Murder by the Shore (D.I. Siv Drummond #4) by Gretta Mulrooney

Murder by the Shore (D.I. Siv Drummond #4) Reviews

• 
  Louise Wilson

  DI Siv Drummond #4
  
  Lyra Pullman has ben waiting for this day, Her fourth birthday party. But when her guests come knocking, she is nowhere to be found. Little Lyra lies dead in the Wendy house at the bottom of the garden. Her grandad couldn't save her because he's been murdered too. In a mess of blood and rainbow cake.
  
  Lyra and her grandfather had been murdered, then a piece of birthday cake had been placed in her grandfathers mouth. The story is told from multiple points of view. DI Siv Drummond and her team are finding it hard to find the culprit. The pace is steady but the tension builds with each turn of the page. Secrets are being held close to the chest and there's lots of suspects too choose from. I was a bit surprised when the culprit was revealed. This is a quick, easy to read, and enjoyable book.
  
  I would like to thank #Netgalley #JoffeBooks and the author #GretaMulrooney for my ARC of #MurderByTheShore in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Valleri

  My thanks to Joffe Books, as well as to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Murder by the Shore.
  
  3.5 Stars
  
  Talk about a family with secrets!
  
  Lyra Pullman has been excitedly waiting for this day to arrive. The day of her fourth birthday and the party of her dreams! But when the guests arrive, she is found deceased, as is her grandfather. Lyra’s distraught mother turns to Detective Siv Drummond for answers. Who is the stranger Lyra's grandfather has been meeting in secret? Will Siv & her team find the killer before someone else dies?
  
  Murder by the Shore had a great storyline and well-written characters. For the most part, the book was quite satisfying to read ... right up to the cliffhanger. Sigh. I really, really dislike cliffhangers. That brought my rating down from a solid 4 to a 3.5.
• 
  Alyson Read

  This is the fourth story in this detective series set in Sussex and each book gets better and better as the reader gets to know more about the great set of characters featured here. Recently widowed and still grieving, Siv has moved from a high-profile role in London's Metropolitan Police to take up a post at a slower pace in her old home seaside town of Berminster. This was where she and her sister were raised by their father after their chaotic Finnish mother Mutsi dumped them finally to run off with yet another lover. Since her arrival she has already investigated three baffling murder cases and this one will prove to be no different. A four-year old’s birthday party is no place to discover a double murder but that is exactly what DI Siv Drummond and her loyal team of DS Ali Carlin and DC Patrick Hill are faced with. Grandfather Tom Pullman has been clubbed to death with a griddle pan and his face grotesquely smeared with cake, while little Lyra lies sedated and smothered in her playhouse, never to see her party guests. The detectives struggle with the motive – was one the intended victim and another one killed to eliminate a witness? There are plenty of suspects in a family riddled with secrets and strained relationships, and members of the BSS (Berminster Senior Students, a group for people wishing to stay active in their older years) of which Tom was the overbearing chairman also have things to hide. As Siv digs deeper, more surprises and shocks come to light that produce plenty of twists and turns but never seem to give the detectives a solid lead. Will they ever reach the truth?
  It is eighteen months since Ed’s death now and Siv is fitting in really well now, largely thanks to the warm and caring nature of Ali who contrasts well with her sharp edges and unwillingness to open up. With her boss DCI Drummond now dating her mother Mutsi, life is testing for Siv but at least she has Bartel, the Polish builder friend she made in book one and also her old school friend Hope for good company, and with the others in her team beginning to like and respect her, she is proving to be a great boss and leader. There’s even the possibility of a new man on the horizon. The plot was clever, twisty and kept me guessing right the way through to the end which still took me by surprise. This is a solid story of very likeable detectives working hard and piecing together of all the clues to reach a satisfying and plausible ending. Highly recommended and I am looking forward to reading more books in this series. 5*
• 
  Joyce

  302 pages
  
  5 stars
  
  DI Siv Drummond and her partner DS Ali are called to the scene of a double murder. A seventy-year old grandfather and his four-year old granddaughter are murdered at the elderly man’s home. Tom Pullman and Lyra Turton.
  
  The investigation begins with the interview of Tom’s two daughters. Nell is a rather bohemian woman who cleans houses, but not her own and sells homemade trinkets at a local stall on the weekends. Lyra’s mother, Kay, is married to a cold man named Ryan. There is something wrong there. Both Ali and Siv sense it.
  
