The Whitstable Pearl Mystery

Whitstable Pearl Mystery #1

by Julie Wassmer

Pearl Nolan always wanted to be a detective but life, and a teenage pregnancy, got in the way of a police career and instead she built up a successful seafood restaurant in her coastal home town of Whitstable - famous for its native oysters. Now, at 39, and with son Charlie away at university, Pearl finds herself suffering from empty nest syndrome... until she discovers the drowned body of local oyster fisherman Vinnie Rowe, weighted down with an anchor chain, on the eve of Whitstable's annual oyster festival. Is it a tragic accident, suicide - or murder?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, British Literature, Cozy

330 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2015

About the author

Julie Wassmer is a television drama writer who contributed for almost twenty years to the popular BBC series EastEnders.

She published her autobiography More Than Just Coincidence in 2010, in which she describes finding her long-lost daughter after an astonishing twist of fate. It was voted Mumsnet book of the year.

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery is the first in her series of crime novels, involving multi-tasking private detective-come-restauranteur, Pearl Nolan.

Julie lives in Whitstable and is well known for her environmental campaigning.

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

When young, Pearl Nolan had wanted to be a detective but a pregnancy at nineteen put paid to aspirations of a police career. Instead she built up a successful seafood restaurant in her home town of Whitstable. The coastal town of Whitstable is famous for its oysters. Now with her son Charlie grown up and away at university, 39 year old pearl decides to open a private detective agency. So far she is not exactly deluged with clients. Her mother Dolly is not in favour of the idea of the detective agency at all. Pearl is hopeful things will improve. But on the eve of the oyster festival, Pearl discovers the body of Vinnie Rowe, a friend and local oyster fisherman. Is it an accident, suicide or murder? Pearl is determined to find out. This brings her in touch and at times in conflict with Canterbury City police detective Chief Inspector Mike McGuire, who is trying to move on from his own past trauma and heartbreak. Then another body is discovered. Is there a link between the two? And could there be a connection to events from the past?
I liked all the main characters, Pearl, son Charlie, Dolly her somewhat eccentric mother, and Mike. That always helps when reading a book. The mystery doesn’t exactly take centre stage in some respects but kind of putters along at a reasonable pace. The setting is well conveyed, although I felt I probably learnt more than I needed to know about oysters.
An enjoyable cosy read which while not gripping and fast paced worked because of the depth of the characters and the interesting setting. I enjoyed it and I suspect those who like character driven cosy mysteries will enjoy it too. A good solid read in a genre which can often be hit and miss I have found. I’d be interested enough to read another by this author.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this mystery / family drama / cosy read.

Pearl is the owner of a Seafood restaurant in a small seaside town and is missing her only boy who has just started at University.

She decides to start up a private detective agency as she has always wanted to join the police force. This career seems like a non-starter until she stumbles upon two dead bodies and tries to team up with local detective Mike McGuire (there's a bit of argy-bargy here and Pearl's ideas are not always welcome).

I liked the characters and Pearl's history with the town and local knowledge definitely helped her solve the case.
The relationship between herself and Mike was well done (i.e. not overdone) and they clearly have unfinished business!

I had already purchased the first three in this series and I'm looking forward to continuing on with Pearl and her fledgling career.

[Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery follows Pearl, a woman whose dream of being a detective was cut short when she found out she was pregnant. Now her son has left for college, she has started her own private investigation agency. She has barely declined her second client when she finds not one, but two dead bodies in the quiet coastal town of Whitstable.

There are elements I enjoyed in The Whitstable Pearl Mystery, but also plenty that didn't impress. The setting is one of my favourites - the quaint English town. Whitstable is a small sea-side village close to Canterbury, and oysters are the backbone of its economy. During summer and the annual oyster festival, the small town gets flooded with tourists. I love small-town settings, and I felt that Ms Wassmer did a great job expressing both the sense of community and the social tensions such a small community brings. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Pearl, her mother, her son, and her friends and neighbours. A lot of time was spent establishing the setting, and although I can't judge the accuracy of the statements, the sea and fishing sections felt well-researched.

