Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody #BlogTour #BookReview @ClaraHDiaz @FrancesBrody

So today I’m delighted to be a stop on the blog tour for the 8th Kate Shackleton Mystery called Death at the Seaside. And it’s publication day!

About the book…

Nothing ever happens in August, and tenacious sleuth Kate Shackleton deserves a break. Heading off for a long-overdue holiday to Whitby, she visits her school friend Alma who works as a fortune teller there.

Kate had been looking forward to a relaxing seaside sojourn, but upon arrival discovers that Alma’s daughter Felicity has disappeared, leaving her mother a note and the pawn ticket for their only asset: a watch-guard. What makes this more intriguing is the jeweller who advanced Felicity the thirty shillings is Jack Phillips, Alma’s current gentleman friend.

Kate can’t help but become involved, and goes to the jeweller’s shop to get some answers. When she makes a horrifying discovery in the back room, it soon becomes clear that her services are needed. Met by a wall of silence by town officials, keen to maintain Whitby’s idyllic façade, it’s up to Kate – ably assisted by Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden – to discover the truth behind Felicity’s disappearance.

And they say nothing happens in August . . .

My review…

I’ve only read a couple in the Kate Shackleton series before but was very keen to read this instalment as it’s set at the seaside which is my favourite place to be as everyone knows! And I have also been to Whitby so was very interested to revisit it in all it’s past seaside glory. That’s what I love about these books because you almost feel you have time travelled back to the 1920s, with this authors very graphic descriptions giving you a true feeling of times past. I’ve never been a huge fan of the so called “cosy mystery” but I’ve taken to this series due to the images and atmosphere it invokes which, alongside a very likeable strong minded heroine, make these books my guilty pleasure! And the covers have some of the most gorgeous “art deco” artwork I’ve seen-totally eye-catching to potential readers.

Kate is off to Whitby for a summer break which she intends to combine with some time spent with her friend from school Alma and Alma’s 16 year old daughter Felicity. But as soon as she arrives there she is thrown head first into drama when she finds a dead body whilst looking in the local jewellers shop and then finds out that Felicity has gone missing! And that’s when Kate steps in, risking her reputation to begin sleuthing in earnest! There are lots of twists and turns galore here and some wonderfully eccentric characters. The seaside  setting conjures up long hot British summers full of holidaymakers and little tearooms on the seafront, the little touches from years gone past when we assume it was a more innocent time. but unfortunately for Kate murder seems to follow her wherever she goes-even on holiday! I know its probably been said before but the evocative imagery here makes me believe that this would make a great Sunday night television series. It has smart and incisive storylines that are head and shoulders above some of the cosy crime series that are around at the moment.

This is a great addition to the series with a twisty whodunit that I found thoroughly satisfying.

Thanks to Clara at Little Brown Books for my ARC of Death at the Seaside and this is my unbiased review in return.

Death at the Seaside (Kate Shackleton Mysteries Book 8) is published by Little Brown Books on 6th October and is available to buy here at Amazon.

About the author…

Frances Brody is the author of the Kate Shackleton mysteries, as well as many stories and plays for BBC Radio, scripts for television and four sagas, one of which won the HarperCollins Elizabeth Elgin Award. Her stage plays have been toured by several theatre companies and produced at Manchester Library Theatre, the Gate and Nottingham Playhouse, and Jehad was nominated for a Time Out Award.

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