The Shell House Detectives

A Shell House Detectives Mystery, Book 1

By: Emylia Hall

Narrated by: Kate Rawson

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

"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?

©2023 Emylia Hall. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Kate Rawson's warm, flexible tones are perfect for introducing a new cozy mystery series featuring an unlikely pair of bighearted investigators.… Rawson's expressive voice wonderfully portrays the varied locals, creating the sense of a close-knit community. Listeners will find themselves increasingly caught up in the suspense of discovering what happened in the two incidents, as well as some unsettling earlier ones. An enjoyable start to a new mystery series.”—AudioFile Magazine

“With a very special appeal and attraction for fans of Cozy Mysteries and Private Investigation murder mysteries, this…is brilliantly narrated by the verbal narrative talents of Kate Rawson. …a fun listening experience.”—Midwest Book Review

“A cleverly plotted and thoroughly enjoyable book about dark deeds in beautiful places.”—Elly Griffiths, author of the Ruth Galloway series

For Cozy Mystery Fans

Loved it! The characters come to life, especially with the brilliant audio narration. Loved the Cornwall setting. Look forward to the next in the series.

Really enjoyable!

Enjoyed the characters and the house and town developed into characters as well. Feel good story all around.

Good

A bit verbose as British cozies tend to be but overall it was a pleasant way to pass a sick day.

Wonderful storyline, great narration.

Loved this book. Can't wait for the next book. If you love cozy mysteries, this book is for you.

Wonderful

I don’t care if you don’t like “cozies”! This book was so awesome. Over 700 books an this one surprised me, made me guess, and made me smile. I loved this start to finish. Just one upcoming? These characters deserve so much!😘😘 I loved the narration that I almost forgot to mention. Mea culpa! Outstanding!

Found a gem

First time with this author. I enjoyed this book from the start. The narrator was very good too. On to purchase the next book.

characters

There were too many descriptive elements that detracted from the story. At first the introduction of the characters was haphazard and difficult to follow. But as it progressed ate story and characters coalesced. I would definetly read the follow up novel.

The monotone of the narrator.

It was so drawn out. I thought it would never end. And the characters were hard to follow. I couldn't wait to get to the end.

Could not get into it

I gave it a half hour of listening time, and I just could not get into it. I don’t know if it was a combination of a story that was going nowhere fast plus the droning voice of the narrator. Whatever it was, I abandoned this audiobook.