The aspect of the book that failed in my eyes was the mystery itself. In a cozy mystery such as this, it's generally accepted that the sleuth can also stumble upon clues, rather than having to actively bring a solution about. The Whitstable Pearl Mystery had the unfortunate plot of there not being a mystery at all. There are two dead bodies - but are they the result of murder? This question doesn't get answered the last quarter of the story. There is no urgency of finding a killer, because it's not clear whether there actually is a killer to speak of. There was very little clue gathering, and Pearl's cooperation with police officer Mike McGuire is laborious, resulting in the reader being largely unaware of the investigation into the deaths.

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery is a successful novel depicting small town life and the struggles of a woman missing her son who has left for college, and the story is entertaining; the mystery, however, left much to be desired.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl Nolan - owner of the Whitstable Pearl - a very successful seafood restaurant - has just set up a detective agency. It is something she has always wanted to do and now that her son, Charlie is at university she feels she can spare some time to realise a long held ambition.

So far she hasn't had many clients but she feels she has to turn down her latest one for reasons which will become clear soon enough to the reader. Then she finds her owl friend Vinnie dead after an apparent boating accident and Pearl's detective instincts are aroused. She just knows Vinnie wouldn't have made the mistake which apparently led to his death.

Pearl soon finds she is up against DCI Mike McGuire who is investigating the case and who thinks detection should be left to the professionals until her realises that Pearl is finding out more about what happened than he has done. Then she finds another body and it is also someone she knows.

I enjoyed this well written mystery. I liked the characters - Pearl herself, her son Charlie and her eccentric mother Dolly as well as McGuire. I felt the author really made the characters and the background come alive. I could almost see, hear and smell Whitstable as I was reading and I feel as though I could go there and recognise the places I'd read about in the book.

This is a promising start to a new mystery series and I am currently reading the second one and it is equally good. If you like interesting characters, not too much violence and plenty of undercurrents to a story then you will probably enjoy 'The Whitstable Pearl Mystery'.

[Jazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS | Pearl Nolan makes an interesting protagonist in the first book of this fun series. It's a notch above most current American cozies, in my opinion, both in the story-telling and the characters. Perhaps it's the British sense of humor that appeals to me. It was fun to go online and find images of the actual coastal town of Whitstable and the Oyster Festival during which the book is set. Julie Wassmer does a good job of describing the locations and its proximity to Canterbury. I look forward to reading the other books in this series though they are a little difficult to locate here in the U.S.

[Cozy readings Latteebiscotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A me è piaciuto tanto. Si tratta del classico giallo all'inglese, con uno sviluppo lineare, ma arricchito da un'ambientazione incantevole e da una bella caratterizzazione dei personaggi.
Non vedo l'ora che traducano il secondo...

[Jo Jenner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nice little murder mystery but I am afraid the general slagging off of the DFLs (down from London) that the author decided to do rather spoilt the book for me. Especially when I think she herself is a DFL.
I don't know Whitstable but I do know Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the description of a shopping mall feel with shops and cafes definitely isn't the one I've experience so it did lead me to question the description of other areas I was not so familiar with.
A quick read with the main character having so many guesses as to who was to blame eventually she had to get one right and the final confession with no evidence whatsoever wouldn't be standing up in court.

[Anna Catharina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich habe eine Weile überlegt, ob ich drei oder zwei Sterne vergeben soll. Letztlich kann ich doch nur zwei geben, denn das Buch war für mich gerademal "okay". Ich bin ja ein erklärter Fan des "Cozy Mystery"-Genres, dem entsprechend habe ich mich auf dieses Buch gefreut. Leider wurde es meiner Erwartung nicht gerecht.

1. Die Hauptperson, Pearl, war mir nicht wirklich sympathisch (aber auch nicht wirklich unsympathisch). Irgndwie ist es mir nicht gelungen, mit ihr warm zu werden. Ihre Beschreibung erschien mir immer oberflächlich und vage. Ähnlich ist es eigentlich bei allen anderen Personen auch, bei keinem habe ich das Gefühl, ich hätte ihn während des Lesens "kennengelernt".

2. Die Handlung war sehr langsam, ja, fast schon langweilig. Außer, dass Pearl durch die Gegend fährt, am Strand rumläuft und den Inspektor nervt, passiert eigentlich nichts. Als Krimi kann ich das Buch nicht bezeichnen, denn es gibt keine wirkliche Ermittlung. Eigentlich ist es eher ein stinknormaler Roman, ohne richtige Handlung. Achja, ein Liebesroman ist es auch nicht, auch wenn viel darüber geschrieben wird, dass diese oder jene Person attraktiv sei, konnte ich nirgendwo etwas von Liebe, Verlieben oder Flirten ausmachen.

