MURDER AT GULLS NEST

An undercover nun tracks the fate of a lost friend and solves a dastardly murder in an English seaside town.

A brief, murky prologue describes an unnamed woman trapped in a tunnel overrun with rats, with little hope of escape. Cut to determined Nora Breen, arriving at the down-at-heels coastal boardinghouse Gulls Nest on a mission. She’s set aside her decades-long identity as Sister Agnes of Christ to find her friend and former novice Frieda Brogan, who went to the seaside on doctor’s orders and raised Nora’s concern by abruptly halting their frequent correspondence. At the Nest, Nora meets a large and quirky cast of suspects-to-be, including the brusque landlady, Helena Wells; handsome young couple Teddy and Stella Atkins; elderly showman Professor Poppy, who has an unsettling attraction to his collection of Punch puppets; and Mrs. Wells’ precocious daughter, Dinah. She’s just getting to know her new housemates when the Frieda mystery is shoved to the back burner by the fatal poisoning of Teddy. Even after sturdy DI Rideout arrives to investigate, Nora doggedly continues to ask questions as well. Suspicion falls on Czech guest Karel Ježek, who’s gone missing. In fact, the deeper Nora digs, the more incriminating evidence she discovers about the entire Gulls Nest group. Nora’s surveillance of Irene, Helena’s assistant, leads to the first significant tidbit about Frieda’s disappearance. Lest there be any doubt that Nora’s further adventures will include the colorful residents of Gulls Nest, the story fades out with Rideout requesting Nora’s help on another baffling case.

A delightful series kickoff in a cozy community primed for more murder.