Penrose and Pyke are under siege. A mischievous gossip, a series of robberies, and now a callous murder and a looming epidemic. How much worse can it get?

When a shopkeeper is killed during a robbery, Detective Charlie Pyke is desperate to track down the killer for reasons close to his heart. If only it was that simple. A tell-all article in the local ladies' journal threatens both his investigation and his private life. Charlie needs Grace Penrose to stand by him, but she has her hands full preventing a deadly outbreak of measles.

The rash of clues only starts to make sense when they combine forces. The problem is, neither knows quite what is at stake.

The 'Penrose & Pyke Mysteries' are a series of heart-warming, pulse-racing historical mysteries, set during a remarkable period of social upheaval in 1890s New Zealand.