This is the first novel I've read by the author and it's the first in a new series featuring the Shell House detectives- Ally and Jayden,
It's set in the fictional Cornish town of Porthpella where Ally is grieving the death of her husband Bill, a police officer. Ex police officer Jayden has recently relocated to Cornwall with his pregnant partner. When a young ex offender is found at the foot of a local cliff and wealthy incomer Helena disappears Ally and Jayden team up to investigate if these two incidents are linked.
This is a fantastic cosy crime novel and I can't wait for the next in the series. The author has created a likeable detecting duo and a convincing cast of supporting characters. The biggest strength of the novel for me was the sense of place, I felt that I knew Porthpella and longed to be there.
Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

"'The Shell House sounds like it was designed to be an HQ'
'An HQ?'
'For the Shell House Detectives, of course.'
Ally laughs and shakes her head. 'You're in good spirits.'
'I've got something interesting to share with you. Something very interesting.'"

Present day in Porthpella, on the Cornish coast and widow, artist Ally, has rather lost her spark, her daughter and granddaughter live in Australia. Former West Yorkshire Police officer, Jayden, newly moved to his wife's childhood home after a tragedy at work and for the birth of their first child, is also floundering. Ally and Jayden are both present when a badly injured man, recently released form prison, is found on the beach. When a neighbour goes missing, they soon find themselves playing detectives. As the local police seem to have the wrong idea about who is to blame, Ally and Jayden get stuck into their first case.

Perfect seasonal reading, this cosy crime novel, the first in a series, is securely settled in its enviable, Cornish coastal location. There are plenty of supporting characters (including a potential love-interest for Ally) whose perspectives the reader also gets to dip in and out of. The main characters, Ally and Jayden, are likeable and engaging, each finding their time spent together on the case helping them help others and find purpose. It is an intriguing mystery and there are some red herrings, some twists and some turns, but the ending, which see everyone get their just deserts, is reassuringly right. For fans of British, cosy crime mysteries, seaside settings and charming characters. I found this a promising start to a new cosy crime series and look forward to reading The Harbour Mystery Lights in October.

The first in a cozy series, it's an entertaining and compelling read. The mystery is solid, lovely setting and well developed characters.
I loved Ally and found the characters relatable.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Shell House Detectives is this author's first foray into the world of cosy crime and I have rather enjoyed getting to know the quirky characters who call this imaginary corner of Cornwall home.

Ally Bright lives a solitary life in her coastal cottage, aptly named The Shell House. She enjoys her time beach-combing and creating pieces of artwork but since her husband's untimely death Ally's life has lacked purpose. Late one night her peace is shattered by the arrival of an agitated young man asking to see her husband however, wary of strangers, Ally sends him on his way only to discover that, the following morning, the young man has been found at the foot of the nearby cliffs. Drawn into the mystery surrounding this young man, Ally and ex-police officer Jayden Weston start to try to put together several layers of an intricate puzzle which opens up the pretty Cornish town of Porthpella to intense scrutiny.

As with any new series there is a certain amount of scene setting and certainly Porthpella and its inhabitants come to life quite beautifully, so that it quickly becomes a real pleasure to get to know just what makes them call this picturesque place home. The mystery at the heart of the story is cleverly controlled and there were lots of red herrings, and interesting twists and turns, which kept me guessing. The series has the potential to run and run as the partnership between Ally Bright and Jayden Weston has only just begun but I can already imagine them becoming embroiled in further cosy mysteries as the series progresses.

Not only is The Shell House Detectives a cleverly controlled mystery drama, it is also a really lovely depiction of Cornwall and everything that makes this stunning area such a magnet for tourists, artists, and writers. The slightly slow pace of Cornish life is beautifully detailed and both Ally and Jayden fit so seamlessly into the story it feels as though I had been reading of their investigations forever. I look forward to reading more from this talented author as The Shell House Detectives series continues.

A well done and atmospheric mystery set in a quiet town in Cornwall. Ally's husband has died and her daughter wants her to move to Australia but she's not eager to do it, preferring instead to walk the beach with her dog. Jayden's partner died and he's left his job with the police in Leeds to move with his wife Cat. These two team up when Lewis, newly released from prison is found dead and a woman goes missing. This is told from multiple perspectives (perhaps one or two too many to be honest) and it pops along thanks to good storytelling. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me!

Ally Bright, the widow of a former policeman, lives quietly along the Cornish coast in her beloved Shell House. Now alone, her daughter is pressuring her to move to be near her in Australia. Jayden Weston, an ex-cop with a tragic loss in his life, and his pregnant wife are newly transplanted to his wife’s family farm near Ally.

Following the supposed suicide of a young ex-con (who Ally’s husband had promised to help on his release) and the disappearance of a local wealthy young woman, Ally and Jayden are pulled outside their comfort zones to work together and uncover what really happened in both instances and if they are connected.

