Writing Historical Cozy Mysteries With Jess Kidd | SCC 213

Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder (published as Mr. Flood’s Last Resort in the U.S.), was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, was released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’ Jess’ first children’s book Everyday Magic came out in February 2021, published by Canongate. The fourth novel, The Night Ship, will be published in August 2022. She is also developing her own original TV projects with leading U.K. and international TV producers.

Kidd (The Next Ship) pivots to cozies with this delightful series launch about a nun who forsakes her vows to search for a former novice. In 1954, Sister Nora Breen’s friend and former trainee, Frieda Brogan, abruptly stops sending her letters. Frieda’s last known address is the Gulls Nest, a forlorn boarding house in the English town of Gore-on-Sea, and a frightened Nora asks to be released from her monastery after 30 years to track Frieda down. Nora takes a room at the Gulls Nest, ingratiates herself with its ragtag collection of boarders, and soon realizes she’s not the only one concealing a secret past. As she starts to dig into Frieda’s stay there, other boarders begin to die under unusual circumstances, making her wonder whether Frieda might have met a similar fate. At first a thorn in the side of Detective Inspector Rideout, who’s assigned to investigate the deaths, the intelligent and outspoken Nora gradually gains the policeman’s respect. Elegant prose, vivid characterizations, and a fascinating protagonist add up to a thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Readers will be eager for the sequel.