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2000s: It’s not the season of good will to all men…
2000s: It’s not the season of good will to all men…
The festive month has arrived in Whitstable and Pearl is rushed off her feet with her restaurant, The Whitstable Pearl. She’s also busy planning her own family Christmas and providing mulled wine for a charity church fundraiser when Christmas cards begin arriving all over town – filled with spiteful messages from an anonymous writer.
Who could be sending such cards and why? Pearl wasn’t going to take on on a case at her detective agency before Christmas, but contacts Canterbury’s DCI Mike McGuire to take over on the matter poisoned pen cards are after all a matter for the police. She has a church fundraiser to take care of and she invites McGuire along as her guest. St Alfred’s church hall is packed with happy people until a guest suddenly collapses. Too much of Pearl’s delicious mulled wine – or could it be something more sinister?
“On the High Street, the clientele of the Whitstable Perak consisted largely of tourists- DFLs mainly (the town’s acronym for Down from Londoners,), keen to sample the town’s famous oysters – but this time of year Pearl’s customers were generally High Street locals looking for something more substantial”
“On the High Street, a sigh helpfully directed Whitstable’s visitors to the harbour in one direction, and the station in the other, but Perak ignored both and headed directly across the road to St Alfred’s where the old church clock suddenly chimed the quarter- hour.”
There were some grand restaurants down on the beach but the Whitstable Pearl remained a small but precious gem, full of charm and with a reputation for proving some of the best seafood in town.Fresh oysters, crab, shrimps and prawns were always available at the bar but Pear also offered a selection of signature dishes in the restaurant.
In reality – Wheelers Oyster Bar is a good place to start any oyster trail or search for your own Whitstable Pearl – the town’s oldest restaurant with a tiny oyster parlour and seafood bar.
Author/Guide: Julie Wassmer Destination: Whitstable Departure Time: 2000s
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