I loved the character of Hortense and the story was great, I enjoyed it and would recommend the novel highly. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.

Whilst I enjoyed the overarching plot of this book, I found it difficult to follow. The language and grammar used by the characters is not what I am used to, making it harder to understand. I dipped in and out of this book for that reason, making it harder to follow the plot lines.

Bigglesweigh, a quiet suburb of Birmingham. The Black community has been there since the early '60s. Everyone knows everyone - and everyone's business.

The Pardner network is a select group on investors, determined to help their community succeed. All very noble.

Less noble, however, is the body of an unidentified man found in one of the Pardner's homes, with a bible quotation by his side.

And it falls to Miss Hortense - retired nurse, keen gardener, famed cake maker, and notorious for getting to the bottom of other people's business - to unravel the goings-on before they unravel the community

What a brilliant character. I warmed to Miss Hortense immediately; the writing brought her vividly to life and I felt as if I could see and hear her. She’s a powerful figure, blessed with an enquiring and intelligent mind, ideally suited to investigating the crime at the centre of this tale. I felt as if this story gave real insight into the community in the late 1960s. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to uproot from a warm and vibrant country and culture to a cold and often antagonistic country where immigrants were treated very badly.

This is such a clever story. It’s original, skilfully plotted and bursting with life. I loved the patois and the pages literally flew by. More please and I hope this is received to widespread acclaim. I loved it.

Set in Birmingham in the 1960’s Miss Hortense, a retired Jamaican nurse, finds herself solving the murder of one of the members of the local "pardner" savings group that she herself was once a member of.

She’s a strong, memorable character—a mix of Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes. This murder mystery read is perfect for fans of strong female characters -I hope we get to see more of Miss Hortense in the near future!

This was a really great read. At the start you’re kind of just thrown straight into the story. It takes a little while to get used to the narrative style, figure out where you are and when you are!

But, I really loved this. It’s a complex crime, it was brilliantly woven and carefully revealed. You do get given a fair few of the pieces to put this together - I even figured out a few of the final twists!

Miss Hortense really does feel like a classic detective - Sherlock Holmes meets any Agatha Christie main character. I saw some comments saying she wasn’t likeable, but I loved her.

I wasn’t enjoying it for the first like 15%, but once it got going I loved it. I’m so intrigued as to where this series will go next.

I liked the blurb of the book & the idea, really wanted to love it. But while I loved the description of the characters, I just couldn't get into it enough. Did not finish.

This book is a good mystery story that doesn't follow the same old patterns. The main character, Hortense, is interesting because she's not immediately likable, but you can't help but respect her loyalty.

The story takes place in a knitting group, which is a great setting for a mystery because it's a close-knit community where secrets can easily be hidden. The author does a good job of showing how this community can change and become more complicated over time.

However, there are a lot of different things going on in the story, and sometimes it can be hard to keep track of all the characters and what they're doing. The author relies a lot on people telling Hortense about what other people are doing, rather than showing those people directly. This can be confusing, but it all comes together in the end when a lot of secrets are revealed.

Overall, this is a good book for people who like mystery stories, but it might be too complicated for people who don't read mysteries very often.

Loved the world that this book introduced me to, and hope I get to visit again. Though this would probably be called ‘cosy’ crime, it’s actually on the edgier side of the genre, and is all the better for it. The crimes are dark, and the plot involved, which makes it a very absorbing read.

Really enjoyed this book about a new amateur detective. Miss Hortense is a carribean woman in Birmingham who immigrated to the UK when she was younger. Its a very easy read and very enjoyable. A nice murder mystery

A “Pardner “ System is a savings system whereby a group of people agree to save a set amount on a regular basis usually through a verbal agreement often used by the Windrush generation who were often refused credit from banks.

Back in the 1960s, Miss Hortense and a small group of local people set up a pardner… but things didn’t go to plan
Set against a backdrop of tragedies, deception and hidden secrets, events of that time affected all the members - whilst at the same time a man known as the Brute was attacking women. Was there a connection?

Three decades on, Miss Hortense’s nemesis Constance is found dead in her home - this leads to a string of actions that open old woods and uncover dark secrets. What will happen to the pardner ? But where are the funds?

Miss Hortense could easily be compared to a modern day Miss Marple - determinedly asking questions about the local community and digging deep into people’s lives. But this investigator is much more feisty.

The denouement is brilliant - very much like a scene from a Christie novel with all the culprits gathered together.

Mel Pennant has created a wonderful character - the plot is complex in some ways as it moves between the past and present and so many events are interlinked.

A great debut

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for this arc copy. I feel I missed out on the enjoyment that other people have had when reading this book. I really couldn’t get into the story and a I read the book until the end it felt like a massive slog. Miss Hortense is a ok character but I didn’t warm to her at all. The plot seemed so so complicated but not interesting at all it just lacked for me. Also
I would have liked a little more Miss Hortense herself in this book as she wasn’t in it much. Overall a ok book but not for me xxx

A solid addition to the ongoing cosy crime trend and one which provides a new approach so it doesn't just retread the same old tropes. Hortense is a great character, not automatically likeable but someone whose loyalty can only be admired. The pardner network was the perfect background to uncover intrigue and deception within a close community and it was interesting to see how it could evolve and even spin out of control over decades.

At times I felt there were too many sub plots going on though and I got some of the background characters a bit muddled since there was a lot of reporting back what they'd said or done vs. directly involving them in the action (eg. Hortense's neighbours or her contacts back in Jamaica). However, I thought the threads were brought together nicely in the end with the waterfall of reveals so there was some payoff to the confusion!

