A LURKING PRIMROSE

A curious British spinster with something to hide can’t resist dabbling in detection.

Only Primrose Oughterard, a well-known artist in Sussex, and her friend Nicholas Ingaza know that her brother, Rev. Francis Oughterard, murdered a parishioner before he later became a hero, dying while rescuing another. Loyal dog Bouncer and clever cat Maurice, the pets he bequeathed to Primrose, have aided her in several investigations of mysterious deaths. Now the staff at the local prep school where Primrose is a trustee are all in a dither over the death of Miss Memling, the assistant matron. Although she was found dead, and dead drunk, in a Brighton hotel, and her death may have been by suicide or accident, Primrose’s nose for murder nudges her to investigate. In the meantime, Primrose meets her new neighbors, who have two dogs, oversize mastiff Petal and tiny poodle Tarzan, who will join her animals in solving the mystery of why someone murdered the quiet matron, whose last drink contained more than just booze. Well aware that their mistress is on another hunt that’s bound to get her in trouble, Bouncer and Maurice do a little investigating of their own while Primrose uses her many contacts at the school to find out more about the dead woman. Perhaps Miss Memling’s past in South Africa can provide a clue to her death, but Primrose finds information about her earlier life hard to come by.

A rollicking tale presented from the highly varied viewpoints of Primrose and all those animals.