The Shell House Detectives (A Shell House Detectives Mystery, #1)

by Emylia Hall

"A cleverly plotted and thoroughly enjoyable book about dark deeds in beautiful places."—Elly Griffiths

Welcome to the coastal paradise of Porthpella, where murder lurks among the dunes…

Late one night, a distraught young man knocks on the door of retired and recently widowed Ally Bright’s remote home on the Cornish coast. But before she can make sense of his confused words, he’s gone—not to be seen again until he’s found the next morning at the foot of the nearby cliffs.

In an instant, the peace of Ally’s beachcombing life is shattered. Feeling responsible for the young man’s fate, she wants to help find answers—as does ex-cop Jayden Weston, whom Ally meets at the scene. He shares her certainty that there’s more to the story than attempted suicide. When it emerges that the man is newly released ex-offender Lewis Pascoe, and that Helena, the wealthy new owner of his grandmother’s home, has subsequently disappeared, the tight-knit community of Porthpella is thrown into turmoil.

Driven by their need to know more, the duo decide to investigate the mystery together. Is there a connection between the Pascoe family’s tragic history and Helena’s disappearance? And if there is a killer stalking Porthpella, do Ally and Jayden have what it takes to catch them?

• ISBN10: 1662505124
• ISBN13: 9781662505126
• Publish Date: 1 July 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas & Mercer
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Shell House Detectives is the first book in a new British cozy series by Emylia Hall. Released 1st July 2023 by Amazon on their Thomas & Mercer imprint, it's 384 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the others in the series) are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This was such a fun and engaging read. The characters, including main protagonist widow Ally Bright, are rendered believably and the author gives readers realistic and natural dialogue and interaction throughout the read. The mysteries in the plot follow on from occurrences decades earlier, when Ally's husband, the local police sergeant was still living and serving in the area. The plot is well engineered and the clues are fair play and cleverly presented. 

Although not as adept (in the reviewer's humble opinion) as the inimitable Ann Cleeves' Vera books, fans of the latter will find a lot to enjoy with this book and the follow up. The settings (the Cornish coast and Northumberland respectively) feature prominently in both series.

Four stars. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, home reading, and gifting. With two books extant, and a third due out late 1st quarter 2024, it would be a good candidate for a light binge or buddy read. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.