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A Murder for Miss Hortense: A Mystery Audiobook
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“A beautiful novel, suffused with fondness and wit. . . . A real triumph!”
—Alexander McCall Smith
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 bite 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 her skills to benefit the Pardner network—a local group of Black investors that she helped found. Until, that is, 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 the home of one of the Pardner members, 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 com-munity she loves pushed to their limits. The first novel from a bold, brilliant new voice, A Murder for Miss Hortense introduces a fear-less sleuth whom readers will never forget.
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“Debra Michaels’s performance takes full advantage of the descriptive scenes and energetic dialogue in this first novel from playwright Mel Pennant…Michaels’s facility with Caribbean accents—along with her cadence, humor, and ability to capture the wide-ranging personalities herein—makes this a thoughtful cozy. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“Pennant’s plot and characters are top-notch.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Both a gripping mystery and an eye-opening portrait…Pennant perfectly captures the Jamaican patois in this quirky, witty tale with an unconventional cast of characters, a dark edge, and a satisfying ending.”
— Booklist -
What stands out most is the care with which characters are written, in how they move, dress, and—most notably—speak. As a bonus, traditional recipes are peppered throughout with great effect…A memorable cozy with lots of depth.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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An Amazon Best Books of the Year
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A Washington Post Pick for Summer
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A BookPage Top Pick of the Month in Historical Mysteries
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A ScreenRant Pick of Summer Must-Reads
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About Mel Pennant
Mel Pennant is a playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. In 2013, she won the Brockley Jack Write Now 4 Award with her play, No Rhyme, and was involved with the Tamasha Theatre Company, writing for the Barbican Box. She has written audio plays with Tamasha and the National Archives and, in 2018, she was awarded a place on the Hachette X Tamasha scheme for aspiring playwright novelist. She graduated in 2014 with an MA degree in screenwriting from the London College of Communication.