"A Design to Die For" by Kathleen Bridge

In Kathleen Bridge's A Design to Die For, decorator Meg Barrett is invited to participate in Montauk, New York’s first annual Designer Showhouse, and great fun ensues when some well-heeled women try to one-up each other on the project. One of the owners of the showhouse winds up murdered, and the race is on to find out which of the many suspects killed the unlikable man.

Bridge’s fast-paced cozy is fifth in a series, and while I haven’t read the others, I was able to keep up with the shenanigans but did end the book with a desire to go back and read all of the others.

I enjoyed the setting of the Hamptons, a departure from the Southern-themed cozies I usually read. I also enjoyed the fact that the main character is hearing impaired, a characteristic I don’t ever remember seeing in a cozy heroine before.

Naturally, a few scenes in the book had someone preparing a cup of tea—the norm in cozies. And one tidbit in the book was memorable in light of some intrigue recently discovered here on this tea blog. One question raised in the plot was whether the home being used for the showhouse was actually designed by architect Stanford White. I kept thinking his name was familiar, and then I came across this line: “The story of how he was murdered in 1906 by the jealous husband of his mistress, actress Evelyn Nesbit, had been one of the biggest scandals of the new century.” Yes! I knew that! This picture of poor Evelyn, by then operating a tearoom in New York, garnered some fun discussion here back in May, so to come across her in a cozy mystery a few months later was quite fun.

Bridges has well-developed characters and a lively writing style that kept things hopping. Also, Meg’s growing friendship with a neighbor who is a writer was one I particularly enjoyed reading about, and I hope it deepens in a future book.

If you, too, would enjoy reading a cozy mystery set in the Hamptons, I’m happy to recommend this fun book!

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley

"Tea For You" by Lorraine Bartlett and Gayle Leeson

Authors are publishing all sorts of fun things in ebook form these days, and for the first time, I've found on Amazon something billed as a Kindle "cookbooklet." Titled Tea For You, it's a 42-page (that's Kindle "page") book of recipes from cozy authors Lorraine Bartlett and Gayle Leeson. And when I got mine, it was totally free, so those of you who read on a Kindle may want to check it out here.

The book includes recipes for cookies, cakes, scones, soups, salads, sandwiches, and candy. I'm intrigued by the Tiramisu Bundt Cake and the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, and I'll bet you'll see a few things to tempt you as well.

Bartlett is the author of the Victoria Square Mysteries, and you can find out more about them here. I just noticed she has a new short story called Tea'd Off, so that's going on my reading list! (Side note: I love the font used on Tea For You, and it seemed so familiar somehow. Then I looked to the right on this web page. Ha!)

"Tea and Treachery" by Vicki Delany

Since I have enjoyed so many of Vicki Delany's other mysteries, I knew I would likely enjoy her new Tea by the Sea Mystery series, and I was so happy when I got an advance reader copy of Tea & Treachery from NetGalley.

Tea &Treachery has a rich cast of characters that stars Lily Roberts, a former Manhattan pastry chef who has recently fulfilled a dream of opening her own tearoom, Tea by the Sea, on the property of her grandmother's B&B, Victoria-on-Sea, in a small town near Cape Cod. Her tea-loving British grandmother, Rose, is a feisty 85-year-old who is charming when she wants to be but also quite meddlesome. Other characters include Lily's friend Bernadette (aka Bernie), a writer trying not so successfully to finish her book, and assorted helpers in the tearoom and nearby gardens.

Things seem to be going just swimmingly until Jack Ford, a local real estate developer, becomes determined to build a golf resort and convention center next door to Rose, disturbing the very serenity she most loves about the area. Alas, Lily's grandmother is unable to hold her tongue, and soon, Ford is suing Rose for slander. That should give her cause for concern, but of even more concern is the fact that Ford's lifeless body is discovered at the bottom of some stairs on Rose's property. Naturally, she is considered the prime suspect. Lily, Rose, and Bernie are determined to find the real killer, and when police don't seem to be having any luck, the three women are quite clever at conducting a shadow investigation of their own. (The B&B itself, it turns out, has a particularly delightful feature that assists the sleuths, and readers will look forward to learning more about this in future books.)

