It’s 1954, and England is still recovering from World War II. The country is bleak at times, and the food isn’t what it once was. Nora Breen isn’t what she once was either.
After thirty years as a nun, Nora leaves the monastery and heads to a seaside town in Kent. She stays at a shabby boardinghouse, Gulls Nest, where there’s an unusual group of residents, as well as an odd group running the boardinghouse. Professor Poppy, one of the residents, referred to the house as a “flotsam and jetsam sort of place,” and pointed out “the strays and waifs that wash up here with their dark mysteries.”
Nora is there is uncover a dark mystery. A former novice, Frieda Brogan, left the monastery, and wrote faithfully to Nora, and then abruptly stopped. Nora is convinced something happened to Frieda, and she takes Frieda’s room at the boardinghouse, doesn’t tell the others who she is, and asks questions. Then, one of the boarders dies, and the police rule it either accidental death or suicide. Nora doesn’t believe that, and she has one more reason to dig for the truth.
The boarders are an odd group of leftovers from the war, a woman and her daughter who doesn’t speak, the angry housekeeper, a new widow, the professor, who is a puppeteer, and a traveling photographer. And, everyone does seem to have secrets, including Nora.
Jess Kidd’s Murder at Gulls Nest is a slow-paced mystery filled with unhappy people. And, Nora is the one who has the most to discover, not only about the mystery, but about herself. Who is she after thirty years shut away from the world?
There is humor, especially when it comes to Nora’s dealings with the police, but she does form a partnership of sorts with Inspector Rideout.
I might pick up the next in the series because Kidd did an excellent job developing Nora’s character. But, the slow-pace, along with Nora’s rediscovery of the world did bog me down at times.
Jess Kidd’s website is http://jesskidd.com/
Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd. Atria Books, 2025. ISBN 9781668034033 (hardcover), 336p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley, with an expectation only of an honest review.
I haven’t read this yet, but I’ve read four others from this author. Very imaginative. My favorite was Himself: A Novel, set in rural Ireland. There is an excerpt from that book read by the author on her webpage
So, you’re prepared, MM, for this book, since it sounds as if the author is a favorite. Enjoy!
I had already ordered this book and just got it in the mail yesterday, so your review was very timely Lesa. I’ve not read anything by this author before and chose it mainly because of the cover, which I love. Such a ridiculous way to choose, or not choose, a book but I do it often. So because of your review I gather it is not light and amusing like the cover suggests so at least now I’ll be able to go into it with more realistic expectations of what’s inside. Thank you!
There are light moments, Lindy, but, you’re right. It isn’t as light and amusing as the cover suggests. I have a friend who says the British definition of cozy isn’t as light as our cozies are; that their cozies are more like Louise Penny’s books. I think, in this case, that’s true.