Nancy Business by R.W.R. McDonald

Four months after 12-year-old Tippy Chan, her uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon started The Nancys – an investigative team that solved the brutal murder of Tippy’s teacher – a new case blows up, quite literally, right nearby. Riverstone, Tippy’s New Zealand home town, is rocked by an explosion near the Airbnb home Pike and Devon have rented on their trip from Sydney, and three people are killed. The police are set on who the bomber is, but Tippy isn’t so sure, and enlists the help of her fellow Nancys to figure out what’s really going on. Because who better to solve the case of a horrifying murder than a 12-year-old girl, a hairdresser and a fashion designer?

Just like R.W.R McDonald’s first book, this is an absolute riot. The entire town is populated by characters who make the adjective ‘colourful’ seem like a violent understatement, and while everyone’s got secrets, there’s also no shortage of confessions, shady gossip, underhanded exchanges of information, torrid affairs and extremely short shorts.

Throughout all this, there is layer upon layer of love, affection and the heartbreak of growing up while dealing with loss and grief. Tippy is a hero you adore, stumbling through life with equal amounts of smarts and confusion about what the hell all the grown-ups are talking about. Let’s face it, if that’s not something we can all still relate to, I don’t know what is.


Fiona Hardy is our monthly crime fiction columnist, and also the bestselling author of the acclaimed How To Make a Movie in 12 Days, and How To Write the Soundtrack To Your Life.

Cover image for Nancy Business

Nancy Business

R.W.R. McDonald

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