Mel Pennant for Miss Hortense and the Last Rites

Join Bath Topping & Company Booksellers to celebrate Mel Pennant for the exciting next installment with the witty, sharp-tongued and ever enticing Miss Hortense and the Last Rites.

Nine nights to solve a murder ... or she'll be next.

When Bigglesweigh's notorious gangster, Cuttah, uses up the last of his nine lives and is found dead, there is only one person who can solve the mystery of who killed him: indomitable retired nurse Miss Hortense. A resident of the quiet Birmingham suburb since she emigrated from Jamaica in the 1960s, the renowned cook never shies away from a challenge.

Cuttah left behind a list of suspects. Miss Hortense is ready to investigate, but there's just one problem: her name is on the list and, worse, she only has nine nights before his cronies seek retribution.

With the help of friends, including bubbly Blossom and tough, handsome Fitz, Miss Hortense must use her unique skills to crack the case in a town with as many secrets as there are ingredients for beef patties. But this will prove no easy task. The clock is ticking and Cuttah's numerous enemies possess ties to drug running and corrupt police, not to mention a case from Miss Hortense's past, which is about to come back to haunt her.

'Sharper than Poirot, tougher than Vera and a better cook than Columbo' Sir Lenny Henry

'More than a cosy crime mystery . . . it's the story of a community' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

Mel Pennant is an award-winning playwright whose work has appeared in the National Archives, as well as on stage. Mel's work has continually received high praise, and her debut Murder for Miss Hortense has been revered for it's soulful storytelling of the Windrush Generation, a refreshingly brilliant new amateur sleuth, and some devilishly delicious recipes.