Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I loved the storyline and the characters. I always think I have it figured out and I never do! I would definitely recommend this book.

This book was excellent! I loved the main character, the setting, the mystery and the time period. I've never read anything by Jess Kidd, and I will now search out her backlist. I loved her writing. She captured this little Kent seaside village in the early 50s in all its charms and seediness. I loved how real Nora Breene was as a character, and her backstory as a nun was fascinating. I look forward to another Nora Breene mystery! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the oppourtunity to read Murder at Gulls Nest.

This was an interesting new mystery. There’s a little bit of this “you’re being watched” creepy vibe in this story that keeps you reading. If this becomes a series you can bet I’ll keep reading.

A cozy British mystery, the first in a new series - sign me up! Nora Breen, a (recent) former nun, visits a coastal town to investigate the disappearance of her friend. Nora is a great protagonist - she is new to the outside world, not young in years but in spirit, smart, energetic, and asks great questions. She stays at Gulls Nest, a boardinghouse, in the very room where her friend had stayed, with a lovely view of the sea. Further mysteries emerge as her fellow boardinghouse guests start to die - is it murder or something else? I really enjoyed this book, the feel of being blanketed by the cozy setting and writing style, and Nora's friendship with Inspector Rideout - I can't wait for more!

I like historical fiction combined with a cozy mystery. This one is sweet and the main character is well written and the characterization is strong. Although I did guess the ending very early on, there is a clue that jumped out at me, I did find all of the characters to be interesting and endearing. A small town and a tight knit community. Nora is a former nun who used to be known as Sister Agnes, she left the convent when her pen pail Freida goes missing. Nora goes to the place she sent all the letters in order to see what happens.

This is a first in a new series, and I recommend reading it first so you can get the full backstory of Nora. I enjoyed the reading and the pacing of laying out the clues. Soon there is a murder at Gull's Nest and Nora fancies herself an amateur detective and has some great chemistry with the real investigator. She uncovers many secrets and we learn secrets about Nora herself.

I enjoyed the pacing and the minor characters had good personalities. Some of the British references are heartwarming and quaint. Although I didn't love this, I did like it quite a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. Book published April 8, 2025.

When her friend's letters stop arriving, Sister Agnes leaves her convent and her vocation, becoming once again Nora Breen, to find out where her friend has gone. It's implied the sudden disappearance of her correspondent, Frieda was a bit of a final straw, though Nora's other reasons for leaving aren't fully explored in this volume. Once Nora arrives in Frieda's last known location, mysterious deaths immediately begin, and Nora is on the case. Every bit of the mystery's resolution was highly telegraphed and a bit too obvious, but the characterization was excellent—every single character was interesting and I wanted to know more about them.

There were a lot of characters in this that could have served as side characters and had very little mention. I didn't care for trying to keep track of all of them to get to the end.

It's 1954 and Nora, a former nun, goes looking for her missing friend Frieda (also an ex nun).  Noara stays in Frieda's old room at the Gulls Nest.  While there, people keep ending up dead - with an odd cast of characters Nora begins to dig into these mysteries, hoping to solve her own friend's disappearance looking for connections.

The premise seemed cute and interesting but this one never really got my attention.  I'm not sure this author is for me because I didn't love the last one I read by her either.  For a murder mystery it just didn't ever really engross me, even with interesting characters.  i did listen to much of this and I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed more reading it, but when I switched I found the read to be a bit slow.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC to review

I love love a cozy mystery, so I couldn’t wait to dive in and get to know Nora, the former nun, while she investigated the disappearance of her friend in a charming seaside town full of secrets. And while the setting of Gull’s Nest - a boarder house with quite the cast of characters - was perfect for a cozy, I felt there were a few too many subplots for me to really zip through this one. I kept thinking that maybe this would be a standalone and that’s why all the details needed to be laid out immediately, but I see its the start of a series and I feel like some of the extra background info could have simply been eluded to and explored more in depth in later books.
Over all, though, I did like the myster(ies) and I did find Nora’s sleuthing entertaining (if not unorthodox and somewhat violent at times). I’m curious if she’ll stay in Gull’s Nest or move on with her post-nun-life explorations. Post-WWII England is an excellent time period to explore as well. 3.5 rounded up, because I will definitely continue.

