Miss Hortense is a formidable character. Jamaican immigrant, meticulous in home and garden, renowned baker, and retired nurse. And because of her skills, and because many in her circle have limited income, and because many in her circle aren't often given fair treatment by authorities, injuries mild and life-threatening end up on her doorstep which puts her in the center of ugly cases she refers to as the "bones," a reference to dominoes which I with I understood better. It is referred to repeatedly. Bone 12 is the most horrific case and the one that never was solved. Decades later, bone 12 appears to be rearing it's ugly head again, and once more, Miss Hortense is pulled in.

I really enjoyed this mystery set among an immigrant community in England. The plot is continually twisting until you wonder who isn't guilty of something. While it did occasionally slow down my reading, the dialog written with a Jamaican accent certainly added an authentic touch and helped define the characters. The ending tease let's us know that Miss Hortense is going to be back with bone 13. I'm looking forward to it.

"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 community 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."

Trust me, this will be a television series before long. Read it now!

The publisher's blurb is an on-target hook for me. As a retired nurse in the US, I am well aware of our ingrained critical thinking, and both inductive/deductive reasoning is easily applied to sleuthing and other sneaky pursuits. Miss Hortense and Blossom are a somewhat mismatched team but make for a lot of sly humor. Nice twisty cozy with a dramatic ending. Loved it and looking forward to more!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon courtesy of NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 10, 2025
#AMurderforMissHortense by @mel_pennant @aaknopf @pantheonbooks @vintagebooks
#mysteryfiction #cozymystery #retirednurse #britain #investigation #debutnovel #jamaicanculture #cozymysteryseries #womensleuths #recipes #moneyschemes #suspense

England, around 2000: Originally from Jamaica (about 40 years earlier) Miss Hortense is a retired nurse, avid Gardner, and baker extraordinaire. Soon after moving to the quiet suburb of Biggleweigh, she helped created a Pardner investor network only to be thrown out of it soon afterwards. Now, in present day, Constance, the woman behind throwing Miss Hortense out of the Pardner is dead, and Miss Hortense suspects murder.

While hugely entertaining, I struggled with this book. Part of the entertaining bits are the Caribbean culture, but those bits also made it difficult for me to read and occasionally figure out what was going on. Having said that, I loved Miss Hortense as a character, how she always seemed to know what was going on and wasn’t afraid to stand up to others. In some books, there’s a scene where the main character does something silly - not Miss Hortense! Never Miss Hortense! When she reveals the villain, it’s in front of everyone, like a scene from a Christie novel.


Recommended. The end of this one sets up the next novel - I look forward to reading it.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.com which I voluntarily reviewed.

very well-written murder mystery, although at times i could have used some more clarity on some of the chars. the ending was the best. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

**My thanks to Pantheon Books for providing me with an advanced review copy via NetGalley**

5 stars

This book was marketed to me as a cosy mystery starring a sharp and quirky older woman in the vein of <i> Murder She Wrote </i> or <i> The Marlowe Murder Club. </i> I want to make clear that it is NOT that. It is just as enjoyable, but it is so much more than ‘just’ a cosy mystery (and I love a cosy mystery). This is an intelligent, raw, beautifully written, literary work of historical fiction that is also a highly engaging murder mystery novel. The non-linear storytelling, dialogue in dialect, and near ethnographic portrayal of a small black community are more reminiscent of Toni Morrison than Robert Thorogood.

Mel Pennant weaves together a story of a Caribbean immigrant community in Birmingham, England, that has carved out a space for itself over thirty hard-won years. The story is set in the year 2000, but its roots go back to the 1960s, when Miss Hortense and her circle respond to the discrimination they face from English banks and housing authorities by setting up The Pardner, a common fund that first helped the group pool money to get ahead and then was over time invested into the community as a whole.

One refreshing thing about <i> A Murder for Miss Hortense </i> as a mystery is that, though this is the first book in what looks to be a series, this is not Miss Hortense’s first stint as a detective. Miss Hortense is a seasoned sleuth who has been retired from the ‘Looking Into’ business for many years, but is coaxed out of her ‘retirement’ by a new death’s apparent connection to an old case that left deep scars on both Miss Hortense and the community proper.

Miss Hortense has many characteristics of a classic cosy protagonist. She is viewed as an eccentric (and even as bad juju) by many of her community but is also considered someone to go to when you need help. She is a skilled cook, and features her recipes at several times in the story, her working through the hands-on process of preparing a dish mirroring her working through a complicated problem in her case. She is particular, and thorny, and doesn’t suffer fools. However, I would feel it a gross oversimplification to call her ‘quirky.’ Miss Hortense, and all of the characters in the novel, feel <i> real </i> to me, with all the complexities of living people.

The mystery is twisty, engaging, and comes to a satisfying conclusion, and I would give this book a high rating for that alone. However, the present-day murder mystery plot, to me, takes a backseat to the brilliant storytelling style, strong characters, and incredible sense of place.

I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone, from mystery fans to historical fiction fans to literary fiction fans to people who don’t even regularly read fiction. If you only pick up one book this year, I think this would be an excellent candidate.

this was a good mystery and thriller book!! I do think it was well written and how the story progressed!! I liked the idea of this book, there were a few lulls and dull points, but overall I really did enjoy the book

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!