Delightful! If you're a fan of Murder She Wrote or Miss Fishers mysteries this will be up your alley. Nora is a WONDERFUL character, a former nun who is now an amateur sleuth. most of the story is completely grounded in reality, post war but there's a smattering of the supernatural (which I expect from Kidd) and I imagine if this becomes a series that would be teased out over time. Well written and paced.

Murder at Gulls Nest, the first book in Jess Kidd's new cozy mystery series, is set in a 1954 sleepy seaside town and offers a delightful blend of historical fiction and British literature with cozy vibes. Our main character, Nora, is a former nun and nurse who heads to a hotel filled with long-term guests after her friend Frieda stops writing to her. Nora gets released from her vows and hides her identity as she begins investigating the lives of the guests at the hotel.

From Frieda's last letter, Nora knows that everyone at the hotel is hiding secrets. As she digs deeper into their lives, more murders occur, adding to the intrigue. The story takes its time, providing a comprehensive, immersive setting with a period-appropriate atmosphere. Nora, being a fan of detective novels, uses her sharp mind to figure out the murders and uncover the secrets of her fellow guests.

The narrative is rich in detail, and the plot is intricately revealed, making it easy to savor the story as it unfolds. The conclusion is satisfying and kept me guessing until the end. I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in this new series.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read a copy in advanced. This is my honest review.

I enjoyed Jess Kidd's latest, "Murder at Gulls Nest" which is the start of a new series. The MC, Nora, a former nun is refreshing and gives off a real "Marple" vibe as does the 1950's setting. The cute town & hotel are quirky, but shadiness lurks and murder is afoot. Really liked it & will read the next if there is one. Many thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the advance readers copy - - my pleasure to review!

I love Jess Kid she writes original stories with so much creativity, attention to detail and charm.

This isn’t her first mystery but it’s definitely her first cozy book, where Things in Jars was dark and gritty, Gulls Nest is full of intrigue, quirk and absolutely loveable characters.

I do admit I missed a bit of her usual darkness but I still had a great time.

If you combined Maria von Trapp and Jessica Fletcher, with just a hint of the sauciness of Phryne Fisher, you would have Nora Breen.

Nora is an ex-nun with a penchant for solving mysteries, on a quest to find a missing friend. She's so much fun, going undercover at her friend's boarding house, throwing shoes at men who don't listen to her, smiling politely when the time calls for it and sharing her secrets when she deems it important to do so. She's clever and warm and stoic and silly, a nuanced character from the first to the last. Nora is a wonderful investigator (as is Detective Rideout), and I can't wait to read more of her investigations in the future.

I am a huge fan of cozy mysteries and Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd hits all the marks for a fantastic cozy mystery.

Nora Breen is the main character and an incredible sleuth. The character is well written, complex and fleshed out.

The mystery kept me guessing the entire time.

I look forward to more books in this series.

I read a ton of mysteries so I’m a big fan of the genre. I had high hopes that I would love this book. The cover is compelling and the synopsis sounds like something right up my alley. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get invested in this book. Perhaps. It’s the writing style as this is the first I’ve read by the author. I think it will appeal to other readers, just not this one. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review ahead of publication.

I love cozy mysteries and was excited to read this one but it started off slow and never really picked up steam. There were times I struggled to keep the various characters straight and the pacing was frustrating. I did love the idea of a former nun solving murders and mysteries, (there's so much potential in Nora) and think this will be a hit for many readers; it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Oh, this one’s a cozy mystery with a twist of intrigue and secrets. Jess Kidd has this magical way of wrapping you up in the haunting atmosphere of a small seaside town, where you can practically feel the salt in the air and the weight of the past creeping around every corner. I love the subtle tension in the story, the little bits of mystery that are expertly woven into the fabric of this seaside retreat. The setting itself is like another character. The pacing is perfectly slow-burn, with just the right amount of suspense to keep you guessing without overwhelming you. Nora’s journey of self-discovery, all while dealing with the chilling deaths and the dark history of the hotel, had me on edge. The writing is exquisite, beautifully descriptive, yet grounded in such rich emotional depth. This is a cozy mystery with a hint of gothic allure, and I can’t wait to see how this series goes next.

I found that this book started off a little slow and it was hard to get really engrossed in the story. As we learned more about the other residents of Gulls Nest, I found myself getting a bit more invested, but I feel there was a lot going on and it was kind of hard to keep track of the different plotlines. As another reviewer mentioned, it was also difficult at times to figure out how Nora had come to certain conclusions or information as it wasn't always clear. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I would look forward to reading other books by Jess Kidd in the future.

I want to preface this review by saying that I really don’t think I’m the target audience for this book. I do believe that it has the possibly to be a 5 star read for some. But for me I was bored! The main character Nora was a former nun who left to figure out what happened to her friend. She essentially becomes a detective (and does a better job at it than the actual detective). She goes to live in this bnb like house where her friend was living before she went missing. The premise was very cute, but I didn’t find myself caring about any of the characters. And there were a lot of characters so it got difficult to keep track of who was who and what their relationship to each other was. There were also some mentions of Nora’s backstory that was unexpected, but didn’t ever get addressed again. I know this is going to be a series so I figure they will bring that up at some point then and honestly that was one of the more interesting parts of the book and I think it will make for a good story in the future.

