Tempest in the Tea Leaves (Fortune Teller Mystery, #1)

by Kari Lee Townsend

Using various fortune telling tools to interpret her visions, Sunny seeks to aid the residents of Divinity, New York. But when she uses tea leaves to read the frazzled town librarian, what lies at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful.

• ISBN10: 0425242757
• ISBN13: 9780425242759
• Publish Date: 2 August 2011 (first published 1 August 2011)
• Publish Status: Temporarily Withdrawn
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 294
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

2 1/2 stars.

This had a really good plot, and likable characters but just too implausible to be taken seriously. I'm not entirely convinced it was written by an adult. Teenager, maybe, or a really ditzy young woman who doesn't have social skills.

Sunny Meadows, fledgling psychic, defies her parents (at the age of 29) and moves from NYC to a small town in central NY to start a fortune telling business. She buys an old, haunted Victorian house, and immediately forecasts her first customer's murder. Sunny is then suspected of the murder and is commanded by the chief of police to work with the detective to solve the case and clear her name.

Seriously, if you can get through that synopsis without rolling your eyes, this might be the book for you.

The book read like a teenaged girl's ramblings about what it's like to be an adult, right down to the childish name calling. The whole sexual tension angle between the MC and the detective was contrived and unrealistic, as were a lot of aspects of the story.

The only thing that stopped this from being a DNF was the excellent plot, which was amazingly good. I hear the second book is better, and I'll give it a try, but frankly, I don't have a whole lot of faith in it being better than this one.

[MurderByDeath]

Interesting first novel. Very likeable characters (except the parents, but they aren't truly nasty) and great setting. The plot line was a bit far-fetched with the police ordering a suspect to work with the detective, but it made for a very interesting story. I'll definitely read the next book in the series. Love the cat too...

[Stephanie]

Originally posted at Once Upon a Chapter

Really a 3.5

Sunny Meadows has decided that she’s going to strike out on her own. She’s 29 years old and her parents are oppressive. They don’t believe in her gift and go to great lengths to stifle her in front of their friends. Sunny packs her bags and leaves the Big Apple for Divinity, New York. She moves into a big Victorian that the locals claim is haunted. Sunny thinks it is perfect for herself and her business.

Sunny is psychic and plans to do readings in her home. Vicki (Sunny nicknamed her house) does come with an unexpected addition. A beautiful white cat seems to live there as well. In fact the house seems to be his. Sunny doesn’t mind the extra company and even tries to care for him. But Morty is no human’s cat and will do as he pleases.

Sunny’s first customer is clearly shaken when she arrives and the tea leaves reading does nothing to soothe her nerves. Within two hours of the reading, the town librarian is dead and Sunny is the prime suspect. She must work to clear her name!

Tempest in the Tea Leaves is the first in a new series by Kari Lee Townsend. For the most part I really enjoyed this book! There was a wide variety of characters, Morty was great in all of his page space, and the mystery was a hard one!

There were a few things that stuck out while I was reading though. Sunny felt a little immature for my tastes. In a serious argument, she’d stomp her foot. She’s 29. I’m 26. I would never stomp my foot in an argument. You can’t be taken seriously after that. This is a very small complaint and didn’t affect my rating but it was a few little things like this that stuck with me.

Two elements made this book great for me and why I think you’ll enjoy it. The tea readings were a lot of fun to read about. Sunny is so serious during them that she almost becomes a different person. Also, I didn’t figure it out! The murderer was a complete surprise and really made the book. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment and more of Townsend’s writing!