ruthie_the_librarian 's review for:

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant

4.0

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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.

With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.