Tea &Treachery is a fast-paced cozy that has lots of suspects and red herrings that will keep readers guessing right up until the end. Tea lovers in particular will enjoy the new world Delany has created there at the seaside, and the fine sense of place makes this book a lovely way to while away an afternoon or two with a nice cup of tea at hand.

"A Sprinkling of Murder" by Daryl Wood Gerber

Over the weekend, I finished reading the first book in the new Fairy Garden Mystery series by Daryl Wood Gerber (who also writes as Avery Aames), and it was such a unique premise for a series that I just devoured it!

The storybook setting is truly a character all its own in A Sprinkling of Murder. In the charming, dog-friendly coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has opened a combination fairy garden store and tea shop called Open Your Imagination. In addition to selling fairy gardens and supplies, Courtney teaches others how to create and personalize their own fairy gardens. Perhaps she has a leg up on other fairy gardeners, though, since she has a friend-slash-muse in the form of the tiny fairy Fiona, who loves showing up at inopportune moments to surprise Courtney and her cat, Pixie. Only those who believe in fairies can actually see Fiona, and it's quite entertaining to observe which characters are believers and which are not.

Before dawn one morning, Courtney is at home in bed when Fiona dashes over to say something horrible has happened at Open Your Imagination. Courtney rushes to her shop and finds the body of the cantankerous Mick Watkins, owner of a neighboring business, lying next to the shop's backyard fountain, and he's been strangled. Courtney is immediately pegged as a prime suspect not only because Mick is found at her business but also because the two had sparred over him wanting to expand his grooming business, Wizard of Paws, into her coveted space. The body is barely cold before Courtney learns that Mick was cheating on his wife, Emily, with a local council member, an entanglement that complicates the investigation from the get-go. Lots of locals had reason to want Mick out of the picture, and not all of them have alibis that check out.

The mystery keeps readers hopping throughout the book, but the real stars of the show here are this magical town, the fairy garden business itself, and the many special teatimes, such as a book club tea held at the shop. A cozy mystery featuring a fairy as a character runs the risk of being too cute to be believable, but Gerber succeeds in making Fiona every bit as real—and with just as many foibles—as the human characters. 

Also, like many cozy mysteries, this one concludes with quite a few of the recipes mentioned in the story, and the author has included several gluten-free versions of the treats as well, which will no doubt be appreciated by those who eat gluten-free foods.

"There's a Murder Afoot" by Vicki Delany

"One of the things I most want to do in London is have afternoon tea. Where do you think's the best place for the whole experience?"

"They do a marvelous tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. You could tell everyone at home you had tea in Kensington Palace without adding that you had to pay an exorbitant amount for it and no one from the royal family joined you."

— There's a Murder Afoot by Vicki Delany

If you're like me, you'll be using some of this unexpected time at home to catch up on your reading list. Yesterday (yes, yesterday), I read a new cozy mystery, the latest Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany, There's a Murder Afoot. This series features Gemma Doyle, who owns the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium as well as a bakery, Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room, in West London, Massachusetts. Gemma is originally from the UK, and this book has her flying back home to attend a Sherlock Holmes conference and visit her parents. Those joining her on the trip include her police detective boyfriend, Ryan, and her friend Jayne, who is the restaurant manager for the tearoom.

It's always fun when a cozy series sends the main character out of the country, and this time, it's particularly enjoyable to see the sights through the eyes of some first-time visitors to London. And if you're not a Sherlock Holmes fan, never fear. There's just enough of a Sherlock Holmes thread to intrigue Holmes fans, yet those who aren't fans will still be able to follow the plot just fine.

A big reveal happens early in the book when Gemma meets a black sheep family member she'd never even known existed. Soon, this relative is found dead at the conference, and someone close to Gemma is accused of murder, greatly complicating the trip for everyone.

