Available Formats
CD-Audio, Audiobook
Published: 8th April 2025
Hardback, Main
Published: 24th June 2025
Paperback, Export - Airside ed
Published: 24th June 2025
Murder at Gulls Nest: Nora Breen Investigates, the charming new historical seaside murder mystery, from much-loved author Jess Kidd
By (Author) Jess Kidd
Faber & Faber
Faber & Faber
24th June 2025
Export - Airside ed
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Crime and mystery: women sleuths
Paperback
352
Width 153mm, Height 234mm
'HIGHLY recommended' Marian Keyes
'Nora Breen will become a favourite character.' Ian Moore
'Nora Breen is Maria Von Trapp on steroids.' Richard Armitage
'A seaside mystery full of intrigue and secrets.' Olivia Kiernan
The first in a sparkling new 1950s seaside mystery series, featuring sharp-eyed former nun Nora Breen.
In a house like Gulls Nest, curiosity might prove fatal . . .
After thirty years in a convent, Nora Breen has thrown off her habit and set her sights on the seaside town of Gore-on-Sea. Her fellow sister Frieda has gone missing and it's up to Nora to find her.
Nora's only clue is that Frieda was last seen at Gulls Nest boarding House. So she travels down, takes a room and settles in to watch and listen. Over dubious - and sometimes downright inedible - dinners, Nora gathers evidence about the other lodgers and what they knew about Frieda.
At long last, Nora has found the perfect outlet for her powers of observation and, well, nosiness. When one of the lodgers is found dead, Nora decides she must find the murderer. Not least because she suspects the victim knew Frieda. Could solving this mystery help her to understand what has happened to her friend
'Kidd has imagination to die for and a real command of plot and character.' Guardian
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016, the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2017 and longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2017. Jess won the 2016 Costa Short Story Award. Her second novel, The Hoarder, also titled Mr. Flood's Last Resort (U.S.), was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019 and longlisted for the 2020 International Dublin Literary Award. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her third book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, has been released to critical acclaim. Jess's work has been described as 'Gabriel Garca Mrquez meets The Pogues.' Jess's first book for children, Everyday Magic, was published in April 2021. Jess's fourth novel for adults, The Night Ship, was released in August 2022. Jess is currently developing her own original TV projects with leading UK and international TV producers.