Tea & Treachery (Tea by the Sea #1) by Vicki Delany
Lily Roberts heads up the Tea by the Sea tearoom in Cape Cod. Her England-born grandmother Rose runs the B&B next door. Jack Ford, a real estate developer, wants to put in a golf resort on the other side of Rose’s B&B. Rose threatens that she will do whatever it takes to stop that plan. Before long, Ford ends up dead on stairs leading down from the B&B property, and the mystery begins, leaving Rose as the prime suspect. Lily and Rose, along with Lily’s friend Bernie, who is staying on the Cape to write a book, all get busy trying to clear Rose’s name. The mystery was solid and kept me interested.
I enjoyed the setting and everything about the tea services and running the B&B. I liked the characters, but Rose comes across a bit too “queen of the manor” and I wasn’t sure where this was coming from. That said, she made me laugh a little with some of her snappy comebacks. She was also a good counterpoint to Lily, who had a softer and sweeter personality. Bernie brought in a bit of comic relief with her “book ideas.”
I plan to continue the series. I am hoping that Rose chills out a bit. Or I find out she’s secretly a part of the royal family. That’s a twist I’d be here for.
Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye (Psychic Eye Mystery #1) by Victoria Laurie
Abby Cooper is a psychic intuitive who gets involved in a case when her client ends up dead. Of course, she ends up butting into the police’s investigation and that interaction was as equally entertaining as the well-plotted mystery itself. I wondered whether being a psychic would involve Abby solving too much of the case based on just her gifts. While she did have insights, they were most often vague enough to leave questions about what they meant exactly. I thought it created an interesting take on how an amateur sleuth gets their clues. Her readings also helped fill out the characters’ backstories in a fun way.
I can’t pick a favorite part of this book; I loved it all. The author pulled me in from the beginning. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough and I eagerly look forward to the rest of this series.
Buried in a Book (Novel Idea #1) by Lucy Arlington
Lila Wilkins loses her journalist job and then takes a position as an intern at a literary agency. When Marlett, a prospective author (who is also a local homeless man) dies in their office, Lila seems to be the only person there who cares and the police initially believe it was an accidental death. Lila is skeptical and feels bad, so she begins investigating. Lila’s coworkers and the clients we meet are all a quirky bunch. The mystery was a lot of fun and following the clues left behind by Marlett were intriguing. As Lila uncovered details about Marlett’s past, I found myself pointing the finger at most people in the book at one point or another.
In the book, we also meet Lila’s son and mother. Both have interesting backstories and I look forward to getting to know more about them. I plan to continue this series. I want to see how things progress for Lila at A Novel Idea agency, too.
Checked Out (The Village Library Mysteries #1) by Elizabeth Spann Craig
Ann Beckett is a librarian. She’s great and the library is one I wish I could visit. Lots of interesting events and the people who work there seem to care about their patrons. Bonus points for Lila helping rescue some cats, one that later becomes the very sweet and loveable library cat, Fitz.
Ann is single and gets set up on a blind date that doesn’t go well. He doesn’t show up – because he’s dead. As Ann works toward discovering what happened to him, she finds a lot of reasons certain people could have done the deed.
The mystery was entertaining, but I was equally as interested (or more) in the characters. And I’m okay with that. The setting and the characters will be what pull me back to this series.
What have you been reading?
If you’ve read anything lately that you really enjoyed, I would love to hear about it.
I am always looking for books to add to my TBR!