  Tom was the president of the local BSS group. It is a senior activity center. They put on various activities for senior citizens. Tom was opinionated and somewhat rude. He was not necessarily well liked within the group.
  
  There are many secrets being held and the police are having a very difficult time trying to ascertain the truth. There are also many suspects.
  
  Well written and plotted, as are all of Ms. Mulrooney’s books, this was a treat. The police kept moving forward no matter how many setbacks they suffered. Siv has made progress on recovering from her husband Ed’s death. She was kinder and less snippy in this novel. It was a refreshing improvement. I will gladly continue to read her books. I must find out what has Rik so upset!
  
  I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very fine book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.
• 
  Eirlys

  A twisted tale
  
  D.I. Siv Drummond was called out to a double murder case. It was interesting and unusual. I liked the characters who were intriguing and were full of secrets. The red herrings ramped up the pressure on the investigators.
• 
  Anne

  Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.
  
  I really enjoyed this read and devoured it in just over a day. Here DI Drummond and her team investigate the murders of two family members, a grandfather and young granddaughter. I really like DI Drummond’s character, she is very driven, feisty, believable and has a good back history. This is a great police procedural, and one where the reader follows the murder investigation from start to finish which I really liked. The little snippets of the characters home and personal lives that the author included give the story more depth and I quickly became engrossed in this read. I found this to be a very well written book with a good plot line and the author grabbed my attention and held it from the first to last page. There are a enough twists in the story to keep the reader guessing and I thought twice I knew who the killer was and was wrong. Very wrong. Talk about a family that has secrets galore! Overall a great and very entertaining read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Can’t wait for the next one and if you like good police procedurals with enough twists to keep you interested I’d recommend you read this, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
• 
  Hannelore Cheney

  Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
  The 4th DI Siv Drummond is another excellent addition to the series, I really enjoyed it.
  The horrific murders of a grandfather and his granddaughter are shocking to Siv and her team and they are frustrated with the lack of success in finding the culprit. The parents of the little girl are obviously in a troubled marriage and seem hesitant speaking to the police, making the solving of the case even more difficult.
  I really like Siv and I enjoy the fact that we learn much about the lives and thoughts of the characters and that it isn't just a police procedural. The ending was surprising and unexpected... it's an excellent read which I recommend.
• 
  Amanda

  I have been a fan of Gretta’s work for a while now. In fact I have been a fan ever since I had the good fortune to pick up a copy of the first book in the Detective Inspector Siv Drummond series which is called ‘These Little Lies’. Since then I have read and loved the other books in the series. ‘Murder By The Shore’ is the fourth book in the series and what a cracker it is too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Murder By The Shore’ but more about that in a bit.
  As with all of Gretta’s books, I was drawn to this book by the synopsis alone and as soon as I started reading, that was it. I knew that I wasn’t going to move very far from the couch and I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to put the book down. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I had picked up the book only intending to read a couple of chapters to make a start but I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the story. The first time I checked on how much I had read, I was staggered to realise that I had read over a third of the story in one go. I soon got to the end of ‘Murder By The Shore’ and I had to say goodbye to Siv and the rest of the team. I found ‘Murder By The Shore’ to be a gripping and tense read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
  ‘Murder By The Shore’ is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Gretta Mulrooney. Gretta has one of those easy going writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. She certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a read. For me, the story started with a bang, it hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Gretta clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes them seem just as real as you and I. Reading ‘Murder By The Shore’ felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I love the way in which Gretta makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and at the heart of the action.
  In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Murder By The Shore’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Gretta’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
  
• 
  Julie

  Gretta Mulrooney expertly blends danger, menace and tension in her latest Detective Siv Drummond novel, Murder by the Shore.
  
  When Siv moved back to her Sussex hometown, she had hoped to lead a quieter life at a gentle pace – she certainly never expected to find herself entangled in shocking investigations that proved that evil thrives even in the most idyllic of settings. In her latest case she is called to a beautiful coastal house where she encounters a heart-stopping scene: the murder of a four year old and her grandfather. Who could have done such a thing? And who could have killed a four year old girl minutes before her birthday party?
  
  Siv is determined to get to the truth. But in order to find out who is behind these macabre murders she needs to look deeper into the many skeletons that the family is hiding in their closet. The more Siv probes, the more she uncovers terrifying revelations that could point her straight to the murderer. Can Siv put whoever is responsible behind bars before another dead body is found?
  
