Dramatic real-world events inspired the plot of Murder By Vote, the third Penrose & Pyke Mystery.
The story is set around the time of the formation of the Women’s Franchise League in Dunedin (28 April 1892). At that time, the local newspapers were peppered with reports of bombings by Anarchists overseas, such as this one:
In exquisite irony, reports of Anarchist bombings occurred in the same edition of the Otago Daily Times (19 April 1892) as an advertisement for explosives available for sale to the public at Arthur Briscoe’s store.
What a gift to an historical mystery writer! (Kiwi readers will know that Briscoes still operates today, even if it no longer includes dynamite amongst the available bargains!)
Rose Pascoe 
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