For tea lovers, there are so many cups and pots of tea in this book that you'll be grinning at how tea seems to be the cure for every British ill. And at a time when so many in the world are literally ill, and that's on everyone's minds, how delightful it is to spend a few pleasant hours across the pond with Vicki Delany's charming cozy mystery.

"Lavender Blue Murder" by Laura Childs

Lavender Blue Murder, the latest tea shop mystery from Laura Childs, begins with a bang—literally. Charleston tea shop owner Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier friend, Drayton Conneley, are attending an English-style shooting party at Creekmore Plantation, the home of one of Drayton’s well-heeled Heritage Society friends, Reginald Doyle. When the host himself ends up as the victim of a fatal gunshot that day, Doyle's family is thrown into turmoil. The suspects are legion. There's the neighbor who dammed up his creek, a family member who turns out to have despised him, and more than a few business associates who stand to gain from Doyle's death. Then Doyle's distraught daughter-in-law goes missing.

Doyle's widow asks Theodosia to use her sleuthing skills to help solve the murder of her husband and disappearance of her daughter-in-law, and as always, the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston remains the epicenter of the investigation, even while Theodosia, Drayton, and chef Haley Parker add a few new themed teas to the shop's schedule. This time, the events include a Gone With the Wind–themed tea and a lavender-themed tea, both of which are described in exquisite detail, from the menu to the tea wares, favors, and decor. The victim's widow also uses the tea shop as the site of a séance, which is the source of much grumbling from Drayton, who doesn't at all like the idea.

The book has plenty of red herrings, and Childs does her usual fine job of leading us down lots of dead-end paths. Surprisingly, local shop owner Delaine Dish, a character we love to hate, has only a small role in this book, but Drayton has a larger one. Theodosia and Drayton even enjoy a few dinners together that are totally unrelated to work, a fitting evolution in their friendship over some twenty-plus adventures together. Childs remains the queen of the tea-themed cozy mystery, and it's nearly impossible to finish one of her books without reaching for another cup of tea and, once again inspired by the charming world she has created, planning an event of your own.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

"In Cold Chamomile" by Joy Avon

"People didn't appreciate just the sweet taste of Iphy's creations but also her decorative imagination, and often took photos of her treats that they then shared online, bringing new visitors to Book Tea and new reservations for booking tea parties."

— From In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon

The third "A Tea and Read Mystery" from Joy Avon was recently released, and I'm once again enjoying this delightful cozy series about a tea business offering book-themed tea parties. This time, Callie Aspen of Heart's Harbor, Maine, is helping her great-aunt Iphy with a Valentine's-themed event at historic Haywood Hall. Among the offerings at the event is a baroque orchestra's performance, and when the singer who performs with the group arrives, he turns out to be a mysterious man from great-aunt Iphy's past.

As preparations for the Haywood Hall event get underway, one of the offerings that seems sure to attract visitors is a book appraisal featuring an expert who sounds much like one of the antiquarian book dealers from Antiques Roadshow, except that this one is dishonest and likes to stir up trouble. When he's found stabbed to death, there's no shortage of suspects who might have had it in for the man.

Finding the book expert's killer is no easy task, and Callie and her aunt both have their hands full trying to keep their tea business running while attempting to nail another killer. Relationship issues abound in this book, including Callie's own growing relationship with Deputy Ace Falk, who grows increasingly frustrated that Callie keeps inserting herself into his murder investigation.

The book has lots of red herrings so that the killer isn't discovered too soon, and Avon's winsome writing style makes this a quick and enjoyable read. It's a pleasure to find another cozy series that features tea on so many pages, and now I can't wait to follow up on a few relationship cliff-hangers that definitely left me wanting more. If you haven't checked out this new series yet, I highly recommend you get caught up before the next book comes out!

