Tea and Treachery (Tea by the Sea Mysteries, #1)

by Vicki Delany

In this charming new cozy mystery series from national bestselling author Vicki Delany, a New York City expat-turned-Cape Cod tea shop owner must solve the murder of a local real estate developer to help her feisty grandmother out of a jam . . .
 
As the proud proprietor and head pastry chef of Tea by the Sea, a traditional English tearoom on the picturesque bluffs of Cape Cod, Lily Roberts has her hands full, often literally. But nothing keeps her busier than steering her sassy grandmother, Rose, away from trouble. Rose operates the grand old Victorian B & B adjacent to Lily’s tea shop . . . for now. An aggressive real estate developer, Jack Ford, is pushing hard to rezone nearby land, with an eye toward building a sprawling golf resort, which would drive Rose and Lily out of business.
 
Tempers are already steaming, but things really get sticky when Ford is found dead at the foot of Rose’s property and the police think she had something to do with his dramatic demise. Lily can’t let her grandmother get burned by a false murder charge. So she starts her own investigation and discovers Ford’s been brewing bad blood all over town, from his jilted lover to his trophy wife to his shady business partners. Now, it’s down to Lily to stir up some clues, sift through the suspects, and uncover the real killer before Rose is left holding the tea bag.

• ISBN10: 1496725069
• ISBN13: 9781496725066
• Publish Date: 28 July 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781496725066

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany is a new welcome approach in the cozy mystery world.

Can Lily stop Rose and Bernie from pursuing this case?

Lily Roberts

Lily is our main character and an unknowing sleuth, thanks to her grandmother, Rose, and her best friend, Bernie, investigating a crime that happened on Rose's property. She is the chief cook at her grandmother's B&B while owning and cooking at her tearoom at the front of the property in a cottage. I have to admit that this whole set up seemed like a dream as it was working well for these two ladies. Lily seems like a great person who ends up going along with whatever her grandma wants because she wants to keep her in line. I love Lily, and I can't wait to see more of her in the future.

Rose and Bernie

Rose is Lily's maternal grandma and is full-blown English. Meaning that's where she was raised until Rose married her husband and moved to Iowa to raise a family. Now Rose, in her last few years of life left, is in Cape Cod owning a beautiful home, is widowed, and sadly had to turn the house into a B&B to help pay the bills. She is a fantastic character who reminds me so much of Grandma Mazur from the Stephanie Plum novels. Not exactly like her, but I love it when little old ladies decide that they are going to investigate a murder investigation despite what everyone thinks.

Now Bernie is named Bernadette, and she is also a hoot. Bernie came to Cape Cod to finally write her book that she's been trying to write for two years. Well, let's say she gets distracted a lot, and I mean a lot, and she may also be changing the genres of her book a lot. Bernie is a friend that I wouldn't mind having in real life. She's such a fun person. These two ladies are a great addition to a fantastic cast of characters that are seen throughout this book.

The Mystery

The mystery in this one is quite funny. I had two possible victims in my head, but neither panned out. Rose was egged on to say some things that landed her the prime suspect spot that started Bernie and Rose investigating. Basically, what ended up happening early in the morning, the contractor came by early for a meeting to take place next door and somehow ended up on Rose's property and onto the beach dead. There were a lot of suspects to comb through, and wow, I wasn't able to pinpoint who could have done it. I was pretty shocked by who did it.

5 Stars

I am giving Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany five stars and recommending this to anyone that has a fancy for drinking tea while reading a cozy. Trust me; I did drink tea the whole time I was reading. Ms. Delaney has a great start to a new series with these fun new characters. I can't wait to see what else she brings to this small coastal town on the Cape.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the recipes in the back of the book!

Giveaway

Prize: (1) Signed Print Copy - Tea & Treachery (Tea by the Sea Mysteries) by Vicki Delany - U.S. ONLY

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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany. Check out the other stops and giveaway if you have time.

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Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove