Read 7 Sorrow on Sunday Online
Authors: Ann Purser
7 Sorrow on Sunday
D
ON’T MISS
A
NN
P
URSER’S OTHER
DIABOLICAL DAYS OF THE WEEK
SECRETS ON SATURDAY
“Entertaining . . . The indomitable Lois is something of an updated Miss Marple.”
—
Booklist
“Purser’s expertise at portraying village life and Lois’s role as a working-class Miss Marple combine to make this novel—and the entire series—a treat.”
—
Richmond Times-Dispatch
FEAR ON FRIDAY
“Well paced, cleverly plotted, and chock-f of cozy glimpses of life in a small English village . . . A fine series that just keeps getting better—a must for British cozy fans.”
—
Booklist
THEFT ON THURSDAY
“Clever, engaging, and suspenseful . . . [The] best Lois Meade adventure yet.”
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Booklist
WEEPING ON WEDNESDAY
“An inventive plot, affable characters, and an entertaining look at village life.”
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Booklist
TERROR ON TUESDAY
“Skullduggery of all sorts greets housecleaner Lois Meade when she opens a cleaning service in the village of Long Farnden . . . Notable for the careful way Purser roots every shocking malfeasance in the rhythms and woes of ordinary working-class family life.”
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Kirkus Reviews
“This no-nonsense mystery is competent, tidy, likable, and clever.”
—
Booklist
MURDER ON MONDAY
“A refreshingly working-class heroine, a devoted wife and mother of three, plays reluctant sleuth in this winning cozy . . . A strong plot and believable characters, especially the honest, down-to-earth Lois, are certain to appeal to a wide range of readers.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“First-class work in the English-village genre: cleverly plotted, with thoroughly believable characters, rising tension, and a smashing climax.”
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Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)
“For fans of the British cozy, here’s one with a different twist. Purser’s heroine is not one of the ‘traditional’ apple-cheeked, white-haired village snoops . . . The identity of the killer—and the motive—will be a shocker. Fresh, engaging, and authentically British.”
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Booklist
“Fans of British ‘cozies’ will enjoy this delightful mystery with its quaint setting and fascinating players.”
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Library Journal
Titles by Ann Purser
Lois Meade Mysteries
MURDER ON MONDAY
TERROR ON TUESDAY
WEEPING ON WEDNESDAY
THEFT ON THURSDAY
FEAR ON FRIDAY
SECRETS ON SATURDAY
SORROW ON SUNDAY
WARNING AT ONE
TRAGEDY AT TWO
THREATS AT THREE
FOUL PLAY AT FOUR
FOUND GUILTY AT FIVE
Ivy Beasley Mysteries
THE HANGMAN’S ROW ENQUIRY
THE MEASBY MURDER ENQUIRY
THE WILD WOOD ENQUIRY
S
ORROW ON
S
UNDAY
ANN PURSER
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
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For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.
SORROW ON SUNDAY
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with Severn House
Copyright © 2007 by Ann Purser.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any
printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy
of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
BERKLEY
®
PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are
trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
For information, address: Severn House Publishers, Inc.,
595 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022.
ISBN: 978-1-101-66222-9
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Severn House hardcover edition / July 2007
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / July 2008
Cover illustration by One by Two.
Cover design by Lesley Worrell.
Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product
of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for
author or third-party websites or their content.
Grateful thanks to Dave,
who has seen it all
How small and selfish is sorrow. But it bangs one about until one is senseless
HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
in a letter to Edith Sitwell following
the death of George VI 1952
O
NE
H
AZEL
T
HORNBULL SAT AT HER DESK IN THE
T
RESHAM
office of New Brooms—“We Sweep Cleaner”—and looked out at Sebastopol Street, a street without character, consisting largely of terraced red-brick houses in varying states of decay. Shining out from the rest was the freshly painted corner office of Lois Meade’s cleaning business, now well-established and popular in town and surrounding villages. Hazel managed the office, and Lois called in every now and then to make sure everything was running smoothly.
Lois also operated another business, a one-woman job, and unpaid. More of a hobby, she liked to think. She was a sleuth, a non-stipendiary private detective. A snout, a grass, an informer, some would say. She worked with only one man: Detective Chief Inspector Hunter Cowgill.
This Monday morning it was quiet, and Hazel disappeared into the small kitchen to make coffee. She heard the office door flung open and the warning bell rang loudly. “Damn! Nothing happens all morning, and just when I—” She stopped, seeing her boss, Lois Meade, standing in the kitchen doorway, unsmiling.
“Mrs. M! You made me jump! I’m just making a quick cup—d’you want one?”