Review: A Murder for Miss Hortense - Mel Pennant


Review: A Murder for Miss Hortense - Book #1 Miss Hortense Series - Mel Pennant - June 2025
Listen, I thought I knew cozy mysteries. I've devoured every Miss Marple adventure until I could practically recite them in my sleep, and I've got a soft spot for any sleuth who solves crimes between afternoon tea and garden pruning. But Miss Hortense? She's something else entirely, and I'm absolutely here for it.
Meet Miss Hortense: retired nurse, cake-baking extraordinaire, and possibly the most observant woman in Birmingham's quiet suburb of Bigglesweigh. This isn't your typical English village mystery, though. Miss Hortense emigrated from Jamaica in 1960, and her sharp eye for detail extends far beyond spotting murderers—she can tell if her turmeric's been watered down before her first bite of beef patty. That's the kind of authenticity that had me grinning from page one.
What absolutely hooked me was how Pennant weaves Miss Hortense's investigative prowess into her community work with the Pardner network—a group of Black investors supporting their community's success. It's brilliant social commentary wrapped in a murder mystery, and it never feels heavy-handed. When an unidentified body turns up in a Pardner member's home with a cryptic bible verse, Miss Hortense's past comes crashing back in ways that made my heart race.
The mystery itself is deliciously twisty. Mel Pennant doesn't just give us a puzzle to solve; she gives us a character study of a woman whose thirty-five years of nursing left her "afraid of nobody"—whether that's a local drug dealer or a priest. Miss Hortense's ability to decode people's secrets with just a glance feels authentic rather than contrived, probably because she's lived enough life to have earned that wisdom.
Where this book truly shines is in its exploration of community, memory, and forgiveness. Miss Hortense isn't just solving a murder; she's confronting "the worst moment of her life"—something her community has never let her forget. The emotional stakes feel real and raw, elevating this beyond your standard cozy fare.
My only quibble? I wanted more time with some of the secondary characters, particularly within the Pardner network. But honestly, that's because Mel Pennant created such a rich world that I didn't want to leave.
If you love cozy mysteries but crave something with more depth and cultural richness than the typical village setting, Miss Hortense is your new obsession. She's got Miss Marple's observational skills with a backstory that actually matters, set in a community that feels vibrantly alive.
Consider me officially converted to the Church of Miss Hortense—and desperately hoping this is the first of many adventures.
ARC received from Pantheon.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3I3oCqc
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