Miss Tonks Turns to Crime

Poor Relation #2

by Marion Chesney, M.C. Beaton

Six genteel seniors raise funds for their fashionable Poor Relation hotel by sending spinster Miss Letitia Tonks to rob her selfish sister of a sparkling necklace and tiara. But dashing Lord Eston dons her highwayman mask instead. Letitia's niece Cassandra Blessop cannot forget the kiss he steals as well. In London, Cassandra and Letitia pose as incognito Hungarian royalty to expose Bonnard plotting at the rival hotel Tupples.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Romance, Audiobook, Historical, Regency

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Marion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.

Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.

Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Could She Do It?

Miss Letitia Tonks is an old maid. She is hoping to get some money for The Poor Relations Hotel, by stealing something valuable.

She visits her cruel unlikable sister Mrs. Blessop, to find something to steal that she can sell for the hotel.

She has a few other things that are happening to her while she ventures out to make some money. There are a lot of things that are going on with her and her niece Cassandra Blessop.

As usual, Marion Chesney also has a lot going on with the other characters in the book. This helps to make the story even more compelling and entertaining.

Five stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Merry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a silly suspend all disbelief and just go with the story. I liked the second half of the book more than the first. I did find it hard to accept the need for theft, but it is the premise of the series. The second half introduces a sudden romance that was purely a plot device, but I ended up enjoying it. I sound so negative about the book but did enjoy parts of it a LOT. Other parts not so much. So, the book gets a 3.5*

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

a mainly charming but very slim trifle let down by an annoyingly rushed, perfunctory climax.

spinster turned hotelier turned jewelry thief Miss Tonks: a delight!

nobleman turned highway robber turned ardent lover Lord Eston: a delight!

debutante turned runaway turned fun-loving spy Cassandra Blessop: a delight!

a supporting cast full of wily retirees and gold-diggers and snobs: a delight!

smooth but uninteresting prose; a pleasant, shallow, fun story with occasional moments of surprising depth; a pace that is, for the most part, perfectly brisk; two or three set pieces that created several smiles.

an ending that felt like the author needed to hurry up and put all the pieces together before her tea turned cold.

[Ivy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it a bad thing to rally around a main character whose purpose is to steal from her sister ?
The Poor Relation Collection, the 40 something yr old downtrodden and bullied spinster Leticia Tonks was cheated out of her inheritance by her wicked older sister Honoria Blessop. I know it doesn't justify theft but Honoria is a vicious obese hagwitch, who forced Leticia to live in genteel poverty while her fat ass luxuriated in her ill gotten gains. I think Leticia's plan is too long in coming. But, I didn't enjoy this as much as Lady Fortescue Steps Out. Leticia started out as a scaredy cat, mild mannered woman who was afraid of her own shadow. She decided to dress up as a highwayman, stop Honoria's coach and steal her sister's diamond necklace and tiara. That plan was foiled initially because she ended up hijacking the wrong coach ! Lord Eston, whose coach she'd hijacked, ended up helping her to rob Honoria because he found it all amusing and adventurous, plus he disliked Honoria. Lord Eston is also the romantic hero of this installment and he is intrigued by Leticia's niece Cassandra. That first part was delightful because Cassandra thinks that her bright red hair and freckles mean that a hunky guy like Lord E will never take her seriously, but he finds her unconventional looks and wicked sense of humour charming. He even kisses her when he stops her mother's coach and robs it ! He's in disguise so Cassandra doesn't recognize him. That doesn't stop the young woman from becoming totally infatuated with her charming highwayman.

I thought everything was going great up to this point because the villain Honoria was left to make ugly crybaby faces over the loss of her diamonds while her daughter Cassandra runs off to London with aunt Leticia. Lord E even steps in and plays the dashing romantic H again when he helps these 2 ladies out along the way to London. He showed all signs of becoming besotted with Cassandra:


How dark and cold the country was in winter. The lights of London beckoned—and a warm sweet pair of lips and a snub nose covered in freckles. He began to whistle as he went home to pack.

M. C. Beaton. Miss Tonks Turns to Crime (Kindle Locations 507-508). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.

This is Cassandra:



This is Lord Eston:



This is Leticia Tonks:



Like I said, everything was going really well, until the author threw in the crappiest shitfest of a plot twist. Lord E went from admiring the charming and quirky Cassandra to becoming instantly infatuated with a conventionally beautiful, spoilt, obnoxious, lisping, air headed, materialistic and dumb debutante called Amanda Boyle:


Lord Eston had forgotten all his lectures on love to Miss Cassandra Blessop. He was enchanted with Amanda Boyle and had been from the minute he set eyes on her.

