What do you think?
Rate this book
Eastwold by the Sea #1
Raising the Roof
Everyone has secrets, including Reverend Alina Merrycott.
In peaceful Eastwold-by-the-sea, her congregation and her patients share their confidences – even who they’d like to see dead, So, when the most unpopular woman in Eastwold drops off her perch, Alina has a long list of suspects.
Unfortunately, delectable Detective Inspector Richard Laidlaw has Alina in his crosshairs.
Can she prove she’s not the killer before her past is revealed to all?
In peaceful Eastwold-by-the-sea, her congregation and her patients share their confidences – even who they’d like to see dead, So, when the most unpopular woman in Eastwold drops off her perch, Alina has a long list of suspects.
Unfortunately, delectable Detective Inspector Richard Laidlaw has Alina in his crosshairs.
Can she prove she’s not the killer before her past is revealed to all?
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2022
158 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Cassie Rush
23 books13 followersCassie Rush used to be a project manager who sat in meetings, dreaming about being a writer. One day she discovered ideas for that first story and started writing.
Now she finds it hard to stop. As long as the ideas keep coming and people keep buying her stories, she’ll keep writing them down to share with everyone else.
Now she finds it hard to stop. As long as the ideas keep coming and people keep buying her stories, she’ll keep writing them down to share with everyone else.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 22, 2025
Reverend Alina Merrycott, also a part time nurse, was reasonably new to Eastwold, but liked the people she'd met, and was settling in comfortably. While changing dressings on a curmudgeonly old man who had recently had surgery, Alina discovered he liked to gossip as well. His home was a mess; he needed a carer, but he wasn't interested. But what he told her made her realise just why she didn't listen to gossip.
At a fundraiser for the repairs to the church's roof, the most disliked person in the whole of Eastwold was murdered, with Alina sitting beside her, and discovering her dead. The arrival of Detective Inspector Richard Laidlaw saw Alina hit the top of his suspect list. So of course, Alina needed to find the killer before she was incarcerated.
Raising the Roof is the 1st in the Eastwold by the Sea series by Cassie Rush and I enjoyed it very much. Fun and entertaining; Fitz is a character! And Kahlia, the grumpy cat with the umbrella on the cover, is adorable! An excellent cosy mystery which I recommend.
At a fundraiser for the repairs to the church's roof, the most disliked person in the whole of Eastwold was murdered, with Alina sitting beside her, and discovering her dead. The arrival of Detective Inspector Richard Laidlaw saw Alina hit the top of his suspect list. So of course, Alina needed to find the killer before she was incarcerated.
Raising the Roof is the 1st in the Eastwold by the Sea series by Cassie Rush and I enjoyed it very much. Fun and entertaining; Fitz is a character! And Kahlia, the grumpy cat with the umbrella on the cover, is adorable! An excellent cosy mystery which I recommend.
March 3, 2022
A fun mystery with an intriguing main character and a very English flavour
Suffolk is a delightful county, and a great setting for a cozy mystery or two, so I grabbed this book as soon as it was released, and enjoyed reading it. Alina Merrycott is a relatively new arrival in the sleepy seaside town of Eastwold. Somehow she has managed to get two part-time jobs - as both the vicar of St Edmunds church and a nurse at the local doctor’s practice. By the end of this first book, she has added amateur detective to the mix. No wonder she’s busy!
For the first quarter of the book Alina visits a variety of locations in the town and we get to meet lots of the local people including a grumpy stick-wielding patient, a florist and her struggling assistant, the population of the local golf club and the Womens’ Institute. Everywhere she goes she seems to meet the loud and domineering Kitty Blenkinsop, also a new arrival and disliked by almost everyone. It’s no surprise to any reader of cozy mysteries that at the end of the first act she is dead, poisoned by cyanide and collapsed right in front of Alina.
What follows is a tangle of overlapping plot lines as Alina tries to get to the bottom of the mystery while fending off the (gentlemanly) attentions of Major ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald and avoiding the penetrating gaze of the unexpectedly attractive Inspector Richard Laidlaw. Of course, the rest of life has to continue, so Alina carries on with her pastoral duties and her nursing care, but these two roles offer many opportunities to find clues to the killer. Just when people are beginning to come to terms with the murder in their midst, one of the likely suspects also drops dead, and again Alina is caught up in it.
I enjoyed the characters in this book a lot, especially the main character who has a bit more depth to her than the typical cozy protagonist, and comes with her own secrets and mysteries. The first part of the book felt a bit slow, with some digressions into things which seemed to have no bearing on the story, but I stuck with it and the pace picked up once things started happening. Well worth a read, and I ‘m looking forward to future books in this series.
