What a fun start to a new series! This mystery features sudden death, sisters, an island, and dramatic tides that make it rather a locked-room mystery. I enjoyed the gothic taste to the book and the questions it raises about long-held secrets and what they do to a relationship.

What I didn't enjoy, though, was how obvious the killer was. From fairly early on, it was clear who was up to no good, and so the big reveal was no big surprise.

Review copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a delightful first entry in a new series. There is definite room for character growth and development but the series is on a good path.

Death at High Tide is the first in the new Mystery series The Island Sisters Mystery Series. I love a good cozy with a location on a coast of an Island.

Evie and her sister Margot end up on the Island after Evie's husbands dies and the hotel and Island itself in nothing what they expected. Margot is very high maintenance and this hotel is not. After meeting the staff and other guest's they get entangled up into several murders. It seems no one is telling the truth and have something to hide, with an inheritance on the line it's up to Evie and Margot to find out who is behind the murders. With so many clues to follow it could be anyone of them all for the same reason.

I didn't figure out the killer it came as a complete shock at the end.
I enjoyed this book very much and can't wait for the next one in the series.

After the recent death of Evie Mead’s husband, her sister Margot comes to help take her mind off things. When a potential inheritance of a hotel on Treggarick Rock comes to light, Margot and Evie travel to the island for a weekend holiday (and to scope out what may actually belong to Evie.) There they meet a charming, quirky cast of characters, some of whom aren’t happy at all to have Evie on the island, and many of whom are keeping secrets that are best left undiscovered. However, when there’s a murder on the island, Evie and Margot become suspects, and must find the truth to clear their names. As they get closer to the truth, their lives are in great danger, and in this case, the truth might literally set them free.

I admit that I struggled at first reading this, not for anything regarding the mystery but because I felt os many of the characters in the book were irritating or flat out unlikeable, which can definitely impede my progress reading. Nevertheless I persisted, and I found as I pushed through the first part of the book, it became more enjoyable, and I was able to breeze through the rest. The mystery was fun even though I could sense the bad guy a mile away, and I found the scenery and charm of Tregarrick Rock rather delightful - I could easily see myself going for a weekend holiday there, just like Evie and Margot.

While I’m not sure that I would rush to read a sequel, I wouldn’t rule it out. I can’t put my finger on it but honestly, I don’t think this book was for me, as much as I love mysteries. That being said, I would recommend this book to people that like cozy mysteries and quick reads. Plus, I know we’re not meant to judge a book by its cover, but Death at High Tide really does have a beautiful cover.

When Evie’s husband, Robert, suddenly passes away, her entire world is turned upside down. Not only did she just lose the love of her life, but also just found out that they were broke and she’s about to lose the house they shared. Then Evie finds out that she might own a hotel she’s never heard of while her sister, Margot, tries to help her sort out the puzzle that her life has become. Armed with her grief, some luggage, and her secretive yet outspoken sister, she takes a trip to Tregarrick Rock to check the place out. The only problem? Someone is murdered at the hotel and now they’re trapped.

When I saw that Hannah Dennison was releasing the first book in a new series, I was super excited because I love her Honeychurch Hall mysteries. Unfortunately for me, I had a hard time getting into this book. I don’t particularly care for Evie and I found many of the characters unlikable, especially Margot and Jago. The one character I did love was super interesting but wasn’t fully developed before they were gone.

My other complaint is that the murder mystery started way too late in the book. If I hadn’t already known that the mystery surrounded a murder from the summary, I would’ve thought that it was actually surrounding Robert’s secrets. However, I did like that Evie and Margot were terrible at investigating once the mystery started because it was very realistic.

I did like the setting of the book. Tregarrick Rock sounds absolutely beautiful even during the off season when the weather isn’t the best for visiting. While the hotel needs some work, it sounds like a beautiful place to stay. I’m not sure how practical it is from a business perspective since going to and from the hotel depends on the tide, but I loved how it was described.

Sadly, this book turned out not to be up my alley. I might pick up the next book in the series when it’s published just to see if the series just had a bit of a rocky start, but we’ll see.

Death at High Tide it laced with lots of twist that will keep you guessing. The characters are deverse and quirky. Solving the murder or two or three on an island with just a handful of people can be as complex as a big city crime.

I've read Hannah Dennison's other books, and was very happy when I found this new series! This book is in a great setting and has many unexpected twists and turns, making it a page-turner. I definitely recommend reading it! I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

(NOTE: The following review will appearing at CriminalElement.com the week of the title's publication.)


