Absent Friends — Gillian Linscott

December 1918. The vote has been won at long last, the Great War is over and suffragette Nell Bray is standing for election. Everything seems to be falling into place for the dedicated activist. Yet, with a month to go to the first general election, Nell is still without party backing, writing desperately to friends and contacts to drum up support for her cause. Further, the former Conservative candidate has been blown up by a firework while celebrating the Armistice, his widow is certain that he's sending her messages about his killer through a haunted piano, and at least one person in the constituency has a murderous hatred of all politicians. To add to Nell's troubles, two men from her checkered past are home from the war.

Nell finds herself in the middle of a baffling case, with the odds most definitely against her--both for election victory and survival. The suffragette turned amateur sleuth must then show a dedication to the truth as strong as her loyalty to women's rights to solve the mystery and come out on top.