"Tide and Punishment" by Bree Baker

Tide and Punishment takes us back to Charm, North Carolina, a coastal town on the Outer Banks, where Everly Swan runs Sun, Sand, and Tea, an iced tea shop, in her historic home. The holidays are rapidly approaching (a theme that especially resonated with me this year with the short span between Thanksgiving and Christmas), and her days are awhirl. She’s got a progressive dinner appetizer course to plan, cookies to bake for half the island, and her delightful—but unmanageable—elderly aunts to keep in line, Fran and Clara. Aunt Fran has recently gotten obsessed with garden gnomes and started painting them for everyone. 

Everly hosts a Christmas party where friends and customers can sample her delicious treats, hopefully tempting them to place orders before Christmas. Mayor Dudley Dunfree is there, being his usual vainglorious self, and Aunt Fran decides to let him and the other guests know that she is planning to run against him for mayor in the next election. But it turns out that the mayor’s re-election won’t be an issue. When guests leave the party, the mayor’s body is discovered on the snow-covered ground—and Aunt Fran is holding a bloody garden gnome nearby.

Detective Grady Hays is soon there to investigate, and he and Everly frequently tangle during the search for the killer—when they’re not busy keeping their feelings for each other in check. Everything sure looks like Fran had means, motive, and opportunity to kill the mayor, but in her heart, Everly knows her aunt couldn’t possibly have committed the crime.

Tea lovers will enjoy reading about a beachside tea shop that keeps twenty different varieties of iced tea on tap, even in December, as well as the occasional hot beverage for those who need warming up. When Baker writes about snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, and peanut butter cups filling the air with the scents of sugar and spice and everything nice, it’s easy to forget about the murder—but someone around town seems intent on framing Fran, and broken garden gnomes have developed an ugly habit of popping up all over town. Whether you’re ready to leave Christmas behind or not, I highly recommend that you prepare to be charmed by the Seaside Café Mysteries by Bree Baker, because I’m certainly looking forward to her next one.

(Book courtesy of NetGalley)

"Sweet Tea and Secrets" by Joy Avon

Author Joy Avon follows up her first "Tea and Read Mystery," In Peppermint Peril, with another well-written cozy mystery, Sweet Tea and Secrets. This go-round, Callie Aspen has left her old job as a tour guide and is beginning to settle in to her new life in Heart’s Harbor, Maine. She moves into a fixer-upper and continues to assist her great-aunt, Iphy, with the operation of Iphy's tearoom, Book Tea, where the teatime treats are book-themed. This time, that includes Hound of the Brownivilles (brownie bites) and Grimm Tales, cookies in fairy tale shapes.

Callie is helping her great-aunt plan a Fourth of July tea, where the fun will include a sweet tea competition, and one of Callie's ideas is to feature some important event in town history. While researching the history of Heart’s Harbor, Callie is intrigued to learn that a famous across, Monica Walker, disappeared from town in the late 1980s and was never heard from again. Callie starts making a few inquiries about the missing actress, and one of her sources turns up dead. Is someone worried about this missing-person case getting another look?

Meanwhile, Callie is getting mixed signals from Ace Falk, the local deputy she met last Christmas. She thought he was interested in her—one of several reasons she decided to move to Heart’s Harbor—but now she’s wondering whether she read him wrong. One thing’s for sure, though: Falk means for her to stay out of his investigations. And as Callie comes closer to find out what really happened to Monica Walker and who wants the story kept quiet, readers will feel increasingly edgy and find themselves looking for the killer at every turn. An excellent second novel in a fun new series!

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley

April Giveaway: A signed copy of "Emeralds and Envy"

Now here is a giveaway I've been eager to announce, because it's for one of the very first Advance Reader Copies (or ARCs) of my newest book, Emeralds and Envy. So for the April giveaway, I'll be delighted to sign this book for one of you and get it headed your way!

If you would like to win a copy, simply leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Friday, April 12, making sure I have an email address or other way to contact you if you're the winner, and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck!

(I'm also ordering copies for family and friends later this week, and I'll be getting some extras for those of you who've told me you would like a signed copy, so I'll have that info up very soon. And thank you all so much for your support over the years, without which I probably wouldn't be writing books today!)

