A Death at Seascape House (Jemima Jago #1) by Emma Jameson
Genre: Mystery
Read: 26th April 2021
Published: 27th April 2021
DESCRIPTION:
With its sweeping sandy beaches and rolling emerald hills, the island of St. Morwenna is an idyllic escape. But behind the perfectly pruned primroses and neighborly smiles a killer lies in wait…
When librarian Jemima Jago is offered the opportunity to catalogue Cornwall’s largest collection of antique shipwreck records it is a dream come true. The only problem? The collection is housed on the island of St. Morwenna, the childhood home she left years ago and vowed never to return to.
Shortly after Jem arrives back in town, island busybody and notorious grump Edith Reddy is found dead, with duct tape clamped over her mouth and nose. Jem, caught seemingly red-handed at the scene of the crime, mistakenly becomes the police’s number one suspect. The handsome Sergeant Hackman in particular can’t seem to leave Jem alone…
Jem must take matters into her own hands if she wants to clear her name. Snooping around Edith’s once-grand home, she is struck by the mess before her. The bedroom is completely ransacked and in the living room all the photographs have been removed from their frames. Was Edith’s death simply a break-in gone wrong, or is there more to the mystery that the police are missing?
Jem has a sharp eye for a clue and she soon realizes that many of the island’s eccentric residents had reason for wanting Edith out of the way. Could Declan, the curious café owner, or Bart, the fishy ferryman have killed Edith? Jem won’t rest until she uncovers the truth, but doing so will put her right in the killer’s line of sight…
A totally charming cozy mystery from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Emma Jameson. Brimming with intrigue and warm humor, fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will love A Death at Seascape House.
EXTRACT:
Chapter One - Extract
“Do You Ever Think About Cam Tremayne?”
“You’ve been stood up,” said the bartender, sliding over a second pint.
Jem Jago forced a smile. Bad enough that she felt like a fool. Did she look like one, too?
“What makes you say that?” She drummed her fingers against the mahogany countertop.
“I read auras. Yours is tragic.” The bartender, a tall black woman somewhere between thirty-five and forty, gazed seriously at Jem for a moment, then broke into a grin. “Okay, not really. But every time the door opens, your head comes up. You’re always checking your phone. And you stretched out that first pint to last nearly an hour.”
“You got me. Top marks.” Jem took a sip of her second ale, a local brew called Double Drowned. She’d already decided to drink this one quickly, call it an afternoon, and head back to Tregarthen’s Hotel. There was a vintage book in her suitcase, a scholarly debunking of Cornish wrecker mythology, that she wanted to get back to. When people let you down, there were always books.
“Sorry. That came off as a bit rude, didn’t it?” the bartender said. “Only I’m working on something called cold reading, and I couldn’t resist trying it on you. Ever heard of it?”
Apparently, conversation came standard with the two-for-one deal. Jem bit back her annoyance. She wasn’t in London anymore, where people were more likely to assume that a silent person desired solitude. Moreover, she and the bartender were currently the only two women in the pub.
It was past six o’clock on a Friday night and the Kernow Arms, a quayside pub in Hugh Town on St. Mary’s, largest of the Isles of Scilly, belonged mainly to local men. Fishermen in their woolen caps, waders, and braces, were seated galley-style at a long table, eating burgers and chips. A couple of pensioners were perched on stools at the other end of the bar, watching an arcane satellite game—whomever vs. whomever, beamed in from wherever. Among the booths, a few surfer types were draped languidly, playing surf videos for one another and critiquing the wipeouts. If the bartender wanted a chat, small wonder she’d picked Jem.
“I’ve heard of cold readings,” Jem said, deciding to smile and make an effort. “Fortune tellers at fetes do it. They size you up at a glance and make guesses based on what they see. Makes it seem like they have a sixth sense. Are you planning a second career as a psychic?”
“Something like that.” Pulling a dishrag from her apron, the bartender went to work on a long stretch of countertop. It already looked spotless, but she seemed like the type who preferred to keep busy.
“My cousin’s trying to make a go of it on St. Morwenna,” she said. “He bought a bed and breakfast, but business hasn’t taken off like he hoped. So he thought we could do a psychic consultancy on weekends. Not fleecing people. For entertainment purposes, as they say.”
“No judgment. People love a tarot card reading or an astrological profile,” Jem said. “There used to be a lady on St. Martin’s who did that. She also sold bits of shell art. And put out jams and jellies in the front garden, in an honesty box, for the emmets to purchase. Everyone in the Scillies runs two or three angles simultaneously to pay the bills. It’s the price of living in paradise.”
“Emmet?” The bartender wagged a finger at Jem. “I figured you for one. But you’re an islander, eh?”
“Ex-islander. Recovering Londoner. Jemima Jago. Call me Jem,” she said, putting out a hand.
If you've enjoyed this extract, you can grab your copy of A Death at Seascape House by Emma Jameson here:
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Emma Jameson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Lord & Lady Hetheridge cozy mystery series. Book #1, ICE BLUE, Book #2, BLUE MURDER, Book #3, SOMETHING BLUE, Book #4, BLACK & BLUE, Book #5, BLUE BLOODED, and Book #6, BLUE CHRISTMAS are available now.
Her newest venture with digital publisher extraordinaire Bookouture is the Jem Jago cozy mystery series.
Ms. Jameson is also the creator of amateur sleuth Dr. Benjamin Bones. Set in Cornwall during the Second World War, book #1 is MARRIAGE CAN BE MURDER; book #2 is DIVORCE CAN BE DEADLY. Dr. Bones fans will also want to read the companion series, Magic of Cornwall. This includes DR. BONES AND THE CHRISTMAS WISH and DR. BONES AND THE LOST LOVE LETTER, two charming novellas set in untamed, romantic Cornwall
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