Murder on the Hour: A Penny Brannigan Mystery

by Elizabeth J. Duncan

Overview

The residents of Llanelen are brimming with excitement. Antiques Cymru, a regional take on the popular national TV show, is coming to the Welsh town and people are flocking from miles around, hoping their attic treasures turn out to be worth a fortune. On the day of filming, quiet local sheep farmer Haydn Williams brings a generations-old long-case clock for evaluation, while the woman he's always admired from afar, Catrin Bellis, turns up with a cherished handmade quilt. Will either hear surprising good news about the value of their family heirlooms? By the end of the day, Catrin turns up dead, her quilt missing.

Who could have wanted this shy, quiet woman - who had been overshadowed by her parents for her whole life - dead? Delving into Catrin's past, spa owner and amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan is surprised to discover that Catrin had at least one enemy. And as Penny's romantic life heats up with a new love interest, she realizes that a mysterious document hidden in Haydn's clock could hold the key to a long-forgotten secret and a present-day murder.

Elizabeth J. Duncan's Murder on the Hour is a light-hearted traditional mystery featuring a charming heroine set in an enchanting Welsh town.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250074232
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/12/2016
Series:	A Penny Brannigan Mystery , #7
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	738,866
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

ELIZABETH J. DUNCAN is a winner of the Bloody Words Best Light Mystery Award and has been a finalist for the Agatha and Arthur Ellis Awards. Her books include The Cold Light of Mourning, A Brush with Death, A Killer's Christmas in Wales, among others. She has worked as a writer and editor for some of Canada's largest newspapers, including the Ottawa Citizen and Hamilton Spectator. Duncan is a faculty member of the Humber School for Writers. She lives in Toronto, Canada and enjoys spending time each year in North Wales.

Editorial Reviews

02/29/2016
The TV show Antiques Cymru comes to the Welsh town of Llanelen in Duncan’s well-paced seventh Penny Brannigan mystery (after 2015’s Slated for Death). On filming and appraisal day, Catrin Bellis, a shy, quiet young woman whose parents are recently deceased, brings a family quilt to be appraised. A couple of hours later, a woman who wants to rent a room from Catrin finds her lying on her sitting room floor with her head bashed in. The quilt is missing. Penny Brannigan, the owner of the popular Llanelen Spa, inadvertently ends up working the case alongside Det. Chief Insp. Gareth Davies, who happens to be her former beau. As hidden treasures and family heirlooms are undusted and brought back into the light after years away in the shadows, the secrets of Llanelen’s residents gradually emerge. Penny knows she has to act fast before the culprit gets away or someone else is hurt. Fans of small-town cozies will find a lot to like. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2016
When the Welsh version of Antiques Roadshow comes to Llanelen, residents hope the show will bring some needed cash and panache to their tiny village. But after Phen Catrin Bellis is murdered and her antique quilt disappears, Penny Brannigan and company must figure out who stood to gain the most. In the seventh series outing (after Slated for Death), the vibrant characters of Llanelen are in fine fettle.

Library Journal

2016-02-03
Murder is an unintended consequence when Antiques Cymru comes to a Welsh town. The denizens of Llanelen have been busy turning out their attics ever since they got the news that the popular TV appraisal show will come to their town. Canadian expat Penny Brannigan, who owns the local health and beauty spa, is helping to organize the event. When the great day arrives, Catrin Bellis is disappointed with the value of her quilt. Farmer Haydn Williams is amazed to find that his long-case clock, complete with half a hidden treasure map, is worth £12,000. The biggest shock comes for Florence Semble, who culled sketches from the trash when she worked at the Liverpool College of Art. Her drawings by Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon are assessed at £80,000. Even this excitement is soon overtaken by the discovery of Catrin Bellis dead in her home, her devalued quilt missing. Penny's romance with DCI Gareth Davies may have faded, but he still values her opinions about crimes (Slated For Death, 2015, etc.). So when she's out on a sketching expedition with her latest beau, art appraiser Michael Quinn, and they see a solitary woman Penny recognizes carrying the quilt, they give chase—only to get Michael injured by a careless biker. Even though she's rumored to have been enjoying an affair, it's hard to imagine who would kill Catrin. But Penny knows that something small was hidden in her stolen quilt and is mindful of the missing half of Haydn Williams' treasure map. Could all these little clues add up to a reason for murder? Whatever else you can say about appealing Penny, she doesn't let romance distract her from her search for a killer. Information about appraisals and local color enhance the story's charm but fail to make it very mysterious.

Kirkus Reviews

"Dorothy Sayers fans will welcome Duncan's fifth Penny Brannigan mystery set in North Wales... [Duncan] does a good job evoking the toil and hardship intrinsic to the slate mining industry that supported the area's economy for over two centuries. She manages a neat surprise ending, too.

From the Publisher