"No Good Tea Goes Unpunished" by Bree Baker

It’s always nice to come across a great new cozy mystery series to check out, and for those of us who have a hankering for camellia sinensis, it’s extra nice when the mystery involves tea. Having read several different cozy series centered around tearooms, I was so pleased to find a new series about an iced tea shop and seaside café, and my first intro to the series is actually the second book, No Good Tea Goes Unpunished.

Bree Baker’s Seaside Café Mystery series centers on one Everly Swan, who has opened a seaside restaurant and iced tea shop in the coastal town of Charm, North Carolina. As befits a cozy mystery town, Charm is utterly charming, and it’s not surprising when one of Everly’s childhood friends decides to hold her wedding on the beach there. It is, however, surprising when the groom is found floating in the surf on his wedding night.

While solving the mystery of who killed the groom is the focus of the story, No Good Tea Goes Unpunished also has some thoroughly entertaining subplots. My favorite of these concerns Everly’s great-aunts, two elderly women who run a honey shop called Blessed Bee. The aunts are determined to enter a video application in a contest whose winner gets to appear in a documentary on “the plight of the American honeybee,” and the aunts' bee-themed antics are quite entertaining.

How Everly manages to juggle a murder investigation, her aunts’ bee obsession, a tea-shop-and-restaurant operation, and dueling romantic interests is quite the feat, but we’re cheering for Everly every flip-flopping step of the way.

Tea-loving readers will also enjoy the recipes included in the book, and if you’re like me and missed the first installment of this (truly) charming new series, you’ll turn the last page and immediately order the first book, Live and Let Chai, to see what you’ve missed!

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley

Release day is set for "Emeralds and Envy"

Quite a few of you have asked me to let you know when my debut novel becomes available, so today, I wanted to share that over the weekend, I got the very exciting news that my ebook, which will be published on April 16, is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Some of you have told me that you prefer the paperback version, and it will come out after the ebook, so I'll be sure and share about that too. Both versions will then be available on Amazon, and I'm also going to order paperbacks to have on hand for those who want one personally signed. (I'm so honored that anyone actually wants my autograph, ha!)

Seeing the release of my first novel is literally a dream come true, so I'm delighted that my book will be available as an ebook in just a little more than a month. And I've learned that the pre-order price through April 16 is just $2.99 (the regular ebook price is $9.99, and you know how I love a bargain).

I do have a few fun giveaways planned for when the book comes out, so stay tuned for more about that, and you may win some fun prizes! So now that this bit of housekeeping news is taken care of …

Coming Wednesday: You know I've always got my nose in a book, and I am delighted to have discovered a new tea-themed cozy series … set at the beach!

"In Peppermint Peril" by Joy Avon

"Callie was glad Leadenby had come in at that moment with the box containing the table runner. She spread it across the table's shiny surface and smoothed its lacy edges. It was a real vintage piece, like the china and the cutlery. The tea party would have an Agatha Christie vibe …"

— In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon

Tea lovers have a new tea-themed cozy mystery series to enjoy thanks to Joy Avon, who kicks off her Book Tea Shop Mystery series with a delightful Christmas-themed book, In Peppermint Peril.

Callie Aspen has a great career as a tour guide who leads trips to historic venues all over the world. She returns home to Heart's Harbor, Maine, intending merely to celebrate the holidays with her great-aunt, Iphigeneia, who runs Book Tea, a tea business offering book-themed teas. Callie is quickly enlisted to help her aunt set up for a pre-Christmas tea party at Haywood Hall, a historic home whose elderly resident is expected to make an important announcement about her will.

At the same event, Callie's old friend Sheila hijacks the tea and uses it as an opportunity to have her daughter's engagement announced, and the carefully laid plans for the tea soon go off the rails. When the engagement ring goes missing—and missing from a hiding place readers will particularly enjoy—it complicates the event, and so does the dead body found in the home's conservatory.

