A Madam Clerk Mystery

A truly Canadian cozy mystery, All Rise for Murder finds three generations of Kirby women suddenly under one roof in charming West Elk—just as the peaceful town seems to become the centre of a devious plot to frame an innocent young man for murder.
Maude Kirby has recently been dumped by her diplomat husband and has moved back to her quirky hometown of West Elk, BC, to live with her ever-optimistic, fashion-forward mother, Val. On the ropes financially, and with her confrontational fifteen-year-old daughter, Rhette, to look after, Maude applies for a clerking job at the local courthouse, and to her surprise, gets it. How hard can it be?

Told to remain professional during court cases, Maude finds it impossible not to get emotionally invested when eighteen-year-old Levi is charged with poisoning a local gym owner. No one else seems concerned that the prosecution’s case rests on dubious “facts,” but Maude can’t help speaking up for the quiet teen. Things get more complicated when Maude runs into her first love, who appears to have aged very well—and also appears to be dating Maude’s prime suspect!

Reminiscent of beloved mysteries such as The Maid, The Thursday Murder Club, and Finlay Donovan is Killing It, All Rise for Murder features quirky characters, old grudges, hidden crushes, surprising twists, and a satisfying ending that will leave the reader eager for the next installment of the Madam Clerk series.
ROZ NAY is the author of four bestselling and acclaimed thrillers: Our Little Secret, which won the Douglas Kennedy Prize for best foreign thriller in France, and was nominated for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Mystery and the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel Award; Hurry Home and The Hunted which were both shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime Novel award; and The Offing which has just been optioned for TV. All Rise for Murder is the first book in Roz’s new Madam Clerk mystery series. Roz has lived and worked in Africa, Australia, the US, and the UK. She now lives in BC, Canada, with her husband and two children.