Publication Day for debut crime novelist

When Reverend Penny Stephens took a crime writing class she didn't know it would lead so seamlessly to publication, but her debut novel, featuring a female vicar as the detective, was talent-spotted by editor Florence Hare at Quercus. 

Published today, Till Death Us Do Part (with the strapline 'Weddings can be murder') takes place during a grand country house wedding where one of the guests is fatally stabbed with a cake knife. Reverend Clare is there as a guest and friend of the bride, but because she is a vicar many of the guests open up to her with their personal stories. When the police hone in on the cousin of the bride as the murderer, Clare's insights help her to spot they have got the wrong person, and she sets about solving the case herself.

The first in a series featuring Reverend Clare, Till Death Us Do Part has already received praise from the likes of Elly Griffiths and Janice Hallett, with Elly naming Penny ‘a new star in the crime-writing firmament’.

Penny has already signed some copies including in Waterstones Trafalgar Square which is the venue for a moment when detective Clare picks up on an important piece of evidence.