While the many tea elements of the story will immediately appeal to tea lovers, the mystery itself is fun to solve, as there are so many terrific suspects who might have had it in for the deceased. And Callie Aspen is a character it's easy to root for, so readers will hope to see Callie and her sweet Boston terrier, Daisy, making a permanent home in Heart's Harbor. This book was a well-written, holiday-perfect launch to the series, and I look forward to reading the next installment.

An announcement about … my first novel!

Because so many of you dear blog readers have encouraged me in my writing efforts over the years, I wanted you to be the first to see the "cover reveal" for my debut novel, Emeralds and Envy, a cozy mystery that will be published by Red Adept Publishing next year! The book is about a small-town sleuth, Emma Madison, who is a former newspaper reporter turned jewelry designer. Emma loves to go junkin' for vintage jewelry (sound familiar?), and she uses her jeweled finds to create new jewelry … when she's not busy solving crimes. You can read more about the book here.

And you won't be surprised to learn there's a bit of tea in this book! There may come a day when I write a book that doesn't have a tea scene or two in it, but this is not it.

I wish the book were already published so I could have it available for you on this Cyber Monday, but alas, I took my sweet time in writing and revising it. But I do hope you'll forgive my excitement in going ahead and sharing the cover. My understanding is that the publisher will release the ebook first and then the print book thereafter, and I do plan to order some print copies to sign for those of you who would like one. So please stay tuned because 2019 is going to be an exciting year!

"Elementary, She Read" by Vicki Delany

"That high tea was great," the customer with the grand bust said to me. "I'll be telling all my friends about this place."

"What high tea?" I said. "Oh, you mean afternoon tea. You really shouldn't get those mixed up. High tea, sometimes just called tea, is what the working man calls his dinner, and afternoon tea is what you had."

— From Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany

Tea lovers, I just finished a new cozy mystery that I think you'll enjoy as much as I did, and I particularly love the premise of this one. In the small town of West London, Massachusetts, Gemma Doyle runs a Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium at 222 Baker St. (221 Baker St. wasn't available). Gemma is English but came to America to help her Great Uncle Arthur run his bookstore, and they also own half of the business next door, Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room.

The bookshop sells all things Sherlock, including not only books but also such items as busts, puzzles, mugs, dish towels, and the occasional rare collectible. A near-priceless issue of a magazine that published the first Sherlock Holmes story lands in the shop under some highly unusual circumstances, and when Gemma—along with her tea-shop-owner friend Jayne—tries to restore the magazine to its rightful owner, the two come across a dead body and find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.

Like her store's namesake, Gemma possesses some amazing powers of deduction. It's great fun to watch her do things like introduce herself to a character she's never met before, getting the person's identity correct based simply on her powers of observation. The author gives us plenty of red herrings, the requisite dust-ups with local law enforcement, and, of course, enough cups of tea to make us all want to go browse through the book shop and order "afternoon tea" at Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. The second book in the series hits shelves September 12, and I can't wait!

"Pekoe Most Poison" by Laura Childs

In this, her eighteenth tea shop mystery, writer Laura Childs takes a bit of a different turn. I found the characters and the plot both a little edgier this time, and this may be one of my favorite tea shop books of recent years. The story begins with Theodosia and Drayton attending a type of tea I initially thought might be rather off-putting: a rat tea. Instead, I found myself thoroughly intrigued. As Drayton explains it to Theo, "Seventy-five years ago, rat teas were all the rage in Charleston. You see, at the advent of World War Two, our fair city underwent a tremendous population explosion as war workers arrived at the navy shipyard in droves." Drayton goes on to tell her that this growth resulted in super busy downtown merchants, who tossed their trash on the sidewalks, drawing rats. Public health officials led a campaign to get rid of the rats, and society ladies even had "rat teas" to help promote the effort. So Theo and Drayton are guests at a modern-day rat tea complete with wait staff in rat costumes. Alas, the tea hostess's husband meets his ghastly demise at the tea, and so our story begins.

If you've read the tea shop mysteries all along, as many of us have, you've probably noticed by now that Theodosia's personality has shifted and changed over the years. It's a transformation I have particularly enjoyed watching. Today's Theo is stronger and more self-assured than the early Theo, and her skills as both a businesswoman and an amateur sleuth seem to have grown by leaps and bounds.