This is a first-rate cozy mystery, the introduction of a series starring a bold and inquisitive former nun. The writing quality is well above the average cozy, a genre whose typical wholesomeness and simplicity don't often call for sophisticated turns of phrase or deeper themes.

I perhaps should say this is cozy-ish, for the same reason as my decision to rate 4 stars instead of 5. Depiction of a rape, while not graphic, was a bit jarring, since I didn't expect such a plot point to appear in a cozy mystery (i.e. a lighthearted mystery not containing sex, gory violence, or profanity).

This is but a speed bump in a well-plotted and splendidly cast little mystery, though. The investigation unfolds at a gentle pace and ties a perfect bow around a sensible conclusion that is nicely foreshadowed without being predictable. Throughout it all, there is such excellent character development that I will gladly read future mysteries featuring Nora Breen.

CW: rape, death of a pet, homophobia, brief mention of miscarriage

I enjoyed this first in a new cozy mystery series featuring British ex-nun Nora Breen as she leaves her habit behind in order to find out what happened to her pen pal only to get caught up in a murder mystery at the same time. Set in a small 1950s coastal town of Gulls Nest, this had a quirky cast of side characters and some tragic back story into Nora's past. It was also good on audio and I would recommend it to fans of the Flavia De Luce series except with a heroine on the other end of the age spectrum. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy. The cover is fantastic and I look forward to more of Nora's adventures.

Amazing! Such a fun cozy mystery with a delightful new lead sleuth. Can’t wait for more! The author captures a specific vibe that makes the reader feel like they’re in the story and not just reading.

Thank you so much to Atria for the gifted book!

I was so excited to read this as I am a HUGE cozy mystery fan!

While I wanted to love this so badly, I just had the hardest time following the storyline, especially in the beginning. I was waiting for it to grab me and draw me in and it never did.

I hope this one is still a success and that it's a hit with many others!

It is out now!

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd is a fun and enjoyable cozy mystery. After Nora Breen's friend suddenly stops writing her letters and mysteriously disappears, Nora takes matters into her own hands leaving the convent in order to check into Gulls Nest as a lay person and solve her friends' disappearance. Before long Nora realizes that all of the residents of Gulls Nest have their own secrets and are a curious bunch.

Overall I enjoyed this novel. Kidd's writing was a bit slow for my taste but the motley group of characters certainly made up for the lack of action in the plot. The last few chapters absolutely ramped up the action, and the conclusion is very satisfying for the reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Publishing for the chance to read this novel.

After a concerning line in one of her friend’s weekly letters, “I believe every one of us at Gulls Nest is concealing some kind of secret,” Nora stops receiving them all together. She leaves the monastery where she has been a nun for 30 years to investigate the boarding house her friend was living. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it’s time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.

Although I tend to gravitate toward books that are dark and heavy, sometimes it is nice to take a break and try something different. I enjoy a straight up cozy mystery from time to time. This book is the epitome of a British cozy mystery. I enjoyed this one overall. It was a fun idea, a woman leaves the life she has known for 30 years to solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance. Nun turned amateur detective. The book also included a unique cast of characters such as any good cozy mystery. I enjoyed them all, except the MC unfortunately. She often comes off as nosy and overly pushy. I have a feeling that this was intentional but it was a bit much at times. Although admittedly she did grow on me by the end.

If you are looking for a cozy mystery will a fun plot, unique characters, a little historical fiction, and beautifully described setting this is the mystery for you!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Jess Kidd, and Atria Books for the chance to read this ARC copy.

Described as the first in a new cozy mystery series, The Murder at Gulls Nest is the story of former nun, Nora Breen, who decides to investigate why her former novice, Frieda, stops her regular correspondence - after stating that all of the residents of her boarding house are keeping secrets. Set in the mid 1950's in a seaside town in Kent, the novel is filled with atmosphere and suspicious characters. Nora decides to move to the boardinghouse where Frieda was living, to investigate what happened to her friend. Although I would not really call this a cozy mystery myself, I was interested in the motivation of Nora Breen - and her insistence of looking for her friend when no one else, even the police detective, seemed to care. You also find out what happened to Nora, why she joined a convent, and what makes her a melancholy figure with a desire to reinvent herself. When more suspicious deaths occur at the cursed boardinghouse, Nora is convinced that something terrible has happened to her friend. Nora develops a relationship with the inspector on the case, and convinces him with her observations and evidence that foul play is involved with the deaths at Gulls nest - not just post war depression and bad luck. The end of the book suggests a new series with Nora helping Inspector Rideout - with possibly a romantic interest down the road. Although this was not a true cozy in my eyes, I still enjoyed the mystery.

