Murder in Treggan Bay
A Treggan Bay Mystery
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Blurb
Treggan Bay is the kind of place where everyone knows who has keys to what. In May 1996, a body on the library floor turns a simmering dispute into a reckoning.
London journalist Noah Yalland returns to South Devon to clear his late mother’s cliff-top cottage, planning to sell and go. The Landmark Syndicate’s proposed waterside villas have already split neighbours; when their envoy, Frank Cullen, is found bludgeoned, the investigation narrows to the locals who challenged him the night before.
Eileen Thorne—village librarian and former registrar—sees her quiet order upended as Sergeant Scott Langdon starts asking sharp questions. Noah, who had his own run-in with Cullen, is suddenly far more than a witness.
This is a pre-digital mystery: answers live in parish registers, council minutes, sign-in books, and remembered alibis. Noah wants to do right by his father and keep Leo, the new café owner, out of the developers’ crosshairs, even as long-buried records, generational feuds, and a growing pull towards Leo complicate every choice.
With gossip moving faster than facts and the bay’s future on the line, can the truth surface before the wrong person pays—or before the deal becomes impossible to stop?
Expect: tender, quietly witty, coastal, community-centred, melancholic-hope notes.
Boundaries: fade-to-black intimacy, minimal on-page violence, occasional strong language.
Series: First in the Treggan Bay Mysteries; reads cleanly as a standalone.
Behind the Pages
Each summer, I find myself wandering the coast paths of Devon—those ribbon-thin trails that flirt with the edge of the sea—wondering what secrets might be tucked beneath the rocks and gorse. The air smells of salt and wild thyme; the cottages huddle together against the wind, their stone walls crusted with sea spray, their roofs furred with lichen in the afternoon sun. Tiny gardens bloom between them—lavender, mint, and mischief. It’s the sort of place where stories don’t need to be written; they simply rise from the soil like mist after rain.
And it was there, between the leaning chimney stacks and gossiping gulls, that I stumbled upon Noah Yalland—London journalist, resourceful enough to untangle Parliament but somehow incapable of boiling an egg without supervision. He arrived in Treggan Bay like an uninvited guest at a wake and, naturally, tripped over a murder before he had his first cup of coffee.
Among the so-called ‘charming’ residents, Noah found himself reluctantly untangling one mystery after another—if only to make it back in time for supper with Leo, who has the patience of a saint and the griddle of a tyrant.
Jern Tonkoi
Reviews
The mystery itself is wonderfully paced: clues unfold gradually, the investigative tension builds nicely, and there’s always that sense that something is slightly off, just out of place. I especially loved how the small-town backdrop and the subtle, slow-burn romance make everything feel grounded and authentic.
A very well written mystery and I hope to see more of Noah and Leo in the future.
An author new to me and an excellent, cosy mystery set in part of Devon I know well. The characters and atmosphere in the village are well described and soon become very real.
Read-alikes
- The Long Call — Ann Cleeves 2019 · Mystery — British Crime
Coastal British setting, community divisions, and a quiet, character-led tone align with Treggan Bay’s feel. Also offers a queer lead and place-rich investigation that will appeal to the same readers.
- The Crossing Places — Elly Griffiths 2009 · Mystery — Traditional/Atmospheric
Coastal atmosphere, clue-tracing through records and expertise, and measured, character-focused suspense echo the pre-digital, evidence-on-paper vibe.
- The Murder at the Vicarage — Agatha Christie 1930 · Mystery — Cozy/Traditional
Classic village dynamics where gossip competes with facts; fair-play clues and community ties mirror the library-centered, who-was-where-and-why investigation.
- The Nine Tailors — Dorothy L. Sayers 1934 · Mystery — Golden Age
Emphasis on parish ledgers, local history, and meticulous cluework matches the paper-trail, registrar-led texture of Treggan Bay.
- Report for Murder — Val McDermid 1987 · Mystery — Amateur Sleuth
Journalist investigator, UK setting, and a queer thread parallel Noah’s vantage and the story’s community pressures without high-violence spectacle.
- The Appeal — Janice Hallett 2021 · Mystery — Epistolary/Puzzle
Document-based, alibi-driven puzzle where records and testimonies matter; resonates with the book’s parish registers, council minutes, and remembered alibis focus.