Never Laugh as a Hearse Goes By
A Penny Brannigan Mystery
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3.9 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A Bloody Words Light Mystery 2014 Finalist
Spa owner and habitual amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan finds herself at a clerical conference at Gladstone's Library in North Wales. Also attending as a guest speaker is her boyfriend, DCI Gareth Davies, there to give a talk on theft prevention. But behind the ornate red sandstone facade of this most respectable of Victorian buildings, Penny encounters deception, blackmail, and murder.
When the bishop's secretary dies of a suspicious case of food poisoning, Davies leads the investigation. At Penny's suggestion, Florence Semble, a friend from Penny's adopted hometown, is invited to the Library to decode the secretary's shorthand notebook in the search for clues. As the conference continues, another body is found in the beautiful Library itself, and Penny must once again search for a killer.
Elizabeth J. Duncan's Never Laugh as a Hearse Goes By is a fine entry in a series celebrated for its small-town charm, Welsh flavor, and lovable characters.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Penny Brannigan, owner of the Llanelen Spa, finds that some members of the clergy aren't as saintly as they appear in Duncan's sweet fifth mystery set in North Wales (after 2012's A Small Hill to Die On). Penny joins her boyfriend, Det. Chief Insp. Gareth Davis, at a clerical conference at Gladstone's Library, a real-life residential library in Hawarden, Flintshire, where things soon take a fatal turn. Araminta "Minty" Russell, the bishop's secretary, suffers a fatal allergic reaction, evidently the victim of poison. Not long after, another conference attendee is found dead in the library. Gossip and her own instincts lead Penny to several clues involving blackmail, affairs, and all-around dishonesty. While the investigative methods may be more hearsay than Hercule, cozy fans will enjoy following how the "networking" plays out.
