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A review by carolsnotebook
Death at High Tide: An Island Sisters Mystery by Hannah Dennison
3.0
I loved the setting in Death at High Tide. We have a 1920s hotel that was updated a bit too much in the 70s on a remote island in the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall. The island can only be reached at low tide and it’s off season, so very few people are staying there.
Like any good isolated setting, we have a limited number of people. Evie and her sister, Margot, are our main characters. Evie’s husband has recently died, leaving Evie on pretty shaky financial ground. But, there were papers that suggested she may be the owner of the hotel, so Evie and Margot head off, to see the hotel and to get away for a weekend. The sisters are a good pair, opposites who nevertheless support each other when push comes to shove. We’ve got the husband and wife who own the hotel, a couple of staff, and an older, nosy woman who lives there year round. They’re all a bit quirky, but not likeable, even the sisters rubbed me a bit the wrong way. But this is the first in the series and maybe I’ll like them better in the second.
The mystery was okay, several suspects and red herrings, but I guessed who the killer was early and was right, which really shouldn’t happen. I don’t try to guess, so for me to know early, the author had to be telegraphing it pretty hard.
Overall, Death at High Tide was a fine start. While I didn’t love it, I can definitely see potential with both the hotel as a setting and the sisters as the lead sleuths. There’s also a potential romance in the offing, in typical cozy fashion.
Like any good isolated setting, we have a limited number of people. Evie and her sister, Margot, are our main characters. Evie’s husband has recently died, leaving Evie on pretty shaky financial ground. But, there were papers that suggested she may be the owner of the hotel, so Evie and Margot head off, to see the hotel and to get away for a weekend. The sisters are a good pair, opposites who nevertheless support each other when push comes to shove. We’ve got the husband and wife who own the hotel, a couple of staff, and an older, nosy woman who lives there year round. They’re all a bit quirky, but not likeable, even the sisters rubbed me a bit the wrong way. But this is the first in the series and maybe I’ll like them better in the second.
The mystery was okay, several suspects and red herrings, but I guessed who the killer was early and was right, which really shouldn’t happen. I don’t try to guess, so for me to know early, the author had to be telegraphing it pretty hard.
Overall, Death at High Tide was a fine start. While I didn’t love it, I can definitely see potential with both the hotel as a setting and the sisters as the lead sleuths. There’s also a potential romance in the offing, in typical cozy fashion.