Penny Post

Penny Wanawake #3

by Susan Moody

Bovril-black in the autumn sunshine, Penny Wanawake sashayed along the King's Road. Six foot of her. 126 lb of her. Penny, rich, black and beautiful, first burst upon the world in Penny Black. She appeared again in Penny Dreadful. Now she is back once more, this time in a classic English village whodunnit.
Someone is trying to kill Kendal Sartain, lord of a north country manor. Penny is called in to find out why. The rural hamlet of Lower Ingleford proves less peaceful than it seems as brakes are tampered with, milking equipment explodes, bullets fly, shotguns are misplaced. Is Kendal the real target: and if not, who is? In looking for the answer, Penny uncovers shady property deals and dubious business practices among the local worthies as well as a dealer in art forgeries, and a trip to the Costa del Sol proves necessary before she is satisfied.
Penny again discovers she is investigating a murder. The story gallops along, adorned by a string of warmly characterised suspects. Adorned, too, by hilarious quick-fire dialogue and fast-moving action. Not until the very end does she unearth the final clue to the murderer's identity and motive.
Among contemporary detectives, Penny is an exotic plant. When she first appeared she was welcomed by public and critics alike. Once again, she is in terrific form as she sets about unravelling this latest mystery.

'Distinctly impure amusement ... relax and enjoy it.' Daily Telegraph

'A rattling good read, refreshingly different.' London Standard

Genres: Mystery, Crime

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

She grew up in Oxford then moved to Tennessee for 10 years. She published two historical novels and the novelisation of the Nescafe Gold Blend advertisements under the pen name Susannah James. More recently she has also used the nom de plume, Susan Madison. She is a former Chairman of the Crime Writer's Association, served as World President of the International Association of Crime Writers, and was elected to the prestigious Detection Club. Susan Moody has given numerous courses on writing crime fiction and continues to teach creative writing in England, France, Australia, the USA and Denmark

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penny’s friend thinks someone might be trying to kill him. But he is the nicest person Penny knows and she knows of no one who thinks anything else. She agrees to go and see what’s what. She has known him for years and he is married to her best friend from college. When Penny arrives and has a look around, she can’t find any motive really for these attempts. It when he goes off to feed his pregnant wife’s pet goose and is shot and killed along with the goose Penny realises her friend the wife is the like target. But why? Is the sister and brother in law who are low of funds, the three villagers running a development enterprise in Majorca? Or the developer who wants to put in a caravan estate? Penny gets to the bottom of it.

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the only Penny Wanawake book I've read. Glad I picked it up cheap. At a library sale. Won't be looking for more.

"On the outside, the Cassidy house was elegant. Expensive, too. There was enough shrubbery to conceal a dozen flashers. There was a lawn you could have waxed. The flower beds contained more hardy perennials than a comic routine."

"Penny watched him pull the brain cells off simple tasks like eyelid-raising and hair-growing. Put them on to thinking. Send them scurrying round the information like ants round a fragment of fallen cake."