Murder at Gulls Nest, by Jess Kidd

Trigger warning for brief depiction of a rape.

Nora Breen is a woman on a mission from the moment she arrives at Gulls Nest, a miserable little boarding house in Kent. The last letter she had from her friend, Frieda, mentioned that Frieda had found out something potentially incriminating about one of her housemates. Now Nora hasn’t heard from Frieda in weeks. To the surprise of nearly everyone, Nora renounces her vows, leaves her convent, and sets off to find out what happened using only her natural nosiness and persistence. Jess Kidd’s Murder at Gulls Nest is quirky and occasionally dark–something I’ve come to rely on with Kidd. Murder at Gulls Nest isn’t as strange as some of Kidd’s other books. For Kidd, I’d say this book is downright lighthearted (apart from a couple of spots of darkness) compared to Himself or Things in Jars.

As soon as I arrived at Gulls Nest with Nora, I was suspicious of everyone. On the one hand, several of them are struggling to keep their secrets secret. There’s clearly something going on with Teddy Atkins, who can barely make it through a meal without snapping at his wife. Another boarder named Ježek is suspect simply because he’s never around to answer questions. On the other hand, I had to wonder about some of the less suspicious characters in case there was a big twist. I’ll admit right now, though, that Kidd fooled me. I love it when an author can do that to me, even after all the mysteries I’ve read.

What really appealed to me about Murder at Gulls Nest wasn’t so much the mystery itself (though I very much enjoyed the complexity of what happens) but Nora herself. As a child, we learn, Nora felt a calling to be a nun. She was one for thirty years. The glimpses we see of her life in orders, however, made me think she missed her real vocation. Nora has a talent for finding clues and piecing them together. She also has the doggedness to keep going even when warned off, much to the annoyance of the local police inspector. The longer Nora spends out of her habit, the more brazen she gets. One scene, in which Nora questions a local rich man’s son, had me crying with laughter at her audacity. I am very much enjoying the recent trend of middle-aged or elderly women who just don’t give a shit anymore.

Readers who enjoy mysteries packed with eccentric characters will enjoy Murder at Gulls Nest.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and Edelweiss, for review consideration.