3. Pearl ist ja Besitzerin eines Austern-Restaurants und hat nebenbei noch ein Detektivbüro eröffnet. Allerdings hat sie das ganze Buch über so gut wie nie gearbeitet. Wie man (mit der Mutter und einer Aushilfsbedienung) ein erfolgreiches Restaurant leiten will, wenn man den ganzen Tag in der Gegend rumgondelt, erscheint mir sehr unglaubwürdig. Und warum die Sache mit dem Detektivbüro? Das kommt so gut wie nie vor, Pearl arbeite auch nicht wirklich und ihre "Befragungen" kannt ich nicht als ermitteln bezeichnen. Für mich ist dieses Umfeld nicht sehr glaubwürdig.

4. Der Schluss war für mich ziemlich enttäuschend. Nachdem ich mich durch das Buch gelangweilit hatte, habe ich auf eine interessante und plausible Lösung gehofft. Doch leider ist das Ende genauso nichtssagend wie das ganze Buch, ich fand die Auflösung konstruiert und unglaubwürdig.

Schade, ein Buch mit viel Potenzial, am Ende überwog bei mir aber die Langeweile und die Unglaubwürdigkeit.

[Meg Onthemove Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm in a bit of a quandary about this one.

I enjoyed the first, highly descriptive chapter, introducing two of the main characters: Pearl and her mother, Doris/Dolly. But immediately there's a problem with their names, in England names almost give an age range to a person, for example my grandmother was a Doris named after the silent movie actress Doris Mae in 1920. The name was almost obsolete by the end of Doris Days career. Pearl fits into the same age range. They are both old lady names. And yet in the book Pearl is early 40s, her mum 60s .... It didn't work for me.

Then there is the sheer volume of superfluous 'tell' ... The author has obviously read up on Whitstable and it's environs and history, and is trying to put as much in as possible. So in parts it reads like a travelogue. Very distracting, it takes more away than it adds.

Add to that the premise ... Pearl who runs a restaurant and a detective agency! And has only had one previous case suddenly stumbles upon not one but two dead bodies! Unbelievable, made even more so by her just having talked to one of the dead who was seeking her services to deal with outstanding debts from the other dead body, who Pearl had known all her life. Just too convenient.

Then another character, Tizzy, speaks English better than Pearl, although she is Italian. Again unbelievable, I've never worked with an Italian (and I've worked with thousands of Italians) who didn't have a recognizable Italian accent. And then Tizzy has come all the way from Italy to study performing arts at Kent University - not RADA, not a Drama School but a University, when she's described as rich and has her pick of Drama Schools and Colleges throughout the world known for their Performing Arts Courses! So it's clear the research didn't go far enough.

I also could clearly see the underlying plot was about drugs virtually from the start, and who the guilty parties were.

So what's my quandary, this writer can actually write, it's there in the first chapter, and throughout in places .... Makes me wonder if the editors advice pushed the book in the wrong direction for me.

[Fanny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldnt get into this book at all. The constant name calling of places she went to was irritating and I got them confused with character names. I still have no idea why she went to the location of the second body and found it. Her actions make no sense to me at all.
I am very sorry for having such a hard time with this book since I was really looking forward to it.

[Eeva · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, Pearl, a former POLICE OFFICER mind you, did not know what meth is.
Therefore 1*
It was also boring as fuck, so..

