The Shell House Detectives (A Shell House Detectives Mystery Book 1)

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Something I realised when I finished reading The Harbour Lights Mystery, there’s an array of human motivation and behaviours in the rawness and vulnerability of all the characters; Trip Stephens, Bev Potter and her husband Neil, Phil Butt and his wife Melissa, Dominic and Wilson. The murder and investigation are gripping enough (I found it hard to put the book down) but when you throw into the mix their vulnerability and emotions, this is such a powerhouse of a story. As the story develops Ally and Jayden become a team, determined to find out what is going on, neither of them have a lot of confidence in the local police. It seems they have decided that Helena has come to harm by the hands of Lewis Pascoe and then he has tried to kill himself the same way his father had. They are doing very little to look for any other explanations. But when Ally and Jayden start digging they find more than they expected. knows a thing or two about guilt. Logic, rationality – they don’t much apply once your head is set on a certain course.”

All of my story ideas start first with place. While the setting of Porthpella is fictitious, it’s inspired by several different locations across West Cornwall: a patchwork of beloved places. I always like the mystery and the actions Ally and Jayden take to solve the mystery. But I also feel tender and invested in the various characters' problems. Is Cat cheating on Jordan? What will Ally do about Gus? How will Bev fix the mess she's gotten herself into. These are bighearted books, and I look forward to the next one. A cleverly plotted and thoroughly enjoyable book about dark deeds in beautiful places."—Elly GriffithsAnother character we get an insight into is Detective Sargeant Skinner. There are a few surprises there too! 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? As the investigation proceeded, Jayden got help from some of his old coworkers He began to regain his confidence and sense of wellbeing. 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.

Jayden was out surfing one day when he saw a young woman run by so fast she seemed to be fleeing. Soon after that Jayden heard someone calling for help on the beach. He responded and saw a severely injured Lewis Pascoe lying at the base of the same sea cliff from which his father fell. Lewis did not die, but ended up in a coma in the hospital. No one could interview him. With books set in Cornwall’s wild and wonderful west, the Tuscan isle of Elba, the Swiss Riviera, and rural Hungary, Emylia’s work – whether crime or women’s fiction – is strongly influenced by place. Her writing and short fiction have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The Guardian, Elle, The Simple Things and broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music. 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, author of The AssistantEmylia’s writing career began in 2012 with the coming-of-age story The Book of Summers. It was one of the bestselling debuts of the year and a Richard and Judy Book Club selection. A Heart Bent Out of Shape followed in 2013 and The Sea Between Us in 2015. The Thousand Lights Hotel was published in 2017 and was chosen by Fearne Cotton for her Happy Place Book Club. Altogether, Emylia’s novels have been translated into 10 different languages. That said, whilst The Shell House Detectives might be billed as cosy crime and it does draw on some Golden Age crime characteristics, it also considers dark themes and social issues in a natural and mature manner so that this story feels like a read for grown ups. I thoroughly appreciated this aspect. I loved, too, the exploration of truth and right. Ally and Jayden don’t always employ conventionally acceptable means to support their highly morally motivated actions so that the story is thought provoking as well as diverting. Emylia Hall understands what causes people to behave as they do and weaves this understanding so sensitively into her narrative. She shows us how we all too often live for the approval of others, losing sight of who we are for ourselves. I found this such an affecting and uplifting theme.

It’s December in Cornwall, and Mousehole harbour is illuminated with its famous Christmas lights. Ally Bright is among the crowd listening to the carol singers―and then to the piercing screams that rip through the darkness. A body has been found, brutally murdered and dumped in a fisherman’s boat.I was hoping Saff would have a larger part to play in this story but I wasn’t expecting what was coming for her! I really enjoyed getting to know her. Such an emotional rollercoaster with what happens. And Broady! just goes to show how easy it is to make assumptions … 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.) 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.