BLURB:

With its sweeping sandy beaches and rolling emerald hills, the island of St. Morwenna is an idyllic escape. But behind the perfectly pruned primroses and neighborly smiles a killer lies in wait…

When librarian Jemima Jago is offered the opportunity to catalogue Cornwall’s largest collection of antique shipwreck records it is a dream come true. The only problem? The collection is housed on the island of St. Morwenna, the childhood home she left years ago and vowed never to return to.

Shortly after Jem arrives back in town, island busybody and notorious grump Edith Reddy is found dead, with duct tape clamped over her mouth and nose. Jem, caught seemingly red-handed at the scene of the crime, mistakenly becomes the police’s number one suspect. The handsome Sergeant Hackman in particular can’t seem to leave Jem alone…

Jem must take matters into her own hands if she wants to clear her name. Snooping around Edith’s once-grand home, she is struck by the mess before her. The bedroom is completely ransacked and in the living room all the photographs have been removed from their frames. Was Edith’s death simply a break-in gone wrong, or is there more to the mystery that the police are missing?

Jem has a sharp eye for a clue and she soon realizes that many of the island’s eccentric residents had reason for wanting Edith out of the way. Could Declan, the curious café owner, or Bart, the fishy ferryman have killed Edith? Jem won’t rest until she uncovers the truth, but doing so will put her right in the killer’s line of sight…

A totally charming cozy mystery from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Emma Jameson. Brimming with intrigue and warm humor, fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will love A Death at Seascape House.

MY THOUGHTS:

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read this book prior to its publication. My opinion is 100% honest, unbiased, and my own.

I decided to read this book because, judging by the blurb, it felt like the kind of cozy mysteries I enjoy from time to time. Well, it was and it wasn’t. It had plenty of features to remind you of a cozy, but then it became a simple mystery, and not quite a very puzzling one at that. The book is enjoyable enough, but I was expecting more, so I got a bit disappointed. It wasn’t exactly predictable, but it wasn’t surprising either.

When Jemima Jago had to go back to the hometown she had to flee while she was still a teenager, she wasn’t expecting getting involved again in such a nasty business as it is a murder. So we get a lot of introspection and memories from the past, from the events that led to her leaving the town. We discover little by little what happened in the past, and that leads to find out whether it may be linked to the events in the present. We have the typical quirky characters to be expected in a cozy, but they fell flat and cartoonish to me.

The only reason why I kept reading was because I wanted to know whatever horrible thing had happened when Jemima was a teenager for the town to hate her so much. The narrative gave a lot of hype about that, but then I felt deflated when I learnt the truth.

All in all, an entertaining book for a rainy weekend, but nothing exceptional.

So, for all of that, I give this book… 3 TEA CUPS!