検索キーワード： 著者 "Mel Pennant" すべてのカテゴリー

When the second scariest man in the neighborhood barges into your home with a gun and a demand, the average person might try to run or bargain—but not Miss Hortense. Hailing from Jamaica and settled in the quiet Birmingham suburb of Bigglesweigh, the brilliant retired nurse and renowned cook is always up to problem-solve, and so when a new problem literally shows up in her living room, she sucks her teeth and plunges in practical-shoes-first.

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 uses her skills to investigate the investments of the Pardner network - a special community of Black investors, determined to help their people succeed. But when an unidentified man is found dead in one of the Pardner's homes, a bible quote noted down beside his body, Miss Hortense's long buried past comes rushing back to greet her, bringing memories of the worst moment of her life, one which her community has never let her forget.