The Cozy Mystery List Blog

My husband and I recently came across another mystery series on Acorn that I definitely think is worth a look, especially if you like mysteries with a strong dash of interpersonal drama among the recurring characters.

Whitstable Pearl is a 2021 British crime series based on a novel series by Julie Wassmer. The main star of the show is Pearl Nolan (played by Kerry Godliman), the owner of a seafood restaurant and part time detective in the small, beautiful coastal town of Whitstable (UK). The other main sleuth is DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles), a gruff police detective who moves to Whitstable from London, despite his professed dislike of small towns.

Pearl is a single mother of a teen age boy who employs her own mother (played by Frances Barber) as the cook in her restaurant. The two actresses are terrific portraying the mother/daughter relationship… (I looked forward to their interactions!)

The first episode starts with Pearl stumbling across the drowned corpse of an old friend. Most of the other episodes start from a crime being investigated by Mike, usually murder, and Mike using Pearl as a source of local knowledge. Some instead focus on Pearl investigating something as a private detective, though nothing as obviously serious as murder.

Whitstable Pearl has a lot of family (character) drama mixed in with the mysteries. Each character seems to have personal issues they need to deal with — however, don’t most of us? (I will say that my husband and I just started season two and I was a little surprised at the changes in the two main characters. Of course, we’ve only watched the first episode so maybe they get back to “normal” as the season progresses.)

Each of the two seasons consists of 6 episodes, and each episode is around 45-50 minutes total, each consisting of a single mystery. Both seasons are currently available on Acorn.