Death at High Tide: An Island Sisters Mystery

Hannah Dennison

Aug 2020 · The Island Sisters Book 1 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

Death at High Tide is the delightful first installment in the Island Sisters series by Hannah Dennison, featuring two sisters who inherit an old hotel in the remote Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall and find it full of intrigue, danger, and romance.

When Evie Mead’s husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly.

Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets—one way—to Tregarrick.

Once at the hotel—used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all—Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he's never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them—alongside Robert's first wife—in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren't any easier to read.

But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There’s no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations—and several of their own—if they want to make it back alive.

Ratings and reviews

Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison is the debut of An Island Sisters Mystery series. It is November in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England where Evie Mead just lost her husband, Robert to a heart attack. She is learning that her financial status is shaky, and Evie is glad to have her sister, Margot there with her. It turns out that Evie might be the owner of Tregarrick Rock which is part of the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast. Margot believes Evie needs to get away and they head off Tregarrick Rock. Evie Mead and Margot Chandler are as different as two sisters can be. Evie likes to wear comfortable clothing and is a homebody while Margot is a film producer who lives in Los Angeles and likes to wear designer clothes plus name drop. Margot is loud and outspoken. She does not hesitate to interfere in Evie’s personal affairs. However, Margot does not like Evie asking about her life. The characters lacked development. I would have liked more information on the sisters and the secondary characters fleshed out a bit more. I did feel that Death at High Tide was a slow starter with the death of Jago Ferris not occurring until the second half of the book. After Detective Sergeant Patty Williamson arrives on the island, the action begins to pick up. The police force may be small, but they are thorough. DS Patty Williamson has here eye on the two sisters and she is not about to let them head home. Evie takes matters into her own hands and begins searching for clues. She is new to the sleuthing game and makes some rookie mistakes. Evie and Margot discuss the evidence and come up with various theories. Those readers who devour mysteries will be able to solve this whodunit easily. I loved the descriptions of the Isles of Scilly and Tregarrick Rock. It sounds like a beautiful place to live despite the challenges getting there. The Art Deco hotel sounds like a gem despite the garish décor (rip out the 70s tacky and restore it to its former glory). Death at High Tide transports reader to the Isles of Scilly with pirate picture propaganda, a condescending curmudgeon, a prying patron, a secretive sister, an erratic employee, fatal fog, and temperamental tides.

cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, greed, British, murder, murder-investigation, bed-and-breakfast The characters drove me batty they were so (disgustingly) realistic! I could tolerate the new widow because sudden death of a loved one leaves a person pretty much brain dead for too many months, but the sister from California! I was rooting for her to be the first victim. The story moves along like a freight train through the mountains, slow at first but high speed on the downslope. Trying to give a decent review without doing the spoiler thing is hard, so I'll just say that I loved it! I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! If life on the Isles is of interest there is a humorous nonfiction titled The Life of a Scilly Sergeant.

About the author

HANNAH DENNISON was born and raised in Hampshire but spent more than two decades living in California. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst. Hannah continues to teach online mystery writing workshops for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program in Los Angeles. In addition to the Island Sisters series, Hannah writes the Honeychurch Hall Mysteries and the Vicky Hill Mysteries both set in the wilds of the Devonshire countryside where she now lives with her two high-spirited Hungarian Vizslas.