A murder for Miss Hortense - Mel Pennant

'Fresh, original and intriguing from start to finish!' Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Examiner and The Appeal

'What a joy - a brilliant new amateur sleuth to rival Miss Marple!' Good Housekeeping

'More than a cosy crime mystery . . . it's the story of a community' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

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 been short-changed on turmeric before she's even 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 the community she loves, tested to their limits.

'A beautiful novel, suffused with fondness and wit . . . highly entertaining' Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series

'Unique, compulsive, and laugh-out-loud brilliant!' Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man

'A vibrant tribute to the Windrush generation' Jessica Bull, author of Miss Austen Investigates