[Megan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pearl Nolan always wanted to be a detective but life, and a teenage pregnancy got in the way. Instead she built up a successful seafood restaurant in her home town of Whitstable. Now at 39, and with her son Charlie at university, Pearl finds herself wanting something more. Then she discovers the drowned body of local fisherman Vinnie Rowe, weighed down with an anchor chain, on the eve of Whitstable’s oyster festival. Pearl seizes the opportunity to proves her detective skills and discover the truth, however she soon comes into conflict with Canterbury city police detective, Chief Inspector Mike McGuire. Then another body is found and Pearl finds herself trawling the past for clues, triggering memories of another emotional summer 20 years ago.
I finally got round to reading this after putting it off for a long time and I have mixed feelings. Overall, I did enjoy this book but it is not a typical crime book that I would read. This is very light and fluffy and I prefer the grittier crime reads. Back to the plot, Wassmer quickly gets down to the main plot thread after introducing us to Pearl and her family, I have to say Wassmer does a great job with her main character, very quickly I could envisage Pearl and like and understand her. When the plot gets going it trundles along at a nice pace with Pearl working with McGuire to uncover the truth. I have to say some of the plot seems a bit far-fetched with too much information being shared at times but it does not hinder the enjoyment of the book. Aside from this the plot is entertaining with a spattering of humour to provide a light, entertaining read.
My other problem with this book is the amount of local history that Wassmer throws in, is this a crime read or a local history/ travel guide? There is just too much history of Whitstable and surrounding areas in this and the plot gets bogged down and lost. There is also history of surrounding places, some that are not even relevant to the plot or are places the characters go, again it is unnecessary and the plot gets lost. Aside from the vast amount of local history, everything is described a bit too much and this makes the plot sluggish and dare I say it a bit unreadable, the amount of description means the book loses flow.
Despite these points, I did enjoy this book as an entertaining read but not really as a crime read. The saving grace are the enjoyable characters whom I enjoyed getting to know.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inconsistente è il primo termine che mi viene in mente prima ancora di finirlo. Il romanzo inizia promettendo bene: le descrizioni della famiglia di Pearl, del suo ristorante e della cittadina costiera piena di turisti sono fresche e accurate. Ma finisce lì. La svolta dell’agenzia investigativa è molto debole, come superficiali sono le caratterizzazioni dei personaggi che sono un po’ tutti racchiusi in un ruolo stantio: la ragazza bellissima e simpatica , forse un pizzico troppo, l’altra ragazza, timida e con un passato tragico, l’ex che da simpatico si trasforma in molesto, il ragazzo di buona famiglia che dai, veramente tutti sospettavamo non essere poi così bravo. Superficiale e al limite del banale l’approccio alle droghe che vengono affrontate come se fossero comunque un elemento estraneo al mondo idilliaco di questo paesino di abitanti schietti, una diavoleria che arriva dalla metropoli e, naturalmente, dai ricchi corruttori. Va bene essere cozy, ma non stupidi.
E poi quando si arriva ai due protagonisti, Pearl e McGuire, si affonda nel melodramma: lui tragedia alle spalle e fuga da Londra, lei, amore infranto alle spalle e vita dedicata al figlio e alle ostriche. Inevitabile arrivare alla frase:” in qualità di scommettitore, … non gli sarebbe piaciuto scommettere che ci fosse posto per qualcun altro nel ciondolo e nel cuore di Pearl.”
Tutto si sarebbe comunque salvato se sorretto da una trama avvincente ma non è così: la nostra eroina vaga per tutti i siti della località di mare, parlando di ostriche, traendo conclusioni da fatti inesistenti, cercando di risolvere un mistero…. inconsistente, che la confusa confessione finale rende ancora più inconsistente.
Non dubito invece che la serie televisiva tratta dal romanzo possa avere delle ottime chance: location accattivante, ottima scelta della protagonista (diversa anni luce dall’eroina del libro, meno bellezza, più ironia) sempre che, senza offesa, gli sceneggiatori siano in gamba.

[Rob Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

On purchasing this book and as I turned the first page filled with high hopes from my love of trips to Whitstable and the thought of an intriguing mystery I thought what could go wrong. How wrong could I be. Not to mentioned disappointed. From the start the characters felt unbelievable, the relationships between them felt manufactured and the plot somewhat flimsy and weak.

I never felt anything for the beautiful seaside town of Whitstable either. Descriptions read like a tourist brochure and a trip down Google maps. The town was left souless, which I know is not the case. And, having been a DFL (Down From London), as described in the book, I now an unwelcome visitor, but not to worry, those Whitstable Oysters were always overpriced anyway.

To provide some positive, it is an alright mystery, and I have read worse. It's probably a book, that unless you have nothing better to read, is fine to pass the weekend away.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novel itself would have scraped a *** review, but the narrator dragged it down to 2 stars. A good narrator can lift a book, but this one is clumsily read, so that I kept being taken out of the story. It’s a contemporary cosy mystery, set in an English seaside town, with a bit of a love interest starting up, presumably to be continued in the rest of the series. The characters are a bit two dimensional, which is a bad thing in a cosy mystery, where you don’t have drama, passion or violence to pep it up. It passes the time.

[Elodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So. I have tons of things to say.

First of all, I loved the town, it makes me want to move. The 2 stars are for the town.

I didn't like Pearl though. She should go to therapy, as it's super healthy and it would do her good. She has a toxic relationship with her son, and she doesn't like his girlfriend because she's feeling threatened (not that she'd recognize it).
I thought the author was going to show us the evolution of the character for the sake of her son, but no. No spoilers, but oh no, no healthy evolution in this book.

[Jean Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly gentle mystery but not gentle enough to be called 'cosy' and the ending is left open enough to know that there could well be a sequel in the offing with Nolan and McGuire getting together. I felt quite sad for Charlie at the end. Maybe he would feature more in a future book.

[Eurocrime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this. Made me want to visit Whitstable. The solution to the whodunnit(s) surprised me.

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the reads this month over at the Kindle English Mystery Club on Goodreads. Pearl is returning to her dream of being a detective, but a private detective this time. She is already the proprietor of a successful seafood restaurant, but she had once been on the police force. Her new client mentions the name of a local to Whitstable, someone Pearl knows and even though she turned down the case she ends up immersed in it as she stumbles over bodies.

Cozy-esque mystery with a lovely setting that is well-defined. The book really does have a well-developed sense of place. A few quirky characters are sprinkled throughout the town and there might be a hint of romance to come. Pearl is intelligent and even though technically not a professional detective, she makes a believable sleuth with her background in police work. Slow to start, but an enjoyable read with a surprise resolution.

[Agi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every once in a while you feel a need to read something different to your usual reads, and as I am growing very fond of a genre called cosy crime, I was more than happy to see "The Whitstable Pearl Mystery" to land on my doorstep. I started reading it almost immediately and found it an incredibly quick and - yes! - cosy read. It is my second book that centres around oysters and oh my word, I really had no idea that oysters can elicit such extreme feelings and action in people. But I think no matter how many books about oysters I'm going to read, I will never in my life try one. No way. No matter how much effort the authors put to convince me that they're delicious. Thank you, but no thank you, to the oysters, and big, fat YES to the book itself.

Pearl Nolan, almost forty, single mother, always dreamed of being a private detective, but - as it usually is - life got in the way and instead of setting an agency, Pearl found herself pregnant. Now her son is at the university and Pearl owns one of the most popular oyster restaurants in Whitstable and she feels it's time to pursuit her dream, so she opens a detective agency and is looking forward to her first client. Unfortunately, the first one is not the case she can follow. Soon Pearl finds not only a body of her old friend and local oyster - catcher Vinnie, but also, quickly after that, her never - to - be - client. Pearl wants so much to try her detective skills but this, of course, put her in conflict with a newcomer, Chief Inspector McGuire. Pearl is sure she can help him. Can she really?

Pearl was a real heroine of the book. She was a main character, that's true, but I think there was so much warmth in her that it would always have put her in the centre of attention. She, of course, had this incredible ability to be in the right place in the right moment, to hear everything and see everything, and add two and two and always get four, but oh well, let's just go with the flow, right? Nevertheless, she felt like a real woman, working hard and bringing up her son by herself, and she did a great job of this. If I were to describe her in one word it would probably be: warm. She has actually stole the show and she was really the centre character in the book, all the other being just an addendum to her. I adored her mother, she was so lively and full of enthusiasm, and she made me laugh so often, and I guess I'd love a little more of McGuire, or "Flat Foot", as Pearl's mother called him... But I liked his attitude and life approach.

Everything in the book is very neatly tied up, every T is crossed and every I's dotted. It left me with no questions open and well, it kept me guessing all the time to be honest. I may have my suspicions, and as the author had a tendency to emphasise some actions, words, events, characters that might have not be seen as significant, but they left me with the feeling they may indeed be important, and so I focused on one person or the other more than on the others, but well, I haven't guessed, and this is why I have enjoyed the ending so much.