First in a new series, this was a bit of a cozy with a little more bite to it perhaps than the average and was just a standard read for me. While there was good descriptive writing, it was mostly very slow going.

My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing the free early arc of The Shell House Detectives for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Setting the Scene: Outside Porthpella, Ally Bright, recently widowed wife of the late Sgt. Bright, lives on the remote coast of Cornwall.in the cottage that has been her home for decades. She spends her days combing the beach picking up treasures and detritus. Jayden resigned from the metropolitan police after the death of his partner and best friend, and he and his pregnant wife moved to this remote Cornish coastal area to live with her family. Gus is renting a cottage to try his hand at writing. Saffron is native to the region. These 4 and others are brought together by an apparent attempted suicide of a young man who appeared at Ally's door only hours before his body was found at the base of a cliff, barely alive. Later that same day, the wife of the wealthy man who now lives on the property previously owned by the young man's deceased grandmother is reported missing, her expensive watch found on the beach near where the young man plunged from the cliff. Ally and Jayden are convinced there is much more to the story than the incompetent young police officer in Porthpella will ever find. .

What I Thought: This is a well written book with a moody vibe and interesting characters. Unfortunately, the story unfolds through the POVs of seven characters, rendering it cumbersome. Those looking for a more complex read may enjoy the multiple POVs, but it just is not my cup of tea today.

Hall's debut entry in the Shell House Detectives series is told in multiple POVs. The characters are interesting, complex and yet likable. The plot's an interesting balance of suspects, clues and red herrings that will have guessing until the end. There are CWs, so take care and check them out. Unfortunately, the many POVs (there are 7) didn't really work for me but since I really liked Ally and Jayden I'll most likely be continuing the series.


I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Solid!

Cozy mystery I thought! That’ll be a pleasant change. But this was so much more than that! Think more along Vera lines.
Aly Bright is a misunderstood artist whose husband Bill, her rock, has died. Aly’s daughter wants her to move to Australia but Aly loves her treasured seaside home.
Jayden Weston is an ex cop from Leeds suffering PTSD after his partner had died in a stabbing. His wife Cat had talked him into moving back to her family’s farm at Upper Hendra near Porthpella, Cornwell, to start a Glamping business.
A woman is missing! This unites Aly and Jayden into doing something about it. Jayden laughingly calls them the Shell House Detectives. They follow through on clues that the police seem to have ignored with some surprising, and at times, dangerous leads. A real page turner!
Then there’s the characters we meet, a disparate group of people. Outsiders who are beginning to find community with each other. Sensitive stuff!
A novel full of promise. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

An Amazon Pub. ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

What an enjoyable book and a great way to start a new mystery series. Emylia Hall has a winner here. It was such a pleasure to learn more about the country of Cornwall--a setting I don't often encounter in novels. I also appreciated how grief was often the driving force of the story as Ally is coping with her loss and that plays into her behavior and actions in Cornwall. I also appreciated how Hall did such a solid job of creating the environment around Cornwall.

The mystery was enjoyably twisty without resorting to ridiculous shock twists. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I really liked the style of writing of this book.
Jayden has recently left the police force in Leeds after his partner was killed. He relocates to Cornwall with his pregnant wife Cat.
Ally Bright recently widowed from Bill, who was a police officer in Cornwall. She keeps herself to herself with her dog Fox.
Whilst out walking, she discovers a body who is barely alive. Jayden rushes over, and soon, they start to unravel a murder mystery.
I loved the setting. What's not to love about Cornwall?
I liked the way Ally started to get involved with the other people who lived and worked nearby.
Roland Hunter and his horrible brother were really awful characters. No wonder Roland's wife was seen running away.
I wonder how Mullins actually became a PC, and some of the other officers seemed so disinterested in what was happening,
Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the ARC.
Look forward to reading part 2.

When I first requested this ARC, I thought it would be more cozy British, but its in the vein of a traditional mystery. We're introduced to the main characters right off the bat as a mysterious man knocks on Ally Bright's door. The mystery continues with a missing woman and several cold cases that might not appear as they seem. The author did a great job of bringing Cornwall alive and establishing the characters. There were several twists and turns throughout the story and I expected it go a certain way that it did not. I appreciated the ending and the resolution of the characters. Looking forward to more!

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.
 
This was a very enjoyable cozy murder mystery. It has multiple POVs that are constantly switching, and that confused me a bit at the beginning, but I got used to it and I loved all of the characters. I have to say I didn't expect to get attached at all, but I did, and I desperately need the next book.
 
The mystery plot was thrilling enough, but definitely kept in the department of cozy murder mysteries. Though I have to give some points to the author because I haven't guessed any of the twists, which I usually do, I really liked the writing and the world that the author created.

Welcome to the coastal paradise of Porthpella, where murder lurks among the dunes… I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job at creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society.

Ally Bright likes her quiet life living outside of the Cornish village of Porthpella just before the dunes take over completely. When her sleep is disturbed by a young man asking for her husband, the news that he passed away a year earlier sends him off into the night confused and upset.

