A murder for Miss Hortense

Pennant, Mel2025

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Summary

Retired nurse, avid gardener and renowned cake maker Miss Hortense has lived in Bigglesweigh, a quiet suburb of Birmingham, England, 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 shortchanged on turmeric before she's taken her first bit of a beef patty. A career in nursing has also left her afraid of nobody, whether an interfering priest or a local drug dealer, and she's an expert in deciphering other people's secrets with just a glance. Miss Hortense once used to use her skills to benefit the Pardner network - a local group of Black investors that she helped found. Until, that is, until she was unceremoniously ousted from its ranks, severing her ties to the majority of her friends and community. That was thirty years ago. Now, as a new millennium dawns, an unidentified man has been found dead in one of the Pardner member's homes, a Bible quote written on a note beside his body. Suddenly, Miss Hortense finds her long-buried past rushing back, bringing memories of the worst moment of her life - and secrets behind an unsolved crime that has haunted her for decades. It is finally time for Miss Hortense to solve a mystery that will see her and the community she loves pushed to their limits. The first novel from a bold, brilliant new voice, A Murder for Miss Hortense introduces a fearless sleuth whom readers will never forget.