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laurieb755 's review for:
Murder at Gulls Nest
by Jess Kidd
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book was released just last month and has yet to appear on Jess Kidd’s website (at least as of this writing, 7 April 2025). http://jesskidd.com/ Having checked my review of another Jess Kidd book I read, Things in Jars, I smiled to see that both stories had me thinking similar thoughts. The first is that I sat for far too long reading (a good thing, story-wise, a not-so-comfortable thing for a body that is happier moving. ;-)) The second is that both stories started out gruesome sounding, almost (but not quite) getting me to stop before truly starting.
Am glad to say I stayed with both stories. Murder at Gulls Nest is the first in what is purported to become a series chronicling Nora Breen, 30 years living in a monastery only to determine for herself that it was time to leave, partially to search for her friend, another woman who left the monastery after a far shorter stay, and partially because Nora’s ties to God seem frayed.
Nora is a naturally inquisitive person, a good listener, a steady friend and a skilled nurse. She takes herself off to Gulls Nest, a somewhat but not totally down-in-the-dumps boarding house by the sea in Kent, England. (Kent is a real place, Gore-on-Sea is not, according to my research. I’m always curious if places truly exist or are fictional based on bits and pieces of actual places.) Reluctant to divulge who she really is and why she has arrived, Nora settles in and gets to somewhat know the other guests. It seems everyone has a backstory that is not easily shared (not unlike Nora's…)
Frustrated to not find out any helpful information about her friend Frieda, Nora heads into town to take up the matter of a missing person with Inspector Rideout. What follows is a budding mutually respectful relationship (and perhaps the twinkle of something more possible…) as they work to solve Freida’s disappearance along with, alas, several murders that take place at Gulls Nest while Nora is living there.
Am glad to say I stayed with both stories. Murder at Gulls Nest is the first in what is purported to become a series chronicling Nora Breen, 30 years living in a monastery only to determine for herself that it was time to leave, partially to search for her friend, another woman who left the monastery after a far shorter stay, and partially because Nora’s ties to God seem frayed.
Nora is a naturally inquisitive person, a good listener, a steady friend and a skilled nurse. She takes herself off to Gulls Nest, a somewhat but not totally down-in-the-dumps boarding house by the sea in Kent, England. (Kent is a real place, Gore-on-Sea is not, according to my research. I’m always curious if places truly exist or are fictional based on bits and pieces of actual places.) Reluctant to divulge who she really is and why she has arrived, Nora settles in and gets to somewhat know the other guests. It seems everyone has a backstory that is not easily shared (not unlike Nora's…)
Frustrated to not find out any helpful information about her friend Frieda, Nora heads into town to take up the matter of a missing person with Inspector Rideout. What follows is a budding mutually respectful relationship (and perhaps the twinkle of something more possible…) as they work to solve Freida’s disappearance along with, alas, several murders that take place at Gulls Nest while Nora is living there.