It was told in a very warm, engaging way and I read the story comfortably, feeling as if someone was reading it to me on a hot, summery day. This is a crime, but really cosy crime, and we have two people murdered but everything is written with a lot of tact and subtlety, although the descriptions of the victims themselves were very vivid and felt extremely realistic, so if you are a softie don't eat when reading those passages :D

This book is written in a wonderful, engaging way and I was hooked from beginning to the start. What bothered me a little was the fact that Pearl really was always in the right place, she knew the right people and had no troubles at all with any access to information. There are too many strokes of luck, coincidences, too many hints, too many clues. On the other hand, I totally enjoyed this slow tempo of the story (please, do not confuse this slow tempo of the investigation with the absolutely right pace of the story, it was fast - paced and there was always something new and interesting happening in Whitstable, let it be the Oyster Festival, being rushed to the hospital or finding the bodies), and it really had this cosy feeling to it. Julia Wassmer writes in such accessible, down - to - earth way and there is a real warmth to her writing style, I just had a feeling this book embraced me and I felt very comfortable in the company of the characters and the story.

The setting for this story couldn't be better, and the descriptions of Whitstable, its inhabitants, history, Oyster Festival felt wonderfully realistic. Pearl felt herself really at home in Whitstable and wandering through the town and discovering all the secrets with her felt great, with all those vivid descriptions.

So altogether, I'd say if you are into cosy crime, absolutely give this book a go. It's hooking, it's captivating, vivid, witty, clever and not too demanding, not too complicated (and it's a compliment!). I wouldn't perhaps say that I was on my tenterhooks but I happily followed Pearl in her investigations and enjoyed the way the story developed and closed. There was so much potential in this book, I would really love to see Pearl again with new adventures and new cases to solve. Julie?

Copy received from publisher in exchange for a review.

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A random pick up at the railway station and what a lucky dip that was. I enjoyed it. A lovely light read which caught my interest from start to finish. OK, the plot is slim, the characters obvious and the ending quick but it hung together well.
Toast

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another mystery that spawned a BBC Murder Mystery series. I enjoyed the book very much.

[Ginny Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much better than the TV series!

[Key · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable murder mystery, made all the more enjoyable for me as I know all of the places that Pearl frequented in the book.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likeable first in series, that sits on the border of Cozy and Procedural.

[Margaret D'Anieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable - liked the main characters, liked the setting in a small English village.

[Keith Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it - very much like the TV series

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received ‘The Whitstable Pearl Mystery’ through the Little Brown Book Group in exchange for my honest review. I love all kinds of book and this book sounded really good. The cover is beautiful and I couldn’t wait to start reading this one.

In ‘The Whistable Pearl Mystery’ we meet Pearl Nolan, a thirty nine year old who ones had a dream of becoming a detective. But Pearl got pregnant when she was really young and never got achieve her dream after that. Now Pearl is the owner of one of the most popular oyster restaurants in Whitstable. But ever since her son went to college Pearl has been feeling like maybe this is the time to pursuit her dream. Pearl opens a little detective agency and when her first client comes around she is excited to finaly achieve her dream. But this client isn’t really one for her. And when Pearl finds the dead body of a local fishermen everything changes. Pearl decides to prove her detective skills and soon she and Chief Inspector McGuire are in conflict and are both trying to find who is killing in Whitstable.

From the moment I started reading ‘The Whistable Pearl Mystery’ I really enjoyed this book. Pearl was an amazing character. She is a really hard working and kind woman and I loved the way she interacted with people. This book is written in a very descriptive kind of way, which made me love the little town of Whitstable and their citizens.

I think this book is the perfect example of a cozy mystery. It’s fun to read, exciting and the characters and the town life are just as amazing as the detective part. I would really recommend this book to everyone who enjoys cozy mysteries. This book is definitely a good one.. and boy.. I really love that cover.

[RumBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the TV show based on these books, before the books, so I just recently picked this up.

Overall, it was a well done book. The pacing got a little slow at times, and it drug a lot in the middle, especially with most of it being about the oyster festival. The plot, and murder, were interesting though, as were the lives and personalities of the characters. There were a lot of fun quirky people in Whitstable, and that was well portrayed. Inspector McGuire, in the books though, could be really annoying and patronizing.

I have to say though, a lot of the TV adaptation is not accurate at all, if you are trying to be true to the books. The characters in the book do not look anything like what is portrayed. Also, a lot of their personal details don't match up either. I have to say though, I think, in a lot of ways, I prefer the TV versions. Just personal preference.

Not a bad book, and I might try more.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit disappointing because the setting is very good, but somehow the plot feels badly structured, a bit clumsy and rushed towards the end. As a result it lacks credibility, but I still enjoyed the descriptions and main characters.