annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Rockpool Murder is the third Shell House cozy mystery by Emylia Hall. Released 19th March 2024 by Amazon on their Thomas & Mercer imprint, it's 380 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. This installment sees MC Ally and (non-romantic) partner Jayden investigating the sudden death of a rock star who recently bought a mansion 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 series. The settings (the Cornish coast and Northumberland respectively) feature prominently in both.
Four and a half stars. It continues to develop and go from strength to strength. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, home reading, and gifting. With three books extant, and a fourth due out 4th 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.