M. C. Beaton. Miss Tonks Turns to Crime (Kindle Locations 920-921). RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition.

That just about ruined the romantic storyline for me and if this was purely a romance novel then I would rate it with just one star. Fortunately, this is not a pure romance novel so I was able to continue my enjoyment of the other funny aspects of Marion Chesney's tale. Lord Eston didn't even know, until a friend told him, that Amanda's father Sir Andrew Boyle was a con artist who concocted all sorts of nefarious schemes which he used to defraud others. Amanda didn't even let Lord E kiss her because she was kinda frigid and was only interested in becoming a countess. Lord E was a dumbass big patsy who even proposed marriage to Amanda even though he was more attracted to Cassandra. But that's enough about them because the other part of the story was far more entertaining. Sir Phillip and the other poor relations who owned the "Poor Relations Hotel" were soon faced with some serious competition from a new hotel called Tupples. The owner of Tupples, Mr. Donnard, was also a con artist who used a lot of underhanded schemes to defeat his competitors. Nonetheless, the poor relations were able to defuse Monsieur Donnard by sending Leticia and Cassandra to do some undercover work; the 2 ladies went in disguise as minor Hungarian royalty.

This storyline saved the novel because of the following key highlights:

1. Mr Bonnard gets Sir Andrew Boyle to plant a dead rat in the main course meal of "The Poor Relations" hotel restaurant, but is stopped by the wily Sir Phillip; the latter not only replaces the dead rat in Sir Andrew's coat pocket with a biting rat trap that almost breaks Sir A's fingers but also plants head lice on Sir A, his wife, Amanda and even Lord Eston ! I couldn't stop laughing during the scene when Amanda threw herself on the floor and starting to itch all over like a madwoman.

2. Sir Phillip arranges for a dead cat to be baked into the middle of a huge dessert cake in Tupples' hotel restaurant. ( No cats were killed. Sir P found a cat corpse ).

3. Monsieur Bonnard kidnaps Cassandra when he finds out that she had been doing undercover work for the poor relations, but Lord E saves her.

4. A rich merchant called Mr. Davenport falls in love with Amanda and out cons her father by sending him off to Jamaica.

5. Lord E pretends to be a bankrupt, lecherous sex maniac so that Amanda will jilt him. This leads to his reconciliation with Cassandra. The snobbish Amanda still ends up married to the rich Mr. Davenport so that irritated the F out of me. I wanted her and her family to end up as bankrupt outcasts because that's what they deserved.

I would've rated this higher if the romantic storyline had been better. Cassandra was a nice heroine but Lord E was a dumb jackass who was temporarily fooled by Amanda's beautiful face. I did find the overall story amusing though and Sir Phillip continues to be my fav character among the poor relations. He's mean, wicked, loves to steal and say nasty things to everybody but he's the resident scene stealer. That's why I ended up postponing my reading of the 3rd installment in the series and jumped on to his novel Sir Philip's Folly. That novel turned out to be my fav among all 6 in The Poor Relation Collection.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya gotta love the horrible Sir Philip - filthy, obnoxious, dishonest, but with a good heart in there somewhere. Lots of fun.

[Mo]

I remember reading a slew of Marion Chesney novels when my children were very young. They were just the right kind of light, mindless entertainment that I needed at the time. I had to read things that were very put-downable … books that would not consume me. My free time to read was very limited.

Basically, all of the books in any given Marion Chesney series were the same book. She had a formula, and stuck to it. She changed names, places and circumstances, but the basic plots remained identical. They were all set during the Regency (a period in history that I still adore to this day), and they were all usually under 200 pages each. The writing was simplistic, and really gave you nothing to ponder. These books fit the bill for me perfectly at the time.

Considering the number of books she has cranked out (Wikipedia lists 106 books under her own name and her pseudonyms), I’m not surprised that she does not write “great works of fiction”.

So I figured that since they were really all the same book, the same review would suffice!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole, I prefer the first book in this series but there were some fun parts to this story. Sir Phillip is such a character! I like seeing Miss Tonks grow in her courage and sense of self. The Lord Eston plot-line reminded me so much of a Georgette Heyer. Sylvester for sure and probably others that I’m forgetting. The period detail feels very accurate. (Sometimes too accurate? Like the chamber pot detail. 😂) A very fun, light read when I’m on a break from Betty Neels, my usual go-to author for this kind of novel.

[Gina Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

So now I guess I'm in a binge. Amusing, predictable-but-spirited, comforting. It's like reading milk and cookies.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should probably only give 3 stars, as the book follows closely the same pattern as the first one. But since I was exactly in the right mood for it, and I get to do with my review what I want, I’ll give it four. So there.