Suffolk is a delightful county, and a great setting for a cozy mystery or two, so I grabbed this book as soon as it was released, and enjoyed reading it. Alina Merrycott is a relatively new arrival in the sleepy seaside town of Eastwold. Somehow she has managed to get two part-time jobs - as both the vicar of St Edmunds church and a nurse at the local doctor’s practice. By the end of this first book, she has added amateur detective to the mix. No wonder she’s busy!
For the first quarter of the book Alina visits a variety of locations in the town and we get to meet lots of the local people including a grumpy stick-wielding patient, a florist and her struggling assistant, the population of the local golf club and the Womens’ Institute. Everywhere she goes she seems to meet the loud and domineering Kitty Blenkinsop, also a new arrival and disliked by almost everyone. It’s no surprise to any reader of cozy mysteries that at the end of the first act she is dead, poisoned by cyanide and collapsed right in front of Alina.
What follows is a tangle of overlapping plot lines as Alina tries to get to the bottom of the mystery while fending off the (gentlemanly) attentions of Major ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald and avoiding the penetrating gaze of the unexpectedly attractive Inspector Richard Laidlaw. Of course, the rest of life has to continue, so Alina carries on with her pastoral duties and her nursing care, but these two roles offer many opportunities to find clues to the killer. Just when people are beginning to come to terms with the murder in their midst, one of the likely suspects also drops dead, and again Alina is caught up in it.
I enjoyed the characters in this book a lot, especially the main character who has a bit more depth to her than the typical cozy protagonist, and comes with her own secrets and mysteries. The first part of the book felt a bit slow, with some digressions into things which seemed to have no bearing on the story, but I stuck with it and the pace picked up once things started happening. Well worth a read, and I ‘m looking forward to future books in this series.
April 4, 2022
Wonderful cozy mystery
This book is a proper cozy murder mystery just like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books. I really enjoyed reading it.
This book is a proper cozy murder mystery just like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books. I really enjoyed reading it.
January 29, 2025
So this is the third "cozy" mystery I've read in a row. I'm starting to wonder if I just don't like cozy mysteries, or if there's another reason I keep just feeling "meh" about them.
Overall, I'd say I love the idea of a cozy mystery; i'm always looking for a good story that doesn't have sex and gore as the main focus. But they just keep falling flat.
Anita is a Vicar and a nurse; and the combination of those two roles really has her in tune with her small community of Eastwold by the Sea. When the communities most hated person winds up dead, everyone in the town is a suspect. Everyone has motive and means and opportunity. But who actually had the character to actually murder her?
The book was more than 1/4 through when we finally got to the murder. Which, in a short book like this, doesn't leave a whole lot of time to investigate and solve the murder. The beginning felt a bit slow, and the investigation felt rushed and fast. I didn't really click with any of the characters, and really struggled with the small-town cop who has it out for everyone. I struggled to keep all the characters straight in my head; and that's a me problem, but some books are easier than others for me to do that.
Overall, this gets 3 stars. It was good enough to keep me engaged, I didn't dislike the plot, it just felt lacking in meat to make it believable.
Overall, I'd say I love the idea of a cozy mystery; i'm always looking for a good story that doesn't have sex and gore as the main focus. But they just keep falling flat.
Anita is a Vicar and a nurse; and the combination of those two roles really has her in tune with her small community of Eastwold by the Sea. When the communities most hated person winds up dead, everyone in the town is a suspect. Everyone has motive and means and opportunity. But who actually had the character to actually murder her?
The book was more than 1/4 through when we finally got to the murder. Which, in a short book like this, doesn't leave a whole lot of time to investigate and solve the murder. The beginning felt a bit slow, and the investigation felt rushed and fast. I didn't really click with any of the characters, and really struggled with the small-town cop who has it out for everyone. I struggled to keep all the characters straight in my head; and that's a me problem, but some books are easier than others for me to do that.
Overall, this gets 3 stars. It was good enough to keep me engaged, I didn't dislike the plot, it just felt lacking in meat to make it believable.
November 19, 2025
BOOK REPORT
Oh, thank you Universe, for sending me a redheaded female vicar with a cat in a small village in England today.
JUST the cuppa I needed. (Which reminds me, I need to put tea on my grocery list. As in the sweet, cold kind—Publix store brand, small bottles of the regular. And maybe some of those special flavored ones they do sometimes if they’ve got them. Because they all are good both cold over ice, and heated up in a mug in the microwave [with or without milk].)
Thoroughly delightful cozy, complete with the requisite dreamy law enforcement type love interest and _quite_ the backstory for Our Good Reverend, who also is a nurse.
Definitely want to read more of this series!
