I love The Shell House Detectives series from Emylia Hall and have recently been listening avidly to the audiobook expertly narrated by Kristin Atherton. The Death at the Vineyard is the fourth in the series but can be enjoyed as a standalone novel. The series is so good though that I think you’ll want to read the others to find out more about the main characters.

There has been a death at Shoreline Vines and although the police are treating it as an accident, the father of the deceased isn’t so sure and asks Ally and Jayden to investigate. The young man, Russell, is suspected of stealing some farm equipment and coming to grief while return to scout around for more valuable. I was very moved by his father’s obvious love for him and grief at his loss, while acknowledging he wasn’t an angel. As the investigation proceeds, it becomes apparent there they may have been more than one Death at the Vineyard over the years and that there are plenty of secrets waiting to be uncovered.

As well as the investigation, I enjoy that the author also brings the characters’ personal lives into the story. There’s still that underlying attraction between Ally and Gus with neither really sure whether they should take things further. PC Mullins was entertaining as always and I feel he is really growing in confidence and ability, willing to stand up for himself. I particularly liked getting to see a glimpse of Jayden’s family life again. His love for his wife and daughter Jasmine is heart-warming to read about.

The Death at the Vineyard is a gripping, well plotted mystery with excellent characters, a great setting and an air of suspense throughout. I really recommend this series if you enjoy your crime on the cosier side.

When I decided to request this AND read the first three, I knew I was taking a huge risk as I have been seriously burned by this practice before [and yet, here we are LOL], but the [vague] premise I read seemed right up my alley, plus CORNWALL [Oh how I miss the TV show "Doc Martin", my first introduction to the magnificence that is Cornwall], so I jumped in. Boy am I SO glad I did. What a ride these first four books have been.

1. I absolutely love Ally and Jayden. I love that their relationship is NOT romantic [SO REFRESHING], even though they love and respect each other [plus, Ally could be Jayden's Mom ya know?]. I love that Jayden is devoted to his family [including his in-laws that quite often do not understand him], but also to the jobs that he and Ally are hired to do. I also appreciate how Jayden's wife [sadly, I currently have old lady brain and cannot remember her name] supports him completely all while expecting [and getting] him to do what he needs to do at home. It is a very real example of what a relationship is and I am here for it.

2. I am 100% behind how the author has dealt with Ally's grief. Grief is NOT linear and y0u never know when and how it will strike/manifest and how Ally navigates this is very true-to-life and it has been so refreshing. Ally and Jayden using Bill's old office for their detective work in this one shows this and also shows how far Ally has come, even from Book 1.

3. Gus. <3

4. Saffron. I love her and her very real, chaotic, complicated life. What she does and how she reacts to all of it feels very real to me and makes for an even more enjoyable reading experience. I want only the best for her as she has had quite the life so far.

5. WHOOOSH, this mystery was...W O W.
From the very beginning to that VERY CHILLING end [GREAT. GOOGLY. MOOGLY.], this was just fantastic and, while I had glimmers of what was going on, I never had the full picture [I mean, who would IYKYK] until the reveal and GGM, I think I held my breath for a good portion of all that.

6. Book 3 saw a change in narrators and I was initially not a fan. Thankfully, in this book, she has seemed to settle in [as have I] and while I don't yet love her narration, it didn't affect me [or my experience reading the book] like it did in Book 3 and I feel like it will just continue to even out and I'll settle fully in.

If you are looking for a new excellent mystery series with great characters and a fantastic setting, I highly recommend this one; you won't be sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emylia Hall, Kristin Atherton - Narrator, Thomas & Mercer, and Brilliance Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

The Death at the Vineyard is the fourth book in Emylia Hall's Shell House Detectives series. The Harper family's vineyard is struggling. They are preparing for a visit from an important investor that has the potential to save the business. This is put at risk when a body turns up on the vineyard. The police initially believe this death to be an accident. The victim's father does not believe this to be the case and enlists Ally & Jayden to begin investigating.

I had a great time with this book. The mystery was very twisty and multi layered. I really like the small town Cornish setting. Ally and Jayden are great. It was nice to have some small developments in the relationship between Ally and Gus. I can't wait to get the next installment in this series.

Kristin Atherton's narration of this series is so good. I highly recommend getting the audiobooks of this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a dark and gripping murder that is on the Cornish coastline. This was an audiobook that I listen to and I think I would have liked it better if I had read it. I would always recommend books to anyone who likes/loves mysteries and I don’t recommend this. Everyone has their own take on stories so enjoy.

This is the fourth in the series however this was the first book of series that I have read. I listened to the audiobook and there were so many characters introduced in the beginning that I kind of got lost at first. All the characters did become untangled, and I could follow along better. I am adding the rest of the books to my TBR list. Story was really good, the mystery was unfolded at a good pace and there were a couple more twists that I didn't expect. Thank you for the ARC of this novel and introducing me to a new author for me.

Ally and Jayden are the Shell House Detectives, a dynamic duo who privately solve crime. What starts off as a theft of a quad bike results in them finding a corpse in the vineyard of the very family who reported the crime. The police have a closed-case theory, but the father of the deceased doesn’t buy it. The case, and those involved, are more than they appear… and I fear any more summary will become spoilers!

I have not read the others in this series but it works well as a standalone novel. It took a bit of time to figure out who was who at first as there were a lot of characters, and the set up for the mystery was a bit complicated for me in the beginning. However, the setting was enticing and I enjoyed our protagonists and their interesting connections to the case. I enjoy small town, cosy mysteries and this was the right formula with our private detectives. The audiobook narrator was also fantastic with all the different character’s voices and accents.

Thank you to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.