I enjoyed the quirky characters and the historical setting. I also thought quite impressive how the writer includes some unpleasant facts about the times, while still keeping it all very light.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second book in the series almost as much as the first. Davina Porter again worked her magic with her narration of the audiobook. Her performance was stellar! As other reviewers have pointed out, the same formula is employed to formulate the story. But I found it sufficiently different from the first novel and it kept me engaged and entertained. Like it's predecessor, it's a light, fun read. The characters are amply fleshed out and the plot keeps up at a steady pace. The various historical references made the story that much more authentic. I found myself shaking my head at how religion and politics kept women "in their place" and often uneducated. Religion also played a role in keeping the various classes in place. It was mentioned in the novel that if a person was bold enough to "move" to another class, they'd be punished! While society perhaps has not yet moved forward enough, at least it is no longer quite this parochial in its views. 3.5/5⭐️

[Persis Menon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series very much. It's not so intense, so I use it as a breather between novel.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stand and Deliver
Review of the Blackstone Audio Inc. audiobook edition (2012) of the 1993 original

Unless God send his hail
Or blinding fire balls, sleet or stifling snow,
In some time, his good time, I shall arrive. - Robert Browning, used as the epigram for Chapter 1 of Miss Tonks Turns to Crime

Miss Tonks Turns to Crime is the 2nd of 6 books in Marion Chesney's Poor Relation series. The eponymous Miss Tonks sets out from the Poor Relation Hotel to steal some jewelry from her stingy social climbing older sister, in order to support the hotel's finances. She does a rather hapless impersonation of a highwayman in order to deliver the "Stand and deliver!" robbery attempt of a carriage. The plan goes awry, but a sympathetic Lord Eston helps her out. The standard shenanigans ensue with a thwarted romance, a rival hotelier and squabbles at the Poor Relation. This is very light comic fare, but is especially entertaining due to the narration performance of Davina Porter.

I've completed my pandemic listening and reading splurge of cozy mysteries by M.C. Beaton, the penname used by Marion Chesney (1936-2019) for her popular Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series. Chesney first became a writer with various historical romances from 1977 onwards, before branching out into the crime genre with her first Hamish Macbeth in 1985 and first Agatha Raisin in 1992. Other series such as Edwardian Murder Mysteries and the Poor Relation are period historical fiction with light social commentary.

The main draw for these Regency or Edwardian period stories is the narration by veteran Davina Porter (approx. 230 book narrations to her credit) which is excellent throughout. Porter is especially good with her range of voices that is able to effectively mimic male as well as female tones.

The entire Poor Relation series is available free to Audible Plus members.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some days you just need a nice little regency romance with an element of farce. This book made me smile :)

[Kovaxka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kicsivel jobban tetszett, mint az előző rész, de elég rövidke volt. A Szegény Rokon Hotel tulajdonosai megint pénzszűkében vannak, sürgősen lopatni kell valamit. Ezúttal Miss Tonks a soros, de az események más irányt vesznek, továbbá konkurenciával is meg kell küzdeni. Sajnos a rivális hotellel való küzdelem során eléggé elvetik a sulykot hőseink, ezért pontot kellett levonnom. Összességében azért rendben van: könnyed stílusban írt, könnyen olvasható szösszenet, talán olvasom még tovább is.

[Susan in NC · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - this was more farcical romp than romance, and a fun, quick, light-hearted read. I'm not sure I read this years ago, but I enjoyed another visit with the eccentric Poor Relations running an eponymous hotel in Regency London - first as a way to force embarrassed relatives to buy them out, but now as a makeshift family proud of their success in trade. Silly but fun way to spend a couple hours when I needed a laugh!

[Treece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars

Will the Poor Relations every catch a break? One can hope.

This latest installment with bursting hijinks by Sir Phillip --always at the helm--and crew keeps the fun times rolling. The audio version adds dimension to the plot and motley assortment of characters. Can't wait to read the next book.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book in the Poor Relations Hotel was a fun romp. The Kindle edition did suffer a little from typos and I am unsure how historically accurate it is so I am giving this 3 rather than 4 stars.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and witty! Poor Miss Tonks :-)

[Jacqueline]

This was fun! I may have liked it more than the first book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally delightful romp! 😂😂😂 Excellent narration.

[Heather W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not go into this book expecting something akin to M.C. Beaton's other series, this is a completely different genre. I personally would class it more as a farcical romance type of book rather than a crime book.

