Murder Ignited

Book excerpt: Penrose and Pyke’s wedding dream turns to ashes when the local women’s refuge goes up in flames. Grace Penrose is used to protesters at Lavender House, but she never expected them to set the refuge on fire, especially not on her wedding day. And her mother’s carefully orchestrated wedding plan definitely did not include Charlie Pyke disappearing into an inferno. The discovery of a woman’s body in the smouldering ruins rouses Grace and Charlie’s detective instincts. With marital bliss on their minds, an investigation is the last thing they need. But how can they ignore a murder, especially when a second victim has links to the notorious importer selling opium to the Chinese community? The ‘Penrose & Pyke Mysteries’ are a series of heart-warming, pulse-racing historical mysteries, set during a remarkable period of social upheaval in 1890s New Zealand.