The Whitstable Pearl Mystery (Whitstable Pearl Mystery #1) by Julie Wassmer

 

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery (Whitstable Pearl Mystery #1) by Julie Wassmer

Paperback 310 pages - First published 2015

I love, love, LOVE books written about the area I live in (I'm in Ramsgate which is a few towns over from Whitstable), and this one did not disapoint.

Pearl Nolan owns a restaurant in the Whitstable high street but had aspirations of being a police officer until an unplanned pregnancy changed her life. Her son is now 20 years old which means that she can finally open her private detective agency but business is not exactly booming. That is until she stumbles across two bodies in as many days, and she is then on a race against the clock to solve the murders.

This book definitely falls into the cosy crime book catagory so is quite a light-hearted read, despite it being about murder. Set against the coastal town of Whitstable just makes the book that much more enjoyable, especially for someone like me who knows the area well and could picture every place described perfectly. It's quite a small area and as with many cosy crime books, everyone knows everyone (see Agatha Raisin or Aurora Teagarden) and I think this is always the perfect setting for such a book. Whilst some locals may hide some skeletons deep in their closet, others are practically an open book as there is just nowhere to hide your secrets.

Pearl isn't the perfect dective as it does take her some time to figure out who the killer is, and often finds evidence way after the police but I'm hoping that as the series progresses so will Pearl's skills.

An extremely enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next installment. An easy 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