Evie Mead has had a rough week. Her beloved husband Robert has died suddenly. His lawyer informs her that his fortune has disappeared via bad investments. And she discovers that all that may be left is a hotel on the remote Tregarrick Rock, off the English coast.

All Evie wants to do is hide away and grieve, but her brash sister, Hollywood producer Margot, instead drags her to the Scilly Isles to take stock of her inheritance.

What the sisters find is a far cry from the palatial spa resort Margot had imagined. The hotel may have beautiful Art Deco bones, but the interior is an unfortunate mishmash straight out of the shag carpeted 70’s, and there’s a haunting and chilly air about it thanks to the November, off-season storms.

The place is also extremely remote due to the treacherous reefs and tides, and the on-site staff is a curious—even unsettling—bunch.


“Vanessa makes an excellent apple-and-blackberry crumble,” Lily declared. “You know, she learned to cook in prison. Got some fancy catering qualification.”
“Prison?”
“Oops.” Lily clapped her hand over her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that. No one is supposed to know.”
Lily cocked her head and waited for me to ask the inevitable question, but I was determined not to.
“It was in all the newspapers,” she said slyly.
“As you said, I’m not supposed to know.”
Lily leaned over and said in a low voice, “Aren’t you curious as to what she did?”
“Not at all.” I took a sip of ice water. Of course I was curious! But I definitely didn’t want to open up that kind of conversation with Lily.
“She bought a prosthetic one on Amazon. It would never have fooled me, but apparently the doctors were taken in for quite some time…”


Then there’s the family who has owned Tregarrick Rock for generations. The current patriarch, Jago Ferris, is cruel and spiteful, possessive of his beautiful wife Tegan and dismissive of his grown son Cador. He insists that his debt to Evie’s husband was repaid years ago and that she has no claim on his hotel—but if that’s true, where is the receipt? Why was there no record of the huge transaction in Robert’s accounts?

With a storm and high tide stranding the sisters at the hotel with a cast of colorful characters who aren’t entirely welcoming, and with the sisters themselves keeping secrets from one another, the stage is set for some nefarious acts…


“The path has crumbled away. You were very lucky.”
“I know,” I whispered.
Dennis moved closer to the edge. “Do you want to see just how far down it is?”
“Please,” I begged. “Just let me go back to the hotel. I believe you.”
“It’s a sheer drop of about seventy-five feet. All the way down to the—” He suddenly froze. “Oh no. Oh God.”
His voice sounded strange. It was high-pitched and stilted.
My stomach turned over. Panic rose in my chest. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong? What is it?”
“Stand back,” he said harshly, but this time I didn’t. I took his flashlight and gingerly stepped forward to look into the abyss.
Heart in mouth, I swung the beam down and saw what looked like a pile of rags on the beach at the bottom of the cliff. “Oh God,” I whispered. “Who is it…?”


Death at High Tide is the first in a new series, so plenty of time is devoted to setting up the protagonist sisters, Evie and Margot, as well as the unusual setting. This means it takes Dennison fully half of the book before she gets to the murder(s) and higher stakes drama; Death is more of a slow-burn story than a ripping page-turner.

For some, yours truly included, the back cover synopsis may feel slightly misleading in retrospect; if you pick this up expecting something with more of a Gothic romance/suspense vibe, you’ll probably be disappointed. Not to say Death is a bad mystery—just that it’s not quite as advertised. There are Gothic flourishes, particularly in the descriptions of Tregarrick:


It was eerily quiet.
The Galleon Garden was peppered with figureheads displayed in clipped box hedges alcoves. There had to be dozens, ranging from golden tigers to Neptune from the sea. A light mist had begun to roll in, creating the sinister impression that the figureheads were still riding the prows of their ships. I felt a shiver of foreboding and the distinct feeling that I was being watched…


But, ultimately, the story is relatively straightforward and dialogue-heavy, with most of the plot delivered via long conversations and confessions. Evie and Margot are, as to be expected, the most developed characters, with the former acting as our first-person narrator. The rest of the cast is dominated by unlikable people, and while this means we’re not too upset or surprised when bad things happen/are revealed about them, it also means we don’t care too much about what happens to anyone beyond the sisters. It’s hard to invest in this supporting cast.

