A Murder for Miss Hortense

Miss Hortense is a force to be reckoned with. As a retired nurse, she has a keen understanding of human nature, and no one pulls the wool over her eyes. Her sharp intelligence and intuition always point her in the direction of what is really going on, and she can handle even the most difficult and recalcitrant of people, making her a modern-day Miss Marple when it comes to investigating crimes in her community.

After following her older sister Evie from Jamaica to England at the start of the 1960s, Hortense trained to become a nurse and settled in Birmingham, where she found a welcoming and thriving Jamaican community. At a game of dominoes, where women were complaining about the local banks refusing to let them open savings accounts, Hortense suggested the eight of them at the game start a ‘Pardner’ scheme, where members could save together as a co-operative and then take turns borrowing the money. Hortense bought her own comfortable little house through the scheme, which later became so successful that it was opened up to community projects such as building a social centre and funding local businesses.

Later, the Pardner group would take on an even wider community role—that of investigating the murders, kidnappings, and disappearances within their community that the police didn’t bother to investigate. It was then that Hortense’s skill as a natural sleuth paid dividends. However, one of these cases would lead to a death, causing a rift between Hortense and the rest of the Pardner group, and raising its head again some thirty years later with the sudden death of another member.

This is a terrific debut mystery from playwright-turned-author Mel Pennant, introducing an excellent new female sleuth to the cosy crime genre. Hortense is a complicated character whose life hasn’t always been easy, with a tragic event in her past still haunting her today. As with all the characters, she jumps off the page fully formed and recognisable. Hortense knows the right questions to ask to uncover everyone’s dark secrets, and although quite a complex series of events has led to the current crimes, she expertly uncovers and juggles all the pieces until they slot into place.

I really enjoyed the way the author brought us into the heart of the community through their culture and spoken dialect. At first, the smattering of Jamaican patois used by the characters might look difficult to understand, but it doesn’t take long to pick up the meaning and settle into the rhythm of the language. I also loved the Christie-type denouement, with all the characters gathered together to listen to Hortense unravel the crimes and point the finger at the perpetrators.

This richly layered and atmospheric mystery is a joy to read, and I’m very happy to note that the ending suggests another outing for Miss Hortense in the near future.

With thanks to John Murray Press for a copy to read.