By the following morning the young man has been found at the foot of cliffs near to Ally’s home and a local woman has disappeared. Jayden Weston, new to the area, meets Ally as they wait for the police to arrive and, almost without meaning to, they find themselves joining together to try and work out what happened and why. As the questions being asked draw in locals and visitors alike there are twists and turns which lead Ally and Jayden towards shocking discoveries no one could have predicted but do they have what it takes to unmask the person responsible for all the turmoil or should they have left well alone after all?

This is the first in Emylia Hall's Shell House Detectives Mystery Series and I loved it. There was obvious scene setting and introduction of main and secondary characters but it all flowed together beautifully and I felt an instant connection with the main protagonists and glorious location. The mystery aspects were well worked, with surprises galore, and the personal side of the storyline fitted in so well with everything else that there was never a feeling of too much or too little of either part.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is the first in what promises to be a brilliant new cosy crime series which is easy to recommend highly.

A really enjoyable read, with characters who feel real, situations that could happen, and a plausible story. Ally Bright is still grieving for her husband, but gets drawn out of herself when a distressed young man knocks her door late one night. She sends him away, and is distraught the next day when she learns he has tried to kill himself.

Usually when you get a story that is about a civilian trying to solve crimes that the police can’t, it feels so false, but this time, with Ally and Jayden, an ex police officer, it feels right, as though it could really happen. There is the odd caricature police officer, but you do get them in real life too. I couldn’t take to Roland, but then we werent supposed to. There are some really interesting characters, Gus, Saffron and of course Fox. Feels like a good start to a new series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved this! Apparently this is Hall’s first foray into murder mystery and I reckon she nailed it in one.

Set in beautiful Cornwall, The Shell House Detectives follows an unlikely menagerie of characters as they work to solve a mystery. We first meet Ally Bright, recently widowed from her husband Bill, who was a well known and loved policeman in the town of Porthpella. Late at night, a young man - Lewis - comes to her house and begs for Bill’s help; confused and distraught, she turns him away. He’s found the next morning, having fallen (or jumped? Or pushed?) from the nearby cliffs.

Our other crime solver is ex-cop Jayden Weston, who escaped to Cornwall with his pregnant wife after his partner was killed in the line of duty. Suffering from survivor’s guilt, Jayden is struggling with his new, quiet life on the Cornish coast until he gets drawn in to the same mystery that Ally is left to solve after Lewis’ late night visit to her home.

I found the characters extremely engaging, and the twists and turns throughout were great. None of the story felt too predictable, and the characters all had flaws and quirks that added to their personality.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

The first in a new mystery series revolves around a couple of people trying to solve a mysterious death. Ally is the widow of a police officer and she works with ex-cop Jayden to investigate a death deemed a suicide. However, neither of them believe it is a suicide.

A decent first book. I think there are places it could be improved and I think future books might have a clearer focus.

The first book in a new cosy mystery series. One of the strengths of this book is the characters. They were mostly well written. At times I thought they were awkward, but on the whole I did enjoy them. I did enjoy Ally very much, but I'm not yet sold on Jayden. Maybe he will grow on me a bit in future books, but I have read cosies before where the main character, or in this case one of the main characters, didn't work for me. It happens. But at least Ally and some other characters were engaging. I at least want to see if Gus will write the first chapter in his book!

The setting of this book, being on the coast and in a small town, is something I do like in cosies. I really enjoy small town settings. It doesn't have to be coastal, but the setting worked in this book. And the author does a solid job in describing the area, and I especially like the descriptions of the houses and other buildings. Shell House, Ally's house, sounds magical.

Mystery wise, well I think it could have been stronger, but I enjoyed the investigation, and following Ally and Jayden as they put on their detective hats. I wonder if this would have been better if the book focused on them more, instead of switching to other character POVs so often. I think it may have.

But, overall an enjoyable first book in a new series. There's room for growth in the series, and it will be interesting to see what's in store for Ally in future books.

Thank you to the author, to the publisher, and to Netgalley, for providing the chance to grab a read now copy of this book. All views are my own

This cosy mystery managed to be a little different from the norm, in a very good way.

Ally Bright lives in a house in the dunes in Porthpella on the Cornish coast. She lives alone and is still grieving the death of her husband who was the local policeman. Walking her dog on the beach one morning she discovers the body of a man and her calls for help are answered by a young man who is surfing. He turns out to be Jayden Weston, an ex policeman who left the force after his partner was killed.

Fate must have brought them together because they become friends almost immediately and, when the police make very little progress in the murder investigation, the two of them bring their combined knowledge of police work together and set out to solve the mystery. And what a mystery as turns out to involve a cold case of suicide and another of murder, and new cases of a missing woman and a possible attempted suicide.

Nicely written with interesting characters, beautiful setting and a cute dog. An excellent start to a new series and I will be looking out for book two.