However, that’s not necessarily a damning fault. Dennison is setting up a series that, presumably, will stretch into several books. It’s the nature of the beast that many of the folks introduced here won’t appear in later installments, and so they don’t have to be all that well-developed or likable. So long as you look at them as plot points or window dressing, the core story built around Evie and Margot remains interesting enough to follow through to the end (and perhaps beyond, into the next book).

Dennison does a fine job of tantalizing us with references and allusions, slowly unwrapping the full layers of the many mysteries: the hotel’s ownership, the murders, the nature of Evie and Robert’s relationship (and of Margot’s with her husband), various personal secrets and lies and characters’ pasts. She baits her hook and then pulls us into deeper water in steady increments, and the climactic revelations are solid ones, though canny readers will probably correctly guess some of the details.

All in all, Death at High Tide is a solid story. A mystery with a minimum of on-screen violence or gore and—though there’s a little bit of scandal—no sex, either, making it suitable for just about anyone. Hopefully, Dennison will lean more into the history and evocative setting in future installments of this series, and let Evie and Margot grow in intriguing ways.

cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, greed, British, murder, murder-investigation, bed-and-breakfast

The characters drove me batty they were so (disgustingly) realistic! I could tolerate the new widow because sudden death of a loved one leaves a person pretty much brain dead for too many months, but the sister from California! I was rooting for her to be the first victim. The story moves along like a freight train through the mountains, slow at first but high speed on the downslope. Trying to give a decent review without doing the spoiler thing is hard, so I'll just say that I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

If life on the Isles is of interest there is a humorous nonfiction titled The Life of a Scilly Sergeant.

Initially when I started this book I was reading three at the same time << sort of made it hard to focus >> but once I cleared my schedule and sat down with it for the evening I became engrossed. In the first few chapters there is a ton of detail and background provided for the characters that it’s a bit overwhelming, but after about 10 chapters later you realize why all of it was necessary. It’s a quick read and overall the plot is well written. You’ll never guess who the murderer is.

I love anything paranormal, especially with ghosts. This had ghosts galore. At the beginning I thought "not so great", but I kept reading and was sucked in. I finished in a day because I had to know the ending. I guess this was supposed to be horror, but I read it as a cozy with teeth.

“Death at High Tide” by Hannah Dennison the first instalment in the "An Island Sisters Mystery" series. I thought this was a great start to a new series. I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in one sitting. It’s starts of a little slow in the beginning but when they get to the island it really picks up.

The characters of Evie and Margot couldn’t be more different but at the end you start to see that Margot isn't so bad. I loved Mister Tig the tuxedo cat! There were a bunch of other quirky characters on the island too.

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns as well as a few surprises. I didn’t suspect the killer till almost the end just before Evie did.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Minotaur Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

In the midst of is mourning the loss of her husband Robert, Evie Mead learns that he also left her bereft of money. But then a note “For My Darling Wife: In the Event of My Death” turns up amongst his documents, Evie finds that she may be the owner of an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock in the Scilly Islands. To investigate the claim, Evie and her sister Margot, fly to the island, where they find the old hotel, once the hangout for mystery novelists, is long past it’s prime, and the owner says he’s never heard of Robert Mead. Then one of the locals is killed…and then another, and Evie and Margot become the main suspects.

Dennison has created a plot with a lot of potential. A hotel on an isolated island with lots of eccentric characters could be the setting for a great series. Unfortunately, the story does not live up to that potential. Of note are the descriptions of the Scilly Islands, Tregarrick Rock, and the hotel, which were delightful. But the story itself is very slow and I found it difficult to get through. What mystery there is takes a back seat to the Evie and Margot’s relationship—which is more squabbling about men and childhood issues than anything. Plus, the reader will not find it hard to identify the murderer or their motive.

Also, while I struggled with all of the characters, who ranged from mildly annoying to obnoxious, the main characters, Evie and Margot, are particularly unengaging. Evie is supposedly overcome with grief, but other than an occasional comment like “I just couldn’t believe I would never see Robert again” there is little to indicate it. What grieving widow makes note of a secretary’s Gryffindor scarf in the middle of a financial conversation with late husband’s accountant? Margot endlessly giggles, bickers with Evie, and makes inappropriate and thoughtless comments.

I see little to recommend, but maybe this just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Really struggled with reading this book. I disliked the two lead characters and their portrayal as clueless, arrogant Americans. Tired of that stereotype in books by British authors.

