Last Updated on April 22, 2026
Back last year I read the first book in Peter Boland’s series, The Charity Shop Detective Agency, and while it was perfectly enjoyable, for me, it lacked something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
It was also the author’s first dip into the cozy mystery genre so I thought I would pick up the second instalment, The Beach Hut Murders, to find out how the lives of Fiona, Daisy and Sue, were progressing.
And, I am genuinely delighted to say that this book is definitely a notch above the first. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and really warmed to the three ladies a lot more this time around.
What I will say though, is that, it was still a tad too long. Like the first, the ending took about 50 pages too long to get to, but other than that, it was a fun read.
So let’s get into the plot…
The Exclusive Beach Huts
It’s Summer time in Southbourne and life for Fiona, Sue and Daisy, has carried on as normal following their investigation into the Domino Murders.
Their charity shop is tipping along, and then one day in walks Anthony Owens, the liaison for the Beach Hut Residents’ Association.
Anthony wants to hire the Charity Shop Detective Agency to solve a murder.
Malcolm Crainey had been in his beach hut when it was set on fire. Despite the best attempts, by his neighbour Annie, to rescue him, he succumbed to smoke inhalation and died.
As you can imagine, the rest of the beach hut residents on Mudeford Spit, are not only in shock but also fear for their own lives.
The trio duly agree to take on the case and so begins their investigation as to who would want to have killed Malcolm.
In theory it should be relatively simple, after all, the entire area is covered by CCTV.
However, absolutely nobody shows up on camera. And it hasn’t been doctored. So just how on earth could somebody set fire to a hut without even being there?
Things get even more curious when a second fire, and then a third occur – all following the same pattern.
The residents have shut up their huts, the police have no leads, the weather is becoming unbearably hot and somebody is trying to kill off the local hut owners.
Time is quickly running out but when lead after lead reaches a dead end, Fiona, Sue and Daisy have to think outside the box to solve this puzzle.
Sub Plots and Twists
The first great thing about this book is that everything in it happens for a reason.
From the various customers, to the beach hut residents, all of them play a part in the overall plot.
However, by the time the ladies have ruled out enough of the major players as the culprit, there are only a handful left who could possibly have means and motive.
I did guess the arsonist but, I will say that before I had even finished patting myself on the back, there was yet another twist. One that I did not see coming!
I love when that happens because you know that the author really took the time to keep adding little surprises to delight the reader.
In the case of The Beach Hut Murders, there are plenty of red herrings and enough misdirection to keep you guessing as to what is really going on at Mudeford Spit.
But, I think, more than all of that, what I liked the most is that Fiona seems to be in a much better place than she was in the first book.
I know that sounds silly, after all, she’s a fictional character, but Boland definitely rounded out his characters a lot more in the second novel, which was lovely to see.
Even made-up charity shop detectives deserve to be happy!
4 Stars
I don’t rate books on this site, I simply read them and share what I liked, or in some cases, what I didn’t like about them.
However, given that this is the second in the series I have given it four out of five, only because I truly believe that it is better than the first.
It’s still too long and the ladies still go around in circles a little too much for my liking but cleverly, you can read it as a standalone.
Sure, there’s a bit of backstory from the first that you might miss out on, but it won’t ruin The Beach Hut Murders in any way.
So, if you’re looking for a bit of escapism and fancy a trip to Southbourne to investigate the goings on at Mudeford Spit, then you could do a lot worse than this offering.
Incidentally, the huts are based on a real location called Mudeford Sandbank in Bournemouth and you can actually rent them – fun!