I didn’t care for the writing style and found the protagonist, Nora Breen, really rather annoying. That, combined with a cast of additional characters I also found largely unlikeable, put this in the 2-star rating range for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’ll read anything Jess Kidd writes, so I was ecstatic to get my hands on this ARC of Murder at Gulls Nest. Nora Breen is a tenacious investigator with a wry sense of humor and keen observational skills. I can’t wait to see what she gets up to next!

I’m a huge fan of Jess Kidd and I loved this take on the classic British mystery. A faded seaside town, a ramshackle hotel with an interesting cast of long term residents, plus a former cloistered nun turned amateur sleuth…it’s like this was written just for me. Kidd is always great at sneaking in a lot of emotion and heart into her stories and Murder at Gull’s Nest has lots of heart at its core, elevating it from a typical detective story. I’m so bummed the book has ended as I could have easily devoured another 100 pages. Gull’s Nest was a real treat.

Very grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for an early peek.

This was my first Jess Kidd title and I was thoroughly surprised. With just a hint of the cozy mystery motif, Murder at Gull's Nest had emotional depth that kept me invested in the plot. Great characterization with a main character that was easy to connect to. Setting enhanced the plot and provided the hints of cozy throughout. Recommend to Kids fans or lovers of the genre. #murderatgullsnest #jesskidd #netgalley #goodreads

Though it took me a while to get through, I ended up really enjoying "Murder at Gulls Nest"! I related to our protagonist (and former nun) Nora, who was thoughtful, interesting, and didn't make exceedingly dumb decisions like other mystery main characters tend to do in order to heighten the tension. The progress of her investigation into the disappearance of her friend Frieda—and the subsequent murders of several residents at Gulls Nest—did drag on a bit, and I think that slow pacing hampered my overall enjoyment and desire to keep picking up the book. I was pulled in every time I opened it, but once I put it down I was never really itching to pick it back up again.

I also thought the revelation of the murderer came a bit too suddenly, without enough clues for the reader to make a good guess about what was really going on. And there were other moments where Nora would seem kind of stalled in her progress, then to suddenly just figure something out or confront someone without much context for the reader about how she got there. This type of uneven pacing was a recurrent theme in the construction of the story, and knocked off a few stars for me.

But still, the setting was cozy and mysterious, the characters were intriguing, and their relationships were appropriately tangled to keep my interest throughout. 3.5/5 stars from me!

[Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance reader copy of this book!]

I'd like to thank Netgalley for an ARC of this book. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

When I saw Jess Kidd was releasing a new novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Imagine my excitement when I found out that this was the first in a mystery series. It's like it was made for me, a lover of mystery series. (This year, I finished off the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, and it's like Jess Kidd knew my plight and sent me Nora Breen to fill the void.)

Nora, our heroine and unlikely sleuth, was recently a nun. But she gave all that up to search for her friend Frieda, who has disappeared without a trace, her letters back to Nora abruptly stopping, after she also left the nunnery. Nora has reached middle age, and after a life as a nun, she is delighted to be out in the world again, experiencing things she never would have been able to have had she stayed at her convent. Nora begins to smoke cigarettes, takes somewhat risque pictures, and garners more attention than usual while wearing a garish puce coat. (She knows it is garish, but she didn't have much of a choice in this coat situation.)

As always, Kidd creates characters that are incredibly charming. Each one I met (aside from the eventually revealed murderer) I hope to meet again. The way she crafts these people, mundane enough to be someone you might come across in real life, yet also standout in their own quirks and mannerisms; is a true talent.

The plot is tight, the way everything rolls out is incredibly well-done. There aren't loose ends, and overall it was a very entertaining and engrossing mystery. I had a hard time putting it down, and I eagerly await the next one.

I am not really a great lover of mystery novels, but such is my loyalty to the phenomenal Jess Kidd that Murder at Gulls Nest flew right to the top of my TBR pile.

Kidd has created a wonderful new character in Nora Breen, a nun who leaves her convent in search of her young friend, Frieda, who has unexpectedly stopped writing to her. Nora goes to the titular Gulls Nest, the last known residence of Frieda. It is there she encounters an assortment of characters, each with their own engaging back story. Frieda also befriends the main officer on the case, and makes an enemy of a local thug.

Kidd displays her deft hand at plotting in this gorgeous book. I genuinely cared about Nora, and the fates of the characters who managed to survive as the chapters progressed. I finished the book in a couple of days; it is immensely readable.

I am all in with Jess Kidd and Nora Breen. More please!

I loved Jess Kidd’s Things in Jars! This is not that!

A cozy mystery with nuns! With her signature character descriptions, snappy dialogue, and a new favorite.

It is 1954 and Nora is worried. Her former novice has stopped writing and there is something in the last letter that has her very worried.

So she asks to be released and heads to Gulls Nest. And oh my the people she meets there. Every single one is hiding something. And Nora intends to find out what happened to her friend.

When people start dying, she has a puzzle on her hands. One she may not live through.


NetGalley/ Atria Books April 08,2025

I thoroughly enjoyed the sleuthing of one-time nun, Nora Breen. Descriptions were such that I felt I was actual staying at the Gull's Nest! I hope that author Jess Kidd brings Nora back for many more adventures.