This is light, easy read suspense/mystery.
Evie's husband, Robert, has unexpectedly died of a heart attack, and she is struggling to understand that he died a broke man. While at the offices of her husband's best friend and solicitor, she is given a letter and learns that she may have inherited an old hotel. With no where else to go, Evie and her sister, Margot, decide to head the the island of Scilly and check out the hotel. Arriving at the hotel is somewhat of an adventure and when they get there nothing is as they expected. Suddenly the owner is found dead, and soon after another permanent hotel resident is found dead. But who among them is the killer?
The first half of this book dragged for me, I had a very hard time getting into it. I was not a fan of Margot, and did not find her amusing at all. The second half of the book picked up and I enjoyed it. By the middle of the book the plot is like an Agatha Christie novel, only a handful of people on the island and two dead bodies...which is the killer.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is an author I have not read bore. I really enjoyed it! It's about 2 sisters, of which one has had her husband pass away suddenly. she learns she has inherited an old hotel on a remote island off the coast of Cornwall. They decide to check this inheritance out and book a weekend get away. Envisioning a luxurious stay they are rather dismayed to learn that the only access to this hotel is by boat and only at certain times of the day. One there they find the hotel is not luxurious, but rather old and somewhat rundown. During the weekend a murder occurs and as they are the only guests at the time, they are the 2 main suspects.
I would recommend this book to someone looking for a new author and wanting a mystery along with some drama.

I enjoyed this traditional style mystery, with plot twists and many characters. Evie is newly widowed, deciding to check out a property that she might inherit, after finding out her deceased husband was broke. With her LA movie producer sister, Margot, they get to the isolated hotel to find out it if filled with secrets. There are murders, chases, etc. Recommended and thanks to Edelweiss sir the ARC.

This is a story about Evie, a woman who recently lost her husband and finds out he left nothing behind for her. She then finds out he loaned a large sum of money to a very rich man who owns a hotel on an island. The best part - it doesn't look like the loan was ever repaid AND the collateral for the loan is the hotel. Evie is accompanied by her sister, Margot, and together to go off to visit this hotel. The story gets even better when it appears there's a killer on the island!

I started off with little thoughts on this story. It felt kind of slow and I felt it was focusing on things that didn't really matter and was dragging on. However!!!!! Once the girls got to the island hotel, things started to pick up and once they picked up they did not stop! From like the half way point of the book I was on the edge of my chair! I did not even place the book down for a second. I felt that the actual mystery was well done! I enjoyed the setting. I enjoyed that the hotel was like a mystery hotel in the sense that all the rooms were named after a famous mystery authors (like Agatha Christie). It kind of made it feel ironic when a mystery occurs!!

Overall, this story was fun! I enjoyed the characters. The author did a great job of giving background information without being boring and also keeping some information from the reader making everyone seem suspicious! I do have to say, I didn't really enjoy Evie's sister, Margot. She was annoying and entitled the entire book and even towards the end when she got a bit better I just couldn't get past it. She was a downer for me.

I am really interested in the rest of Hannah Dennisons books now!! I really enjoyed this cozy mystery! I would highly recommend this to someone who likes cozy, "locked in" mysteries. It kind of gave me Clue vibes in the sense that the killer was someone on the island and everyone was stuck there trying to solve the mystery! This was a great read, really enjoyed it!

* Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison is the first book in her Island Sisters series. I thoroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end. I read it in one sitting on a rainy day. It’s the story about Evie Mead, whose husband Robert suddenly died of a heart attack. She thinks she’s broke but doesn’t realize that she inherited a hotel on one of the Isles of Scilly. Her along with her sister Margot travel to Tregarrick Rock where the hotel is located and soon find themselves thrust into a murder mystery..

I loved this book. It’s a fast paced read full of danger and romance and though I’ve never heard of this author before, I can not wait to read more from her. If you like cozy mysteries, you will love this one! I loved the setting and the relationship the sisters have. It is a truly good book.

I liked this story. It is book 1 in a new series, Island Sisters Mystery. Evie discovers she owns a hotel on the Isles of Scilly, a remote location off the coast of England. Her husband Robert died of a heart attack a note was found in his legal papers saying the hotel was collateral for an unpaid loan. Traveling with her sister Margot, Evie stirs up a lot of hostility and bad memories as they visit the island. When two locals are killed, Evie and Margot become the main suspects but it's soon apparent that someone wants them gone. Good mystery and I'm looking forward to book 2. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.