From bestselling author Hannah Ellis comes a windswept mystery of meddling, murder and one very troublesome cat.

Jamie Sinclair is only meant to be minding the cat.

A temporary house-sitting job in a windswept Scottish seaside town feels straightforward enough. Keep the place ticking over. Tackle a few handyman jobs. Enjoy time away from London, with sea views and the steady company of a glossy black cat. What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

When an elderly client dies after a routine repair, Jamie finds himself at the centre of local gossip and under the watchful eye of Detective Constable Emma MacLeod—who has very firm opinions about civilians meddling in police business. But Jamie knows his handiwork was solid. And in a town where everyone has history, nothing is ever quite that simple.

Drawn into an improbable team by an unlikely pair of locals—a burly gym owner and a sharp-eyed student—Jamie begins pulling at the threads of a family’s buried secrets. And the more they unravel, the more he suspects that solving this mystery might be the start of something far bigger than he bargained for.

Hannah Ellis is the bestselling author of warm, twisty cosy mysteries and uplifting romance set in seaside towns where secrets simmer beneath the surface. Known for her sharp plotting, gentle humour and strong sense of found family, she has built a loyal international readership across multiple series.

She is the creator of the popular Lily Larkin Mysteries, as well as several much loved romance series set in coastal communities. Under the pen name Hannah Sparks, she also writes children’s books full of adventure and imagination.

Death by the Sea marks the beginning of The Misfit Detectives, a new Scottish coastal crime series where unlikely heroes discover that even the most picturesque towns have something to hide.