  Gretta Mulrooney is a very talented writer of crime fiction who always creates fiendishly clever and highly enjoyable thrillers where nothing is what it initially seems. Dark, terrifying and very cleverly constructed, Murder by the Shore is a nail-biting whodunnit that kept me guessing till the end and had me floored by a final jaw-dropping twist I certainly did not see coming.
  
  Gritty, disturbing and captivating, Murder by the Shore is another fantastic Gretta Mulrooney mystery readers will struggle to put down.
  
  I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
• 
  Janet

  Welcome to Seascape house, which is a beautiful family home by the coast. Where someone is hiding a terrible secret. Lyra Pullman has been waiting for this day. Her fourth birthday party. But when her guests come knocking, she is nowhere to be found. Little Lyra lies dead in the Wendy house at the bottom of the garden. Suffocated. Her Grandad couldn’t save her because he’s been murdered too. Lyra’s distraught parents turn to Detective Inspector Siv Drummond for answers. They point to a long list of suspects, from Lyra’s dangerously dysfunctional aunt to the stranger her grandad was meeting in secret. But Siv is not convinced.
  This is the fourth outing for Siv & it could be read on its own, however I really like how the characters have developed throughout the series. This is a well written & well plotted story, the characters have lots of secrets which are gradually revealed. The tension gradually builds as more of the book is read & I found that the more I read the more I found it hard to put down as I needed to find out who the villain was. There are of course red herrings & twists & turns before the villain is revealed, I didn’t work out who the villain was which is always a bonus. I look forward to more in the series
  My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
  
• 
  Books 'n' All Promotions

  Detective Siv Drummond is back in this 4th addition to the series. If you haven't read the first 3 books you don't know what you are missing but it won't matter as this works perfectly as stand alone.
  
  The book begins with the heartrending murder of a little girl on her 4th birthday and her grandfather. If that isn't sad enough the bodies are found by people arriving for a much anticipated birthday party. What has gone so terribly wrong that a family who have pulled out all the stops to give a little girl the party of her dreams are now either dead or bereft?
  
  As Siv and her colleague arrive and begin their investigation they suspect the fractured family are hiding something, but what?
  
  This is a very intriguing story with a lot going on and many, many red herrings, dead ends and shocks , seemingly in every page that I just had to keep reading.
  
  Characters that I love continue to grow and develop their uniqueness just a little more and as always Gretta ends the book leaving the reader hoping the next one is not too far away so that we can find out where the 'teaser' is going.
  
  Absolutely brilliant read I can't wait for book 5.
  
• 
  Booklover BEV

  We are back with Detective Siv Drummond in book Four with another I didn't see that coming crime thriller.
  Tom Pullman is preparing his granddaughters Lyra birthday party while her parents are working everything is ready at their impressive house Seascape, all they need now are the excited little guests. as Meg Sterling and Sim Costa arrive and don't get an answer at the front door Meg goes round the back and finds Mr Pullman lying soaked in blood with birthday cake in his mouth and Lyra who is so still she has been smothered with a pillow. Both have been murdered.
  With Siv on her day off spending time with her old school friend she gets the call in, A double murder it's such a dreadful thing to happen and why?
  nothing prepares Siv as she go all out to find who would do such a thing?
  This is the author at her best showing and unravelling lots of secrets the parents have a strange marriage for a start, this is a brilliant setting, at the seaside shore a brilliant whodunnit once again, from this author. Top stars all round.
• 
  Maggie

  Four year old Lyra is excited about her fourth birthday party. It had all been arranged with the final deliveries being taken care of by Tom, her grandfather, until her parents get home from work. At the appointed time guests start to arrive but when there is no reply at the door one of the mothers goes round the back to find Tom bludgeoned to death & Lyra lying dead beside her new playhouse. DI Siv Drummond is in charge of the case. She finds Lyra's parents difficult to get through to- Lyra's aunt seems more upset, although that could be due to her weed habit! The FLO finds his help is not much use to the family or the police. There are many twists in the story which keeps the interest. I liked the police team although there wasn't much to lie about the victims' family!
  
  I don't know how I've missed this series. I will be on the lookout for more. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
• 
  Desiree

  Murder by the Shore is another exciting episode in Gretta Mulrooney's Siv Drummond series. In this episode Siv has to solve another gruesome murder, and a double murder at that. Little Lyra gets murdered by suffocation on her forth birthday, while her grandfather's head is bashed in with a saucepan in the kitchen.
  
  inspector Drummond does not want for suspects in this investigation because there seem to be quite a lot of prospects around, including the parents who certainly seem to hide some secrets. Of course in the end the suspect is to be revealed somebody quite unexpected.
  
  At the start of the series I had to get used to the protagonist a bit but I've come to like the series the more episodes I read.
  
  4 stars for this one, and rising. Have great expectations for the next episode.
  
  I want to thank Joffe Books and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
• 
  Mandy

  This is #4 in the Detective Siv Drummond series but it can easily be read as a standalone. I’ve read the previous three books so was looking forward to the next one, and it didn’t disappoint.
  
  Two little girls, with their parents, arrive at their friend’s house for her 4th birthday party but there’s no answer at the door. The mum of one of them goes around the back of the house, finds the kitchen door unlocked, and a gruesome scene inside. At the same time, the little girls get past her and also see something they shouldn’t.
  
  As always with this author, it was a clever and brilliantly written plot, with a totally unexpected twist at the end. I can’t wait for book #5
  
  Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.
  
• 
  Paula

  MURDER BY THE SHORE by Gretta Mulrooney had interesting characters. Some of the characters were frustrating due to their attitudes and because I wanted them to react or act in a certain way. The story did take a bit to get going for me and who the culprit ended up being. The ending had a good resolution and a surprise ending and culprit, but I felt the reasoning behind the story has been done before. For me, this is a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 as the story got bogged down in the middle. I wanted more action, and it seemed to drag a bit.
  
  I did like the setting, the story was good, and I will check out more books by this author.
  
  #MURDERBYTHESHORE #NetGalley @JoffeBooks
• 
  K

  "She was sick of men disrupting her life, trampling all over her, treating her as if she was disposable."
  
  A grandfather is murdered, left with a piece of his granddaughter's birthday cake in his mouth. The granddaughter is murdered as well, and Ms. Mulrooney throws many red herrings into the mix. Great police procedural. Love the characters of Siv, Ali and Patrick. Appreciate the multiple points of view. I always enjoy when characters are real, and make mistakes, imperfect. I truly was puzzled. Very well done and highly recommend. I'm super excited to read the rest of this series, as well as Ms. Mulrooney's others.
  
  P. S. Thanks so much to #netgalley for the ARC.
• 
  Lee Rush

  Just like a British TV murder series, but with the added bonus of your own imagination!
  
  This is my first read of Mulrooney’s work, and it was an absolute pleasure. One of the main things I appreciated about her style is that you didn’t feel as though you were missing out on something by having jumped into the series without reading the first few books.
  
  The characters were whole and well written, the plot seamless, the killer… well, no spoilers here, but let’s just say I didn’t see it coming.
  
  All in all I felt this to be a wonderful read, so much so that I bought the first three books to catch up with the “before” of these characters.
• 
  Stephanie

  A little girl and her grandfather were murdered right before the little girls 4th bday party. A detective arrives to the horrific scene. The little girl is at the bottom of the garden dead. Her grandfather in Wendy's house dead in the kitchen with his head caved in .As secrets begin to come up the killer is planning to kill again, can the detective stop it before it happens. This is the 4th in the series I would reccomend reading the others first to follow the character development as I was lost to some, I plan on going back and reading the others.
  Thanks to Joffe Books, netgalley, and the author in exchange for a review.
  Publishing Date: May 19th 2022.
• 
  Gill Appleyard

  Wow, a gripping book from beginning to end that I raced through.
  It begins with a horrendous crime that makes you catch your breath but Siv and the team take it in their stride as usual and climb over the hurdles that seem to obstruct them at every turn.
  Siv is starting to come to terms with her husbands death and is more mellow, but still driven, in this excellent instalment of the Berminster series.
  It could be read as a stand alone as there are little recaps from previous books but I would recommend reading them in order as it’s good to see the characters develop.
  Thank you to Joffe’s ARC for the advance copy of this book.
• 
  K Hall

  We'll worth waiting for
  
  Loving this series, it seems ages since the last book but as soon as I started reading it felt like yesterday I could remember all that had happened before. Siv is now starting to heal from the death of her husband, she even goes on a date but we'll have to wait and see if she decides to go on a second date. I must say I didn't have a clue who the killer was and believe me it was a big surprise. Hopefully the next book will be out soon as I can't wait to see what happens next.