I haven't read the previous book before getting to this one, but usually these books work as stand-alones.
So, maybe it was the main characters themselves or the writing style that didn't really clique with me.
The vineyard setting was nice, though.

The Shell House Detectives are called in to investigate the theft of a quad bike by Owen Harper, oldest son and part-owner of the late Frank Harper's farm turned vineyard Shoreline Vines. Owen, his mother Ruth and younger brother Edwin, together with Edwin's wife Karensa run the vineyard together but Frank's death uncovered that the vineyard was not in a good financial state.

Just as Ally and Jayden are approaching the vineyard they see the police are already in attendance, apparently a man has been trampled to death by their neighbour's cattle which he keeps in a field he rents from the Harpers. Although the body is unrecognisable the Harpers are sure it is Russell Tremaine, the ne'er do well son of their former odd-job man, Shaun Tremaine. Their story is that Russell stole the quad bike and was coming back to see what else he could steal when he got scared, hid in the field and got trampled by the cattle.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Owen is no longer interested in finding the quad bike (although the loss of a £10,000 practically new machine must be a blow to a struggling business), but Shaun asks the Shell House Detectives to find out what really happened to his son, because he's convinced that nothing on earth would have persuaded Russell to go anywhere near cattle.

Their investigations uncover all sorts of secrets and come to a very satisfying conclusion - nice to know I was right in my suspicions!

I think this series has really hit its stride. The personal stories are advancing slowly, the characters are deepening and the investigations are more organic. I still have a soft spot for Mullins and Saffron, but he still has some developing to go.

And can I just say how much I love these covers? Honestly its what drew me to the series in the first place.

Available on Kindle Unlimited.

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley.

The fourth book in the Shell House Detectives series sees Ally and Jayden investigate the tragic death of a young man at a vineyard. I love the characters and the setting. My only fault is at times the narrative was a little repetitive.

The Death at the Vineyard is the 4th book in the Shell House Detectives Mystery. It takes place in the town of Porthpella. Ally Bright owns Shell House. She is a partner in the Shell House Detective Agency. Jayden Weston is a retired police officer who is a partner in the Shell House Detective Agency. Tim Mullins is a police constable.

Cliff Thomas, Jayden's father-in-law has asked Jayden to look into the stealing of a red honda fourtrax 420 quad bike from the farm Shoreline Vines. It is owned by the Harper family for generations. Ruth Harper and her sons Owen and Edwin run the farm. Karensa is married to Edwin. Jayden and Ally go to the farm to follow-up on the quad bike. When they get there Jayden is told that a person had been killed by a herd of cows. the person identified is Russell Tre,maine. Did he steal the quad bike? Shaun Tremaine. is Russell's father. Shaun use to work for the Harper's but he was let go because of their financial situation after Frank Harper died. He was offered a package which he refused.

Jayden and Ally go to Yew Tree Cottage to make sure that Shaun is alright. Shaun remembers Ally's husband who was a police officer. He tells them he does not believe his son stole the quad. Said that Russell hated cattle. He would never go into a field with them. He couldn't figure out why his son was at the farm and in the field. He hadn't seen his son in 2 weeks. He asks them to look into it for him. He wants to hire them. They accept to look into it. He also told them that Edwin was at The Wreakers Bar bragging about the big plans for the farm. They have an investor from London who was going to give them loads of money.

On the way home Jayden and Ally go over all that has happened. When Jayden gets home he looks up Russell's profile on the computer. He sees pictures of Russell with Nicky Ballard 2 days ago.

Saffron owns Hang Ten coffee shop. She has been hired to cater the dinner planned at the farm. Edwin comes in and tells herl that the party will still go on. He mentions that Celine Chevalier as the investor and there will be 12 for dinner. As he leaves Jayden and Ally are coming in for coffee. Saffron tells them she is catering the dinner party.

Jayden and Ally go to Mackay Motors to speak to Nicky about Russell. He tells them he saw Russell on Tuesday, They were at a bar in Newquay. Russell told him he had money coming in and was planning a big holiday. He said somethin g big was in the pipeline. They called it a night around midnight. While at the shop Jayden sees a red quad but it wasn't the one stolen. He also tells them that Russell was a gambler.