PS
Not sure why I’ve not done so before today, but I finally added the word cuppa to my computer’s dictionary. Just knew that’s the odd tidbit you’d find utterly fascinating, LOL.
Oh, thank you Universe, for sending me a redheaded female vicar with a cat in a small village in England today.
JUST the cuppa I needed. (Which reminds me, I need to put tea on my grocery list. As in the sweet, cold kind—Publix store brand, small bottles of the regular. And maybe some of those special flavored ones they do sometimes if they’ve got them. Because they all are good both cold over ice, and heated up in a mug in the microwave [with or without milk].)
Thoroughly delightful cozy, complete with the requisite dreamy law enforcement type love interest and _quite_ the backstory for Our Good Reverend, who also is a nurse.
Definitely want to read more of this series!
PS
Not sure why I’ve not done so before today, but I finally added the word cuppa to my computer’s dictionary. Just knew that’s the odd tidbit you’d find utterly fascinating, LOL.
September 21, 2023
Alina Merrycott is Vicar and a home care nurse. Both her careers offer many opportunities to support and care for members of her parish as well as, offer medical assistance to her patients. She’s moved from London to the small community of Eastwood expecting a quiet peaceful life. It doesn’t take long before she’s aware of the drama underneath the facade of a peaceful seaside town. Very soon she adds amateur detective to her resume as she finds the dead body of the most hated woman in the village.
I enjoyed this book very much and am looking forward to reading the next cozies in this series.
I enjoyed this book very much and am looking forward to reading the next cozies in this series.
January 16, 2023
Enjoyable & intriging storyline!
Besides being the Vicar she is also a Nurse. Fairly new to a small town/village by the sea, the heroine is at first comforted by the slower life - much more serene than London! That is, until the fighting & the murder! Good plot & I really enjoyed all the characters & subsequent suspects that showed up in the book! Not sure if Book 2 is available, but I'm eager to read it!!!
Besides being the Vicar she is also a Nurse. Fairly new to a small town/village by the sea, the heroine is at first comforted by the slower life - much more serene than London! That is, until the fighting & the murder! Good plot & I really enjoyed all the characters & subsequent suspects that showed up in the book! Not sure if Book 2 is available, but I'm eager to read it!!!
February 2, 2022
A really good read. Time flew by as I got more engrossed in the intertwining lives of the characters. Well written, with loads of detail that made you think but never got overwhelming. I didn’t guess whodunnit but then was annoyed with myself I hadn’t worked it out.
I’ll be keeping a look out for more by Cassie Rush.
I’ll be keeping a look out for more by Cassie Rush.
November 14, 2023
Where do you start when the whole town could be a suspect?? The whole town had
"a bone to pick" with one person because they inserted themselves into everything ans usually unwanted. I found myself on the side of the whole town. The person was unlikable. There were more bodies dropping yoo.Check it out and see whose side you ate on.
"a bone to pick" with one person because they inserted themselves into everything ans usually unwanted. I found myself on the side of the whole town. The person was unlikable. There were more bodies dropping yoo.Check it out and see whose side you ate on.
March 30, 2025
It was... different.
Not a bad story, but it just didn't work for me. I found the main character to be a little bland, and the police inspe tor (who I think will be the love interest in future books) was a complete jerk. They murder mystery was interesting, but not enough to tempt me further.
Not a bad story, but it just didn't work for me. I found the main character to be a little bland, and the police inspe tor (who I think will be the love interest in future books) was a complete jerk. They murder mystery was interesting, but not enough to tempt me further.
January 26, 2023
I am the Vicar
I’m the vicar but I am also a nurse, so I’m out in the neighborhood a lot. I see things and I try not to listen to gossip butKitty was really not a nice lady. So for her to be found dead when I was sitting beside her put in a strange position.
I’m the vicar but I am also a nurse, so I’m out in the neighborhood a lot. I see things and I try not to listen to gossip butKitty was really not a nice lady. So for her to be found dead when I was sitting beside her put in a strange position.
September 28, 2023
I really liked Rush’s Lady Gayle Summer series! By comparison, I’m finding this first book in the Eastwold series boring. None of the witty banter I prefer. Perhaps because the heroine is a part-time Anglican minister. Nowhere near as amusing and engaging.
August 23, 2022
Nice read with enough twists and turns to make the ending worth reading. I like the nurse/vicar!
August 11, 2022
I started this book and felt like maybe I had made the wrong choice, it didn’t feel the same as most cosy mysteries I read but as I continued on I reversed this opinion completely. I really enjoyed the story, the characters, the fact the main character is a Vicar. It just all works! A great read that I would recommend to all cosy mystery fans!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews