A Death at Seascape House by Emma Jameson – Book Review

AD-gifted: I received a copy of A Death at Seascape House in exchange for this post. Affiliate links are marked with a *

I’m back today with another book review, this time a cozy mystery set on the fictional island of St Morwenna which is basically St Agnes on the Isles of Scilly! *A Death at Seascape House by Emma Jameson is a great little holiday read, especially if you are coming down to Cornwall this Summer!

Book Description

With its sweeping sandy beaches and rolling emerald hills, the island of St. Morwenna is an idyllic escape. But behind the perfectly pruned primroses and neighborly smiles a killer lies in wait…

When librarian Jemima Jago is offered the opportunity to catalogue Cornwall’s largest collection of antique shipwreck records it is a dream come true. The only problem? The collection is housed on the island of St. Morwenna, the childhood home she left years ago and vowed never to return to.

Shortly after Jem arrives back in town, island busybody and notorious grump Edith Reddy is found dead, with duct tape clamped over her mouth and nose. Jem, caught seemingly red-handed at the scene of the crime, mistakenly becomes the police’s number one suspect. The handsome Sergeant Hackman in particular can’t seem to leave Jem alone…

Jem must take matters into her own hands if she wants to clear her name. Snooping around Edith’s once-grand home, she is struck by the mess before her. The bedroom is completely ransacked and in the living room all the photographs have been removed from their frames. Was Edith’s death simply a break-in gone wrong, or is there more to the mystery that the police are missing?

Jem has a sharp eye for a clue and she soon realizes that many of the island’s eccentric residents had reason for wanting Edith out of the way. Could Declan, the curious café owner, or Bart, the fishy ferryman have killed Edith? Jem won’t rest until she uncovers the truth, but doing so will put her right in the killer’s line of sight…

What I Thought

Living here in Cornwall, I love to read many books based here. They are my comfort reads!

But I’m not sure where to start with my review for this one. I think I had higher expectations based on the description. It was an easy read, with a beautiful setting but apart from the main character Jem, I didn’t really like the others. I felt left wanting more from them. The murder mystery was pretty well thought out, although it needed a bit more depth to get my teeth stuck into. It started off pretty wow! With the murder of Mrs Reddy, then it slows down before picking up near the end.

As it’s the first Jemima Jago Mystery book, I would definitely give the next one a go. Just because I love the character of Jem. She’s a fantastic amateur sleuth and get’s stuck right into the mysteries. I would like to think in the next books we hear more about the Jem/Rhys relationship!

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy.

Author Bio

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Books On Tour

Here are the other bloggers on the tour. Why not head over and check out their reviews!

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you’ve enjoyed this review. You can check out my bookcase of past reviews here.