"Steeped in Malice" by Vicki Delany

I've just finished reading the fourth cozy mystery inVicki Delany's Tea by the Sea Mystery series, and it kicks off with an intriguing premise. Lily Roberts, the proprietress of the Tea by the Sea tearoom on Cape Cod, visits a local antique fair and purchases a wicker box containing a child-sized Peter Rabbit tea set. Soon, the original owner, a woman named Kimberly, comes calling. After tracking the sale to Lily, Kimberly shows up at the tearoom and demands that Lily sell the tea set back to her. In the midst of serving tea to her guests, Lily refuses to stop what she is doing and hand over the tea set but agrees to let the rude woman return and purchase the set later. When Kimberly comes back, it turns out that she is simply looking for something that she believes is inside the wicker box and has no interest in the tea set itself.

An old acquaintance of Lily's, Rachel, also shows up to inquire about the tea set. It seems that Rachel and Kimberly are half sisters, and both are searching for the latest copy of their late mother's will. Adding to the fun? Kimberly has recently married Lily's old boyfriend, Wesley. So when Kimberly is found dead near Lily's house, the accusations start flying, and a lot of people appear guilty.

Lily's bestie, the aspiring novelist Bernie, and Lily's eccentric grandmother, innkeeper Rose, are in fine form in this tale, and Rose especially gets the chance to shine. As the search for the missing will—and Kimberly's murderer—continues, the stakes increase, and even the tearoom and the B&B are in danger. This was a delightful mystery to try to solve, and only near the end did I suspect the person who actually ended up being the criminal. Delany definitely knows how to keep us turning pages, and fans of teatime will lap this one up.