Elizabeth Bunce

media release: About the book: In the fourth book in the series, IN MYRTLE PERIL, intrepid and Irrepressible Myrtle Hardcastle returns to investigate the case of a missing heiress, an inquiry that runs aground when a murder in plain sight has no apparent victim.

Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has never been one to sit by when there’s a mystery afoot, and with three solves under her belt, her father’s law books, and her mum’s microscope, she’s more than up to the case of the Snowcroft Family Fortune. Myrtle’s father, a lawyer, is asked to help discover the identity of a mysterious girl attempting to stake her claim to the fortune, but is the young woman truly Ethel Snowcroft, who is believed to have been lost at sea along with her parents? Or is she a con artist impersonating the lost heiress for personal gain? Mr. Hardcastle’s pursuit of the case takes a detour when he’s hospitalized for a tonsillectomy—only to witness a murder. Or does he!?

With no body at the scene, Myrtle and her governess, Miss Judson, fear the incident was a feverish delusion until a critical piece of evidence appears. But where’s the victim? And who at the hospital could be harboring murderous intent? Aided by Miss Judson and her talkative cat, Peony, Myrtle is determined to find the killer before her father becomes the next victim.

The perfect suspenseful and charming book for young readers and grown-up mystery fans alike, this fantastic fourth installment of the award-winning Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series promises scandal and drama, Victorian rule-breaking, early forensics, sinister plots, and a packed cast full of delightful and eccentric friends and foes.

About the author

Elizabeth C. Bunce is the Edgar Award–winning author of Premeditated Myrtle and the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series, and several young adult historical fantasies, including A Curse Dark as Gold. She grew up on a steady diet of Sherlock Holmes, Trixie Belden, and Quincy, M.E., and always played the lead prosecutor in mock trial. She has never had a governess, and no one has ever accused her of being irrepressible, but a teacher did once call her “argumentative”—which was entirely untrue, and she can prove it. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and their cats. You can find her online at www.elizabethcbunce.com.