Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd

I picked up Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (author of the very different The Night Ship) at Waterstones recently. I’d gone in to buy Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders (reviews coming soon!) and spotted Murder at Gulls Nest, which was Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month, so I thought I would give it a go.  Published in paperback in 2026, it is the first book in a series featuring former nun, Nora Breen.

In the 1950s, Nora quits her life as a nun and travels to the sleepy seaside town of Gore-on-Sea, where she takes a room at Gulls Nest. Gulls Nest is a boarding house with a mix of long-term residents. One of them was Nora’s friend and former sister, Frieda, who has gone missing.

Keeping her past life quiet, Nora gets to know the residents and staff of Gulls Nest, while making discreet enquiries about the disappearance of the former resident. She is convinced something bad must have happened to Frieda, but the police aren’t interested.

When one of the residents is found dead, Nora believes he has been murdered. But the police think it was suicide and immediately close the case. Gulls Nest starts to feel like a very dangerous place to stay, but Nora refuses to move until she gets to the bottom of both Frieda’s disappearance and the mysterious death…

Murder at Gulls Nest is an easy to read, fun murder mystery. The 1950s seaside setting makes a great backdrop for the story and the detail on the way the boarding house is run and its inedible meals all adds to the picture.

I really enjoyed Murder at Gulls Nest and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys cosy crime. The next book in the series is apparently out very soon, so I’m looking forward to reading that too.