A Murder for Miss Hortense
by Mel Pennant
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Pub Date 12 Jun 2025 | Archive Date 19 Jun 2025
John Murray Press | Baskerville
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Description
'It's Murder She Wrote as you've never seen it before' Sir Lenny Henry
Death has come to her doorstep . . .
Retired nurse, avid gardener, renowned cake maker and fearless sleuth Miss Hortense has lived in Bigglesweigh, a quiet Birmingham suburb, since she emigrated from Jamaica in 1960. She takes great pride in her home, starching her lace curtains bright white, and she can tell if she's being short-changed on turmeric before she's taken her first bite of a beef patty. Thirty-five years of nursing have also left her afraid of nobody, be they a local drug dealer or a priest, and an expert in deciphering other people's secrets with just a glance.
Miss Hortense uses her skills to investigate the investments of the Pardner network - a special community of Black investors, determined to help their people succeed. But when an unidentified man is found dead in one of the Pardner's homes, a bible quote noted down beside his body, Miss Hortense's long buried past comes rushing back to greet her, bringing memories of the worst moment of her life, one which her community has never let her forget.
It is time for Miss Hortense to solve a mystery that will see her, and those she loves, tested to their limits.
A community can protect its members. Can it also hide a killer?
**The first in a gripping new crime series**
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781399814379 |
PRICE | £16.99 (GBP) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
What a great addition to the amateur sleuth genre. Miss Hortense is a retired nurse, living in Birmingham at the end of the 20th century. Her retirement is far from sedate and despite her upright manners and politeness, she's certainly not to be trifled with. She's a force of nature. Forget girl power, this is older woman power. She's Miss Marple but with a handbag full of back up items in case she needs to disable an attacker.
I absolutely loved Miss Hortense. What a great character I tore through this fantastic book. It's such a novel and fun story. The characters are distinct and singular and the story was fiendishly clever. I really enjoyed the writing style and the slang/patois of the dialogue, along with the multiple cultural references. This felt fresh and new and was a great book. I hope this is a series.. Mel Pennant has written a blinder here .
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