When at the farm Russell sees Karensa and Owen kissing. She is having an affair with him. She realizes she loves Owen and not Edwin. She is concerned that he will tell Edwin.

Jayden and Ally go back to the farm to check things out again. Owen sees them and goes to talk to them. He said he was in his trailer when the accident happened. They go into the house and Ruth invites them to stay for lunch. They are talking about the lunch the next day.

Celine has come to town. She is staying at a hotel before staying with the Harpers. She had gotten a letter from Ruth asking her to invest so they woiuldn't lose their farm. She had known Frank before he had the vineyard. Edwin calls her and tells her about Russell's death. She doesn't know him so decides she will gol to the party and say the right things. Does Ruth really know about the past. She use to be an au pair for the Harper children. She left abruptly.

Jayden and Ally go to speak to Greg Sullivan. He is happy to speak to them. Molly, his daughter, is home for the weekend. He told them he had dropped off the feed but didn't see Russell has he had gone into the field through the other gate. They all go to see the field from the other gate. They can see the other gate and the roof of the farm house. Greg told them that if Russell had approched the field he would have seen the cattle.

DC Mullins is at home sick in bed when his boss calls and tells him about the raid on a warehouse and found farm machinery equiptment and ATV's. Mullin sends Jayden a text about the raid. Mullins also wonders why Russell was in the field. Allie tells Jaydlen she thinks Russell was already dead before being in the field. Jayden does not think he was dead but probably unconcious. He thinks he was killed close to the gate and that the cattle were used to cover up.

Jayden is in bed when his daugter wakes him up. She tells him that her grandfather is dying. Her grandfather isn't dying but has the flu. The grandmother wants Jayden to come to the party instead of her husband. While at the party Jayden goes into the kitchen to talk to Saffron. She tells him that she was Owen and Karensa. She thinks they are having an affair. Said that Karensa sounded scared.

Shaun decides to go to the party and walks in. He gets their attention. He sees Jayden there and thinhreks he has doubled crossed him. He swings and hits Jayden. He is tackled. Jayden and Broady take Shaun back to his house. Jayden calls Ally who comes.d He tells them that Frank told him about a body he buried. It was 25 years ago. He said that he had told Russell just after Frank died. Could the Harper's know about the death and buriel. He thinks this is the connection between Russell and the Vineyard. Which one of them killed Russell.

This is where the story takes off. There is too much to put on paper so I will leave it to the reader to enjoy to the exciting ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC.

Another difficult case for the Shell House detectives,Jaydon and Ally . They will have to feel deep to solve this one.

This series gets better and better! I love the whole concept of Ally and Jayden running their detective business from the Shell House. They are such an unlikely partnering on paper but they draw out the strengths in each other and form a brilliant team. Once again the glorious Cornish setting steals every scene! The mystery was cleverly plotted and kept me guessing, but that’s only part of the appeal of these books for me. I love the beautiful, atmospheric writing and the well-drawn, intriguing characters. I’m looking forward to the next book already!

I love this series, so when I saw the next book was on Netgalley I was too excited not to immediately request to read it!

I was craving a dose of Ally, Jaden and the rest of the gang so I jumped straight in. We’ve got another classic mystery and it was nice to see this one kept a little more local where the others saw police rolling in from further afield.

The family at the centre of the case were all equally suspicious and I wasn’t sure how it would all be resolved until the big showdown!

As always the relationships between the characters tug on your heartstrings. Ally and Gus continue to get closer, Saffron faces some tricky decisions as she has to decide whether to stay in town for the off season or head to Hawaii with boyfriend Broady, PC Mullins is his usual slightly bumbling but ultimately helpful self and we get to see a bit more of Jaden’s relationship with his in-laws.

I loved it and will be getting the physical copy when it’s released to add to my collection 🤩

Would 4.5 for me. This is everything I love. I love a crime story. Ally and Jayden try to uncover the truth of the murder while they discover local myths about buried bones and even a curse on the land itself. Are these just rumours or is there something more sinister about this.

I do love a crime mystery book. And this may be a new favourite author of mine.

As the Shell House Detectives investigate a mystifying death, they discover rumours, betrayal and murder. Will a decades-old secret finally be unearthed too?! Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few twists and turns. The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!