Ally has recently lost her retired policeman husband, Bill and is at a loss with her life when a former client of Bill's turns up at her door in distress. This sets off a chain of events involving a divorced would-be author, an ex Leeds PCJayden, returning to his wife's home and not least an obnoxious incomer neighbour flaunting his wealth, whose wife suddenly disappears. Ally and Jayden decide to join forces unofficially as eponymous shellhouse detectives. Well described and interesting characters with several twists and turns in the plot. ( )

Solid!

Cozy mystery I thought! That’ll be a pleasant change. But this was so much more than that! Think more along Vera lines.
Aly Bright is a misunderstood artist whose husband Bill, her rock, has died. Aly’s daughter wants her to move to Australia but Aly loves her treasured seaside home.
Jayden Weston is an ex cop from Leeds suffering PTSD after his partner had died in a stabbing. His wife Cat had talked him into moving back to her family’s farm at Upper Hendra near Porthpella, Cornwell, to start a Glamping business.
A woman is missing! This unites Aly and Jayden into doing something about it. Jayden laughingly calls them the Shell House Detectives. They follow through on clues that the police seem to have ignored with some surprising, and at times, dangerous leads. A real page turner!
Then there’s the characters we meet, a disparate group of people. Outsiders who are beginning to find community with each other. Sensitive stuff!
A novel full of promise. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

An Amazon Pub. ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. ( )

Cornwall, cozy-mystery, ex-cop, first-in-series, grief, grieving, investigation, law-enforcement, mystery, new-series, pet-dog, read, relationships, senior-sleuths, survivor-s-guilt, widow,****

Great potential for new series!
Ally Bright is the still grieving widow of former Sergeant Bill Bright whose daughter wants her to move to Australia, trying to find her place in life, and can't quite get back to her artistic use of plastic waste from the coast.
Jayden Weston is an ex-cop suffering survivor's guilt from the death of his partner, recently moved to Cornwall to live near the in-laws as he and his wife await their first baby.
Together they begin working together to delve into the mystery of a young man from the town who might have attempted suicide (now in ICU) after his release from Dartmoor prison and find that there are other residents with personal problems and who join them in the investigation and also in finding their own roles in life.
Excellent character development and world building.
I requested and received an EARC from Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

Ally Bright lives in a little cottage by the sea with her little dog Fox. She’s lived in the place the community of Porthpella on the Cornish coast of England, known as The Shell House, for nearly 40 years. Everyone knows the little cottage not only for the exterior that named it but as the home of former Sergeant Bill Bright. Late one night, she’s scared by loud knocking on her door and an overwrought young man looking for her husband. Ally is confused by the late hour, the man’s distress, and not knowing of Bill’s death as it has been a year. Before she can explain, the man has left. But the next morning, the young man is dead, and it wasn’t an accident.

Ally has so many questions. But others have questions too. Jayden Weston, an ex-cop that runs to answer cries for help, and Gus Munro, on holiday, to write a detective novel, and now there’s a mystery on his doorstep.

I loved this story. The atmospheric writing took me to the little cottage by the sea and allowed me to completely imagine the coastal town, the characters, and their lives. A widow, a cop trying to make his way after the loss of his partner, and a man adjusting to life after divorce. As the character development is portrayed for Ally, Jayden, and Gus evolving and moving forward with their lives, it may give others inspiration and hope. As Ally and Jayden consider their partnership, readers will welcome the addition to cozies featuring senior sleuths.

I look forward to the future of the Shell House Detectives.

Thank you to Emylia Hall, Amazon Publishing UK, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

#TheShellHouseDetectives #NetGalley ( )