Murder at Gulls Nest

I fell in love with Jess Kidd's writing when I read Himself. It, too, is a mystery story, though quite different from this book. I was delighted to learn that Ms. Kidd has now turned her hand to the murder mystery/detective genre. Her wonderfully descriptive writing is put to good use in this tale, and her protagonist is a fully fleshed, intriguing character. If you enjoy Elly Griffiths's Ruth Galloway novels, this book is for you.

I love a cozy mystery and this book fits the bill. It starts off a little on the slow side so stick with it because it gets better and better as you turn the pages.

Great read!

I didn’t think I’d like this but it was definitely a page turner. Surprisingly well written and great character development.

Very much recommend Murder at Gull's Nest for anyone who enjoys an atmospheric cozy-ish mystery with a complex, unconventional protagonist unraveling it all.Nora Breen is at times pensive and thoughtful like you'd imagine a former nun, but with flashes of impetuousness almost like a teenager experiencing the world for the first time. She's middle-aged, but she's also rediscovering society and herself. From the blurb and the first few chapters, I worried she would be bland-- very much not so! I really enjoyed her character growth, and her scenes with Gulls Nest's myriad odd inhabitants and their neighbors really shine.It's a slow mystery, the first half really spent on building the characters and the setting. But once I hit the halfway mark, it suddenly became very hard to stop reading. As the pace picked up, I was thankful for the time Kidd spent building the structure of the novel.The conclusion isn't the neatest, but neither is life. It's fitting that we don't quite figure everything out. Nora certainly hasn't got everything figured out on a personal level, and I'm hoping Kidd decides to keep following her adventures.