Definitely a good read for someone who enjoys reading detective books but maybe too convoluted for people who only dabble in the genre.

I feel I missed out on the enjoyment others have had when reading this. I really couldn’t get into the story and although I persevered until the end it felt like a chore. Miss Hortense is a worthy character but I didn’t warm to her. The plot seemed complicated but not interesting.
Thank you for the ARC

In some ways this novel may fit into the cosy murder category, as hinted by Lenny Henry's endorsement on the front cover, but Cabot Cove this is not, and Miss Hortense has faced up to a great deal more heartache, difficulty and prejudice than Jessica Fletcher would ever have known.
Drawing on the experiences of the Windrush generation and painting, originally, a picture of a tight supportive community, looking out for one another in the face of a society, at best wary, and at worst,badly prejudiced, Mel Pennant has created a redoubtable, and very believeable character in Miss Hortense.
As layer after layer of deception is peeled back and secret after secret is revealed, the sense of community is gradually picked apart, before skillfully being sewn back together, stronger once the " bad apples" have been exposed and, where necessary, expelled.
Jamaican patois is used frequently and I feel that adds to the authentic feel for the characters, as does the deep seated yearning for sun and an escape from the dreich cold days of British weather, even after all the years spent away from Jamaica! One very touching moment in Hortense 's back story refers to the time she packs her bags to return "home" to Jamaica, only to acknowledge with sadness that, for the time being, neither Jamaica nor the UK are her " home" any more. It is perhaps, this realisation, that drives her to look out for, and protect her community as it builds up over the years, for here is where she builds up an undoubted sense of her own home.
Miss Hortense and her friend Blossom are the polar opposites of one another in many ways, but each one has such heart, and Hortense is so very protective of her friend, and indeed so many in her community.
The plot is quite involved and there are many twists and turns and hints of shadows from the past. All very readable and involving, and I am looking forward to a second outing, of what I believe was a five book deal, for Miss Hortense as she unmasks another murderer, all the while spending very useful time in her kitchen cooking up some delicious sounding food for those she watches over.
Thank you to NetGalley and John Baskerville, the publishers for an earc copy of this title.

A murder mystery with a difference. It is firmly based within an imaginary West Indian community and looks at events from many years ago and the ramifications those events have on more recent times. I found it fascinating. It was certainly hard to work out who to trust and who was double dealing in some way. The characters were well drawn, some events were unexpected but it does give a depiction of what life must have been like for those who followed the Windrush Generation. The question remains has it improved?

Uniquely Miss Hortense…
Meet Miss Hortense - retired nurse, cake maker, gardener and… sometime amateur sleuth. She takes pride in her home, in her surroundings, living in a suburb of Birmingham since her emigration from Jamaica back in the 60’s, she is afraid of nothing and of no one. Suddenly, something arrives on the horizon that needs her deft attention… and fast. Miss Hortense is about to solve a mystery that no one saw coming. Nicely penned with a deftly drawn cast of characters populating a pacy plot and with a delightfully delicious protagonist.

Miss Hortense, what an addition you are to the cosy mystery genre! Miss Hortense is a retired nurse, living in Birmingham. She is originally from Jamaica. Miss Hortense is involved with her community in a pardner. I had never heard of this and it was interesting to learn about it. She is removed from the pardner, after an incident and quietly gets on with her life, solving a mystery here and there. Miss Hortense is friends with a lady named Blossom, who I absolutely adored. She is a great character and if there is a second book I hope she features more. There is a lot of characters in this book and sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who. I liked the use of the Jamaican dialogue. It gave it a more authentic feel. I hope this is just the beginning for Miss Hortense and her friends. I would definitely be diving straight in to the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press, Baskerville for giving me the opportunity to read this fab book.

Miss Hortense is an interesting character to read about. Having emigrated from Jamaica, she has lived her life here in the greyness of the UK, working as a nurse for over thirty years, and helping her community through the pardner. I'd never heard of pardner schemes before the book, so it was interesting to learn about how it worked, and still works, as a way of helping communities build up funds.

There is quite the cast of characters, and it was sometimes difficult to keep track of who was who (especially when they weren't who everyone thought they were...) But I mostly managed to keep up! I liked hypochondriac, talkative Blossom. And the book builds a real sense of the community that Miss Hortense has been living in for so long. You get a sense of each person as you read, and the slang helps build the picture and feel of the community too.

I would have liked perhaps a little more Miss Hortense herself - she is a little like Sherlock in that we see some of the things she does, but we're not privvy to all the thinking and working out she is doing. I had no idea what was going to play out in the book, and it finishes with rather a grand all-in-the-room reveal (a la Christie) where the plot was layered upon layer. If you asked me to explain what had happened, I'm not sure I'd give a very clear account of all of the ins and outs, because it did keep twisting and turning. But I don't think that matters too much! It was enjoyable to read, and I'd very happily come back to see what mystery Miss Hortense solves next.

What a great addition to the amateur sleuth genre. Miss Hortense is a retired nurse, living in Birmingham at the end of the 20th century. Her retirement is far from sedate and despite her upright manners and politeness, she's certainly not to be trifled with. She's a force of nature. Forget girl power, this is older woman power. She's Miss Marple but with a handbag full of back up items in case she needs to disable an attacker.

I absolutely loved Miss Hortense. What a great character I tore through this fantastic book. It's such a novel and fun story. The characters are distinct and singular and the story was fiendishly clever. I really enjoyed the writing style and the slang/patois of the dialogue, along with the multiple cultural references. This felt fresh and new and was a great book. I hope this is a series.. Mel Pennant has written a blinder here .