With that in mid, I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters. I fell in love with Cassandra and Lord Easton pretty much straight away. I also enjoyed the exploits of the Poor Relation Hotel, and how they dealt with the issues that were thrown their way. The ending was satisfying and left me with a lot of smiles.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable book and one series that I will be returning to when I need an easy, light read.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still charming and funny, but not as much as the previous part of the series. Because there was not enough of 'Poor Relation' or because they lost some charm in my eyes? I am not sure.

The first part, with a highwayman (and how I started to see Eston) was great. I thought: "there is a chance for another wonderful Regency romance"). But then Eston went a different path, and for such change (behaviour) there was no place in such a short story.

Nonetheless, I still loved it for a typical Chesney's charming/romantical satire.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Poor Relation Series. Same cast of characters, new crazy schemes.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, frivolous, entertaining. A book for sunny days.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book of the Poor Relation Series. It is recommended to read the books in order, as they feed into each other. Book 1 lets us know how six impoverished "poor relations" of wealthy, aristocratic families find each other and, together, attempt to alleviate the near starvation conditions under which they had been living, on their own, as they strove to keep up appearances among their social peers while living in genteel poverty. In the first book these six friends established the Poor Relation hotel, which became quite successful, but by the time that this book begins, their improvident money management has brought them to the point of being in danger of losing the hotel and being plunged back into extreme poverty.

In the first book, two members of their group, Lady Fortescue and Sir Philip, had stolen valuable items from their rich relations, which Sir Philip pawned. In this book, it is decided that someone else must take a turn filching from rich relatives, and by the drawing of straws, timid, elderly spinster, Miss Letitia Tonks, is nominated to rob her rich sister in order to replenish the depleted coffers of herself and her friends.

While visiting her selfish snob of a sister, the intrepid Miss Tonks is inspired to dress up as a highwayman and steal her sister's massive, diamond necklace and matching tiara. But as she bravely attempts the daring deed, she mistakenly holds up the carriage of handsome Lord Eston. Fortunately, he not only takes pity on her, he gallantly dons her highwayman mask, successfully pilfers the diamonds for her, and on impulse, claims a kiss from Miss Tonks's lovely, young niece, Cassandra Blessop.

Thus begins the madcap adventures of Miss Tonks and Cassandra, who opts to flee to London with her aunt to escape the callous cruelty of her grasping mother.

This Regency-era, six-book series reminds me very much of another six-book Regency series, A House for the Season, by M. C. Beaton, both of which were originally published under the pseudonym, Marion Chesney. Each book in both of these series has an overarching "comedy of errors" plot and a secondary romance plot between a young set of lovers who are not part of the main ensemble cast, who appear in each book of these series. The romance subplot in these books, including this one, is always enjoyable, but inevitably rather perfunctory and rushed, because relatively little page time is allotted to develop it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if one enjoys Georgette Heyer's Regency romps with a similar formula, primary emphasis placed on a comedy of errors and secondary focus on a romance.

Chesney has a very unique voice in her books, which provides a slightly macabre window onto the often brutal demands of daily life in the Regency period, a coarse reality that historical romance novels normally tend to gloss over.

All in all, this book, like many other Chesney Regencies, has quite a few humorous moments, and her strong suit in achieving that goal is her quirky ensemble cast. Of all of these main characters in this particular series, in my view, Sir Philip absolutely steals the show. His incessant ability to come up with outrageously amoral plots in support of his adopted family of fellow poor relations is a frequent source of outright belly laughs. In this book in particular, the hair-raising things he does to the villain of the book, the dastardly Monsieur Bonnard, are well deserved and outright hilarious.

I rate this book as follows:
Heroine Miss Tonks: 4 stars
Ensemble cast: 4 stars
Romantic subcharacters: 4 stars
Historical setting: 4 stars
Comedy: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun series. Each one has quirky, loveable characters, and a strong sense of justice.
Clean rating: PG-13. There are some innuendos and usually some intimate parts. There really isn't very much, and Beaton writes it well, but I wouldn't want my teens to read those specific parts.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of poor relations of various high society families are invited by Lady Fortescue to help each other maintain their status with society. Out of necessity, they turn Lady Fortescue's home into a hotel. Each book in the series focuses on one of the members of this little group and entertains the readers with wit and charm. It's a bit dated, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Each book can stand on its own and delivers an HEA. These are very important attributes in a series for me. I'm glad I found this one.

[Lynne Tull · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few books/series I would read again. These stories of Marion Chesney started me on my adventure...reading Regency Romance/Novels/History! There is not a set of books that will teach you more about the basics about life in Regency England. There are six series with six books each. I love them all. It must be a "past life" thing:)

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute romantic comedy set in regency England. Lots of fun,