodies fall in all directions. Piers and Bea are on the case this time, sorting out who is causing the mayhem as their adversaries strive for control of the family fortune.
December 27, 2025
Enjoyable
mystery
July 2, 2018Find it at the West Hempstead Public Library http://encore.alisweb.org/iii/encore/...
July 20, 2018
This was an Abbot Agency Mystery about families, relationships and hidden jewels with a few murders to add a bit of interest and confusion.
Bea Abbot and her ex-husband accidentally get involved in a robbery and murder plot. Magda is given precious jewels to keep safe from would be thieves. She hides them but someone else hides them in a better place. People are murdered and injured during the hunt for the jewels.
This novel kept me guessing to the last pages. Everyone was confused and did not know who they could trust. Lots of humor.
Bea Abbot and her ex-husband accidentally get involved in a robbery and murder plot. Magda is given precious jewels to keep safe from would be thieves. She hides them but someone else hides them in a better place. People are murdered and injured during the hunt for the jewels.
This novel kept me guessing to the last pages. Everyone was confused and did not know who they could trust. Lots of humor.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews