An intriguing debut mystery novel combining seafood,
murder and a multitasking heroine in a gorgeous seaside location!

Pearl Nolan always wanted to be a detective but life, and a teenage pregnancy,
got in the way of a police career and instead she built up a successful seafood
restaurant in her coastal home town of Whitstable – famous for its native
oysters.

Now, at 39, and with son Charlie away at university, Pearl finds herself
suffering from empty nest syndrome . . . until she discovers the drowned body
of local oyster fisherman Vinnie Rowe, weighted down with an anchor chain, on
the eve of Whitstable’s annual oyster festival.

Is it a tragic accident, suicide – or murder?

Pearl seizes the opportunity to prove her detection skills and discover the
truth but she soon finds herself in conflict with Canterbury city police
detective, Chief Inspector Mike McGuire. Then another body is discovered – and
Pearl finds herself trawling the past for clues, triggering memories of another
emotional summer more than twenty years ago . . .

I received ‘The Whitstable Pearl Mystery’ through the
Little, Brown Book Group in exchange for my honest review. I love all kinds of
book and this book sounded really good. The cover is beautiful and I couldn’t wait
to start reading this one.

In ‘The Whistable Pearl Mystery’ we meet Pearl Nolan, a
thirty nine year old who ones had a dream of becoming a detective. But Pearl
got pregnant when she was really young and never got achieve her dream after
that. Now Pearl is the owner of one of the most popular oyster restaurants in
Whitstable. But ever since her son went to college Pearl has been feeling like
maybe this is the time to pursuit her dream. Pearl opens a little detective
agency and when her first client comes around she is excited to finaly achieve
her dream. But this client isn’t really one for her. And when Pearl finds the
dead body of a local fishermen everything changes. Pearl decides to prove her
detective skills and soon she and Chief Inspector McGuire are in conflict and
are both trying to find who is killing in Whitstable.

From the moment I started reading ‘The Whistable Pearl
Mystery’ I really enjoyed this book. Pearl was an amazing character. She is a
really hard working and kind woman and I loved the way she interacted with
people. This book is written in a very descriptive kind of way, which made me
love the little town of Whitstable and their citizens.

I think this book is the perfect example of a cozy
mystery. It’s fun to read, exciting and the characters and the town life are
just as amazing as the detective part. I would really recommend this book to
everyone who enjoys cozy mysteries. This book is definitely a good one.. and
boy.. I really love that cover. 

Julie Wassmer is a professional televison drama writer,
working on various series including ITV’s ‘London’s Burning’, C5’s ‘Family
Affairs’ and BBC’s ‘Eastenders’ – which she worked on for 20 years.

Her autobiography ‘More Than Just Coincidence’, was
Mumsnet Book of the Year 2011.

The Whitstable Pearl Mystery is the first in her series
of crime novels, involving multi-tasking private detective-come-restauranteur,
Pearl Nolan.

Julie lives in Whitstable and is well known for her environmental campaigning.

For more information about Julie Wassmer and her books please visit Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter.

Many thanks to Florence Partridge and Little, Brown Book Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book.