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The Shell House Detectives

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Beautifully written, gripping, and so atmospheric.…One for fans of Richard Osman!” —Emily Koch, author of What July Knew Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

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. As a Bristol author, are there particular places or walks in the city from which you take inspiration?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. Chef JP Sharpe is murdered before Christmas - he's a bad piece of work and of course there are a lot of suspects. Was it Bev, the resentful ex-employee? A fisherman with a grudge? Friends and Shell House Detectives Ally and Jayden are curious but don't want to get in the way. Then might there be a case of finding a young woman's long-lost father? (This was the only weak spot in the book, was the paternity mystery but I can see why it was there... there was a suspicion that Sharpe might have been Saffron's biological father - he had a letter - written by the actual bio dad - in the coat he was wearing when he was killed. Turns out he took the coat from Wilson, who had written it but hadn't decided to send it to her yet.) 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.

There’s a really intelligent irony that the murder victim JP is such an important pivot for the action, because he only appears very briefly. I loved trying to work out who had killed him and given that there are any number of folk who would like to see him dead, Emylia Hall kept me guessing throughout, making for a riveting read. The Shell House Detectives is a hug of a book that is transporting and full of love, with a humdinger of a mystery at its big heart." - Amanda Reynolds

Truth. A word that delivers a sharp and precise cut, every time she thinks of it – so mostly she tries not to. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. 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

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