There's a possible new romantic interest for our heroine as well, and I will keep my fingers crossed that Theo finally gets a steady gentleman caller in the next book. One of our regular players is out of town and thus absent from the tale (no spoilers since some of you may not have read this book yet), and I was surprised to find how much I missed this character.

My only complaint about the tea shop mysteries is that they don't arrive nearly as frequently as I would like, but considering that Laura Childs (aka Gerry Schmitt) has three other series going as well, I guess I can't complain. And to satisfy my thirst for more of her books, I have just added two more of her other cozy mysteries to my reading queue. If you have read Pekoe Most Poison, I'd love to hear whether you enjoyed the book as much as I did! Did you find it a little different from the others?

"A Dark and Stormy Murder" by Julia Buckley

The latest cozy mystery I've read is "A Writer's Apprentice Mystery," and that theme appealed to me, but so did that house on the cover. The book may be set in Blue Lake, Indiana, but that house is a dead ringer for what is arguably Newnan, Georgia's most famous historic home, the Parrott-Camp-Soucy house. (Please click here and see whether you agree.)

"A Dark and Stormy Murder" by Julia Buckley is a terrific launch to this new series, and the premise is one I think many of you would enjoy. Lena London is a longtime fan of Camilla Graham's suspense  novels,  and when Lena gets the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the assistant to her idol, she moves to Blue Lake and into Graham House, where she will receive free room and board in addition to the amazing opportunity to help Camilla write her new book. The Gothic home and lakefront property are quite the storybook setting for Lena's new job, at least until she spots a dead body along the shore near the house. Lena finds herself caught up in the search for the man's killer, all while settling into her new job and making sure she meets the expectations of her famous boss.

Happily for those of us who like our cozies with a side order of tea, this one keeps the pot quite full, including this snippet from a scene with Lena and a local detective:

"Hey—is that a teakettle I hear? You go make some tea. I'm going to have a look around. I'll meet you at the back door."

I nodded and locked the front door after him, then went to the kitchen and fumbled with the box of tea bags, finding one and plunging it into my mug of boiling water. I indulged myself with sugar and cream and sat down, taking a few bracing sips."

Buckley's well-drawn characters, particularly the aging writer and her eager-to-please apprentice, are easy to bond with. Also, the murder investigation is plotted nicely and has an intriguing cast of characters weaving in and around Graham House and leading us in just enough different directions to keep things hopping. And in one new twist for a cozy, at least for me, one plot thread was left unresolved. I'm trusting it will be addressed in the second book in the series, and I'll be ready for it, cup of tea in hand.

"The Crêpes of Wrath" by Sarah Fox

I just finished reading another charming new cozy mystery, this one from Random House's new digital-only imprint, Alibi, and you will note that this book meets my criteria (for this blog's purposes) of having something tea-related on the cover. 

When Marley McKinney’s older cousin, Jimmy, ends up in the hospital, she takes some time off from her job in Seattle to go to the coastal town of Wildwood Cove and help run his business, a pancake house called The Flip Side. Jimmy is released from the hospital, but before he can even make it back to work, his body is discovered on some rocks at Wildwood Beach, and authorities soon determine he was murdered and left there.

While grieving the loss of her cousin, Marley continues to run The Flip Side but soon learns she has some new decisions to make, since her cousin left his home and business to her in his will. In addition to working at the restaurant, Marley also manages to engage in plenty of snooping since she is determined to find out who killed Jimmy. This cozy has a great cast of supporting characters, including the curmudgeonly cook, Ivan; the beloved waitress, Leigh; and a handsome gentleman caller from Marley's past, Brett.

Fox includes some fast-paced scenes that really ratchet up the tension yet aren't too intense for those of us who prefer these kinder, gentler mysteries. Tea lovers will appreciate the fact that Marley is clearly a tea fan: "I made myself a cup of tea and settled into a chair on the back porch, determined to relax for a few minutes at least. As I sipped my tea, Flapjack jumped into my lap and curled up, purring as I stroked his sleek orange fur."

