Elizabeth J. Duncan

Elizabeth J. Duncan sets her Penny Brannigan mysteries in the fictional North Wales town of Llanelen. Murder on the Hour occupies the seventh series position. Minotaur Books brought it out in 2016; its story begins when an antiques television programme visits town and a local woman brings a family quilt for appraisal. Her death and the quilt’s disappearance draw spa owner and amateur sleuth Penny into another investigation, while a document hidden in a long-case clock links the crime to an older secret. Duncan’s series began with The Cold Light of Mourning and combines village life with traditional puzzle plotting. Murder on the Hour won the 2017 Bony Blithe Award, recognition for light mystery fiction. Before publishing novels, Duncan worked as a writer and editor for Canadian newspapers. Her journalistic background and time spent in North Wales inform the series’ attention to community detail, local institutions, and the clues through which Penny reconstructs concealed histories.