I discovered Jess Kidd many years ago, and enjoyed the dark stories told by Jess Kidd. This is a different (yet somehwat similar ) turn for Jess Kidd, but I enjoyed this book quite a lot! I can't wait for the next book in the series!

After decades in a convent, a sudden silence from her longtime friend and former novice, Frieda, is enough to jolt Nora Breen into motion. When the letters stop without warning, Nora does what no one expects: she leaves the only life she’s ever known as a nun, slips into her old name, and checks into the last place Frieda was seen — a fog-wrapped guesthouse called Gulls Nest, where the tea is bitter and the secrets go bone-deep.

What follows is Jess Kidd’s version of a cozy — which means it’s not really cozy. It’s atmospheric, unsettling, and emotionally loaded in the best possible way. "Murder at Gulls Nest" gives you post-war malaise, seaside melancholy, and a boarding house full of twitchy residents with secrets stuffed under the floorboards. There’s been a suspicious death. There’s whispering in the halls. And no one is even pretending to mind their own business.

Nora, of course, fits right in.

She’s the best kind of main character — unbothered, deeply observant, and still bleeding a little from everything she’s lost. She isn’t quirky. She’s quiet. She doesn’t solve crimes because she’s curious — she does it because someone she loves went missing, and no one else seems to care enough to find out why. And while she might not carry a badge, she’s got thirty years of experience keeping secrets, watching people, and reading between the lines. That’s more than enough.

The setting? Prime Kidd territory. 1950s Kent, all fog and suspicion and lemon drizzle cake with a side of passive-aggression. Gulls Nest feels like it’s rotting politely from the inside out. Every room hums with awkward tension. Every guest has something to hide. It’s the kind of place where you know the scones are dry and someone absolutely knows how to dispose of a body.

And then there’s Detective Inspector Rideout — the local cop who doesn’t quite know what to do with Nora but can’t stop circling her either. Their dynamic is not romantic (yet), but it simmers. It’s all subtext, shared glances, and mutual recognition that "you’re not like the others, are you?" energy. It’s subtle, slow, and genuinely lovely — the emotional equivalent of making eye contact across a cold cup of tea and knowing exactly what the other person is thinking.

The plot builds slowly, and yes, the pacing drags in places — especially in the second act, where mood takes priority over momentum. But Kidd’s writing is so textured, so rich with character and tension, that it’s hard to mind. You don’t rush a book like this. You let it soak.

And underneath the murder mystery, this is really a book about reinvention. About what happens when the world you gave your life to stops fitting and you have to build something else from scratch. About women who are tired of being quiet. About grief and grit and the radical act of refusing to let the past be buried. It's also a bit about perfecting your aim.

Four stars. It’s smart, strange, and gorgeously written — and if Jess Kidd wants to give Nora Breen more mysteries to solve and more detectives to quietly fluster, I’m absolutely showing up for round two. Let her interrogate. Let her crack the case with nothing but a notebook and that withering stare.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

3.75/5. This was a solid beginning of a cozy mystery series. I really liked our small town setting, and the characters that were there. It was interesting following Nora as a main character. She felt s a bit like a younger Ms. Marple to me, which was a fun time. It was a bit of a slow beginning, since we had to set everything out. However, I think future installments will be a fun time. I want to see more interactions between these characters and what goes on at Gulls Nest.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for a review.

I adore Jess Kidd's writing and this book is not a disappointment! It is a seamless blend of mystery, intrigue, and richly drawn characters that keeps readers on the edge of their seats and elevates the label "cozy mystery". Set in a quaint coastal village, the novel opens with the discovery of a body at Gull's Nest, a local landmark shrouded in legend and superstition. Kidd's storytelling shines through her vivid descriptions and atmospheric setting, immersing readers in the eerie charm of the village. Nora is a determined and sharp-witted detective, whose background never detracts from the story.

What sets "Murder at Gull's Nest" apart as a cozy mystery is Kidd's quirky characters and easy to read story. It is never overcomplicated but also not boring! Despite the large number of characters, I thought their backstories were revealed in a way that never left me confused.