The author also does a fine job of creating a strong sense of place, and we soon begin to fall in love with Wildwood Cove just as much as Marley does—at least, until she becomes the killer's target herself. A heart-thumping conclusion gives this well-written book a most satisfying end, and I look forward to reading more in this fun new series!

Note: This is a book I discovered through NetGalley, a free service which allows authors and publishers to share their books with reviewers, bloggers, journalists, librarians, and others. Go here if you'd like to check out NetGalley for yourself, something I definitely recommend if you're a big reader who likes to write reviews!

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"Death at the Day Lily Café" by Wendy Sand Eckel

I will read almost any book with a teapot on the cover, and as I suspected, Wendy Sand Eckel's newest cozy mystery had plenty of tea-ish moments to keep us tea lovers happy! And although this was the second book in a series, I had no difficulty at all jumping right in with the storyline and understanding what was going on.

The recently divorced Rosalie Hart of Cardigan, Maryland, has just realized her dream of opening her own café when, shortly after the grand opening, her friend and fellow merchant Doris comes asking a favor: Doris's sister has been accused of killing her husband, and Doris wants Rosalie to help prove that the sister is innocent.

This book has a rich and diverse ensemble cast I greatly enjoyed meeting, including Glenn, Rosalie's 72-year-old best friend and right-hand man; her other wait staff member, Crystal, the young "hippie" who makes teas and tinctures; frequent customer Janice, whose hot flashes inject a bit of humor that middle-aged readers will no doubt appreciate; hunky Tyler, who runs Rosalie's farm; Annie, Rosalie's college-age daughter; and Kevin and Jake, a gay couple who find the town surprisingly welcoming— with one notable exception.

Doris's deceased brother-in-law is suspected of having stolen some money from the construction site where he'd worked, and it turns out that plenty of people had a reason for wanting him dead. Eckel keeps us guessing the killer's identity right up till the satisfying end, but best of all, she layers this cozy with some complex, messy, and thoroughly realistic lives that make this mystery a pleasure to read.

"Devonshire Scream" by Laura Childs

Can you believe that Laura Childs is up to Book 17 in the tea shop mysteries? I am frankly astonished that she and tea shop owner Theodosia Browning continue to hold my interest book after book, but after I finished reading a review copy of the latest book in the series, "Devonshire Scream," which releases today, I have to say that I think it's one of her best yet! This book kicks off in a most unusual fashion. A high-end trunk show is under way at Heart's Desire, the jewelry shop owned by Theodosia's friend Brooke, and masked gunmen make a rather spectacular entrance and exit, stealing jewels and leaving a dead body behind.

Burt Tidwell from the Charleston PD shows up, of course, but this time, he's not the only investigator on the scene. Soon, two FBI guys are investigating the robbery and homicide as well. It's quite satisfying to see Tidwell actually asking for Theodosia's assistance on this case, and I felt their relationship (for we can't quite call it a "friendship") somehow deepens in this book. I liked that—a lot—and will be eager to see if Tidwell's view of Theo remains changed.

And as always, Theodosia and her tea shop colleagues, Haley and Drayton, are busy serving up lots of tea and scones in the midst of all the excitement. Drayton is excited that his beloved Heritage Society is about to kick off a show of antiquities that will include the display of an actual Fabergé egg. The Indigo Tea Shop has taken to holding more themed teas lately, including a  Romanov Tea that seems to piggyback on the Fabergé egg excitement building around Charleston. The theft at Heart's Desire, however, has Theo and company wondering whether the jewel thieves might not attempt a theft of the famous egg, and nerves are stretched taut by the time the Heritage Society show opens.

Childs is a master at devising plenty of red herrings, and I honestly had about three good suspects in mind by the end of the book, which made the reading more fun. Also, Haley has a new boyfriend in "Devonshire Scream," and there are hints of a possible new relationship for Theodosia as well, setting us up perfectly to look forward to Book 18 in the series!