Delightfully Deadly Books in Order

The Delightfully Deadly books pick up with graduates of Mademoiselle Geraldine's school after the events of Finishing School. These are stand-alone novellas set in the 1860s, and they feel a little more grown-up than Sophronia's school adventures while keeping the same Parasolverse mix of wit, danger, and social absurdity.

Think former schoolgirls with sharper skills and more complicated love lives.

Each novella follows a different woman. Poison or Protect belongs to Preshea Villentia, a notorious widow and practiced assassin whose latest assignment becomes messier when a Scottish officer from the wrong side proves harder to dismiss than expected. Defy or Defend turns to Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, a deceptively fluffy fixer sent to deal with a vampire hive that has drifted into dangerous melodrama. Ambush or Adore gives Agatha Woosmoss, once the quiet wallflower, a story that stretches across decades and finally forces her to reckon with the man who has loved her all along.

The scale here is smaller than in the main series, and that is part of the charm. Instead of saving empires, these women are often navigating missions, reputations, jobs, old hurts, and the practical business of deciding whether they can trust the person standing next to them. The espionage and supernatural trouble are still there, but they serve stories that are more intimate.

Carriger also uses these novellas to show what Mademoiselle Geraldine's girls look like once they have had time to become themselves. The school trained them to survive, manipulate, observe, and improvise. Adult life gives those skills different shapes. One woman becomes a feared operative, another a bright social fixer, another the sort of invisible intelligence agent people underestimate at their own risk.

If you already love Finishing School, these books are a treat because they reward your affection for side characters. If you are new, they still work because each romance stands on its own. Expect spies, supernatural politics, emotional competence that arrives in fits and starts, and the deep pleasure of watching clever women handle a crisis in very pretty clothes.