Murder Most MaliciousKitty Jackson (Liz Pulford) by Elizabeth Pulford

Murder most Malicious - a Mancini mystery

An Edwardian murder mystery - without blood or weapons - set in 1909, Dunedin, written under the pen name of Kitty Jackson. 

When the good natured Mr Mancini discovers a dead woman in the Winter Garden Glasshouse on a winter’s morning in 1909, he is horrified. Even more so when the brittle-tongued Detective Haynes implies he is a suspect. That same day, when the guest speaker at the book group doesn’t appear, Mancini suspects she is the corpse. But with no identification, and with the speaker having come from a different city, one thing is sure, it isn't going to be a straightforward case. 

Gradually the investigation leads both the detective, who has only just arrived in Dunedin and Mancini (useful because of his knowledge of the city) to believe a member of the book group is the killer. But who? And for what reason? Gathering evidence is one thing, but being able to prove their suspicions becomes like a never ending and impossible puzzle. 

A small sample from chapter seven (Criminal Intent

By the time the constable and Mancini reached the police station, housed just opposite the magnificent railway station, Mancini felt himself perspiring. 
Any overnight frost had disappeared. The day was cool in spite of the sun shining. Keeping up with the constable and his long strides had almost got the better of Mancini. Twice he had been tempted to shout at him to slow down, but his pride was wounded enough being seen in the company of the law. He was surprised that Haynes hadn’t had him chained to the constable in case he ran away. 
The room in which Mancini had been shown was small and bare except for a wooden table and three chairs. The one tiny window had bars across it making it truly seem like a chamber for lawbreakers. He thought about the professor and his detective novels and wondered if he had placed any of his imaginary suspects in a room such as this one. 
The door swung open. Haynes entered. Another member of the law followed carrying a book (obviously to record his confession), a bottle of ink and a pen. These were placed on the table. After doing so, the junior constable left Haynes with Mancini, closing the door with a solid clank. 
Mancini felt indigestion getting ready to plague him all day. ‘If you hurry a meal it will stay with you’, his mother used to tell him when he had been young and gobbled his food, impatient to be getting on with life. 
‘It is Saturday,’ said Mancini, striking first. 
‘Crime waits for no man,’ answered Haynes in his usual clipped tone as he flipped open the book to a clean page. He dipped the pen in the ink and wrote the date at the top of the page along with Mancini’s name. 
At least, that was what it looked like to Mancini. 
‘It seems,’ said Haynes, once he had finished writing, ‘for the moment you are our only suspect.’ This was said with a glimmer of a smile. To his great satisfaction Mancini noticed Haynes had a tooth missing on the lower right side, making him look somewhat cheap. For some reason this pleased Mancini deeply. 

For the price of a coffee step back in time, and join Mr Mancini and Detective Hayes to see how they finally put all the pieces together and solve this mystery. Available as an ebook