I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Death at High Tide
by Hannah Dennison
Series: Island Sisters Mystery #1
Series Rating:
Published by Minotaur Books on August 18, 2020
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 301
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Books-A-Million
The first in a delightful new cozy series by Hannah Dennison, featuring two sisters who inherit an old hotel in the remote Scilly Islands and find it full of intrigue, danger, and romance.
When Evie Mead's husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Islands of Scilly.
Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets--one way--to Tregarrick.
Once at the hotel--used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all--Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he's never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them--alongside Robert's first wife--in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren't any easier to read.
But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There's no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations--and several of their own--if they want to make it back alive.
Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison is a fabulous start to a new series with two marvelous sleuths and a very different setting.
Will Evie and Margot figure out who the killer is before one of them are next?
Evie and Margot
Two sisters, one freshly widowed and one on the way to divorce. Both unsure of the future and looking for clarity and hope. So, a sisters’ weekend to a small island in the off-season (November) at a luxury hotel. Ok, so luxury is a stretch, but the hotel grounds are beautiful, even if the owner is rude, obnoxious, and overbearing.
I like Evie, although I believe that she is mousey and perhaps slightly gullible. However, she wasn’t the only one taken in by the killer. She had a wonderful husband, even if he was older. You can tell from her memories that she loved him. It seemed like Evie was slow, figuring it all out, but honestly, it all hit her once.
Margot is a riot. Although her husband is a cad and never deserved her. Margot throws some of the craziest stuff out there. She will be an excellent funny man to Evie’s seriousness. These sisters are going to shake up the Scilly Isles and give the locals something to talk about.
The Mystery
The mystery was good. I figured it out about halfway through. The flow is outstanding, and the plotting is spot on. The writer’s style is brilliant, knowledge of pop culture, and the whole “Doctor Dolittle” vicar is very entertaining. Seriously, Star Wars is everywhere. The hotel with the Art deco parts and then the 1970s theme (complete with shag carpet) in the main areas is crazy. I can imagine how crazy it all seemed to Evie and Margot.
Five Stars
I laughed out loud in many places; these sisters are hilarious. I especially love their snark with each other. My rating for Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison is five stars. You should check out this first book in this new series; it will make you laugh.
Giveaway
Prize: (7) Prize Package beautiful glass-shell soap dishes that are handmade on the Isles of Scilly (shells picked up from the beaches) and a copy of Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison
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Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
About Hannah Dennison
Hannah Dennison was born and raised in Hampshire but spent more than two decades living in California. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst. For many years Hannah taught mystery writing workshops at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program in Los Angeles, California.
Hannah writes the Honeychurch Hall Mysteries and the Vicky Hill Mysteries both set in the wilds of the Devonshire countryside where she now lives with her two high-spirited Hungarian Vizslas.
Thank you for your review on “Death at High Tide” by Hannah Dennison and for being part of the book tour.
Sounds like a fabulous book and one I would greatly enjoy having the opportunity to read. Love the cover!