The Shell House Detectives

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The local police officers DS Skinner and PC Tim Mullins were incompetent or disinterested investigators. They wanted to find Helena, and they assumed Lewis was at fault. DCI Robinson came from a bigger city to investigate Helean’s disappearance. Christmas is getting ever closer, and the lights are about to be switched on in Mousehole, Cornwall. A popular and eagerly anticipated event, the harbour is full of people wrapped up against the inclement weather, enjoying the carol singers, and their festive repertoire. Ally Bright has taken her friend, Gus, along to enjoy the spectacle, but when a scream rips through the air, it effectively ends their evening.

Ally and Jayden discovered a connection between Roland, Nathan and Paul Pascoe. They had argued. Ally and Jayden began to wonder whether the Hunter brothers had pushed Paul off the cliff. Ally Bright is a widow living alone in the small town of Porthpella in Cornwall. Following her husband Bill's death a year ago she has retreated into her shell and is contemplating moving to Australia to be closer to her daughter and her family. One night she is disturbed by a young man banging on her door, looking for Bill. He has just been released from prison and is disorientated, whilst he was in prison his only remaining relative, grandmother, sold her bungalow and newcomers have built a glass mansion in its place. In addition, his grandmother has recently died and no-one informed him. Too scared to help him, Ally turns him away. Ally in particular is a triumph because she’s middle aged, unassuming and ostensibly a no-one following the death of her policeman husband, but her public persona belies an incisive mind, a compassionate nature and a tenacity and strength that bring her to life completely. However, what works so well here is that there is a wide enough cast for variety and reader interest, but, simultaneously, a narrow enough focus to afford development for characters like Tim Mullins with scope for the future. What Emylia Hall does so beautifully is to convey the thoughts and emotions of her characters and I admit to shedding a tear or two with them, both in joy and sadness. Then there’s the characters we meet, a disparate group of people. Outsiders who are beginning to find community with each other. Sensitive stuff!I love this series. It's a cozy in the sense of a non-professional detective, but the main solvers are the widow of a police chief and a former police officer. They want to solve mysteries, and there's none of the "but I'm a baker/seamstress/crafter/brewer/barista, and I really shouldn't get involved" aspect that's of course a trope of cozy series (and I like some of those very much too:>). The mystery is perfectly paced and the characters vivid and true, inviting us to join in as fellow sleuths as we unravel the secrets of the past. I can't wait to return to Cornwall with Emylia Hall for the next adventure." - Emma Stonex Another character we get an insight into is Detective Sargeant Skinner. There are a few surprises there too! The mystery is perfectly paced and the characters vivid and true, inviting us to join in as fellow sleuths as we unravel the secrets of the past. I can’t wait to return to Cornwall with Emylia Hall for the next adventure.” —Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters I’ve long been a fan of Emylia Hall’s writing and cannot believe how long it is since she featured here on Linda’s Book Bag. I was thrilled when Emylia arranged for me to receive an early copy of her new book, The Shell House Detectives and delighted subsequently to be offered a slot on the blog tour for the book. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

The first book in a new cosy mystery series. One of the strengths of this book is the characters. They were mostly well written. At times I thought they were awkward, but on the whole I did enjoy them. I did enjoy Ally very much, but I'm not yet sold on Jayden. Maybe he will grow on me a bit in future books, but I have read cosies before where the main character, or in this case one of the main characters, didn't work for me. It happens. But at least Ally and some other characters were engaging. I at least want to see if Gus will write the first chapter in his book! As The Shell House Detectives try to solve a family mystery, their investigation runs dangerously close to a murder case. Are the two linked? Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

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Usually I read the first book in a series before reading any further, but I didn't feel like I lost anything by starting here at book 2. I am curious which characters show up in Book 1 (like Saffron and Mullins) and I'm sure the relationship between Ally and Jayden would have been even more rewarding, but this book gave me all the feels. I definitely want to read more of this series. Emylia Hall has a wonderful way with words, and hits a lot of topics (new parenthood, difficult job market, being a widow, etc) without being over-the-top. The mystery was good as well, but the payoff was in the characters' relationships (my personal favorite being Bev with my second favorite being Phil). As for the murderer, I didn't guess it was Dominic at all - if anything I suspected Lena, his girlfriend, but she was blissfully ignorant that Dominic killed Sharpe, reason being he didn't want him to later claim paternity for Lena's soon-to-be-born baby.) Ally & Jayden return to solve another murder, we again meet up with several characters from the first book as well as being introduced to some new ones. A well written & entertaining cosy mystery with plenty of twists & turns as well as red herrings plus I was kept guessing. I especially liked the sense of a well knit community & the mix of characters & I look forward to getting to know them even more in future books Mullins dropped his interest in Saffron and got involved with Naomi, a care worker at the elder care facility where Mrs. Pascoe used to live. The mystery was good. This book had wonderful characters and an engaging plot that held my interest. The story was set in a small coastal town in Cornwall, southwest England. The book described the characters so well that I got to know them, and like almost all of them. She felt drained, suddenly, the need to be near people replaced by the far more familiar desire to be alone.

The setting of this book, being on the coast and in a small town, is something I do like in cosies. I really enjoy small town settings. It doesn't have to be coastal, but the setting worked in this book. And the author does a solid job in describing the area, and I especially like the descriptions of the houses and other buildings. Shell House, Ally's house, sounds magical. Lewis Pascoe recovered. He became close friends with Saffron. He was going to live in his mother’s assisted living apartment until he fully recovered. Maggie Pascoe left him some money.

My preference for cosy mysteries is for the POV to focus on the protagonists. After all, they are investigating the mystery. This book switches through many POVs. I lost count of how many there were, but Ally and Jayden appear often forgotten as the story focus shifts. Other readers may not mind that approach, but I think it removes the protagonists from the mystery. And that was a shame, because I thought book one focused on them more. 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? My Review of The Shell House Detectives

Captures the magic and beauty of Cornwall wrapped within a warm and engaging detective story. I loved it." - Rosanna Ley The writing is really good. It's complex and subtle and yet fast-reading. She really sets a mood. When someone is about to reveal something important: "In the tree above them, a wood pigeon takes off with a clapping of wings that sounds like gunfire." Fate must have brought them together because they become friends almost immediately and, when the police make very little progress in the murder investigation, the two of them bring their combined knowledge of police work together and set out to solve the mystery. And what a mystery as turns out to involve a cold case of suicide and another of murder, and new cases of a missing woman and a possible attempted suicide. Cozy mystery I thought! That’ll be a pleasant change. But this was so much more than that! Think more along Vera lines.

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The story reads at a good pace and the descriptive language throughout the book really helped you to imagine the characters, houses and places and made you feel like you knew Porthpella. There was enough suspense in the book that you were always wanting to know what happens next but it manages to stay safely in the cosy crime genre with its feel good vibes.