Author: Vicki Delany
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496737724
Kensington Cozies
288 Pages
$27.00; $13.77 Amazon
July 25, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Afternoon tea isn't just about flavorful brews and delicious treats. It's also about presentation -- fine China teacups (never mugs!) with carefully coordinated saucers and plates. With her fragile stock running low, Lily has an excuse to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies: visiting an antiques fair for replacements.
Among other finds, Lily snaps up a charming Peter Rabbit-themed tea set in a wicker basket, perfect for children's events. But a few days later, a woman named Kimberly marches into the tearoom, rudely demanding to buy it back -- then later returns and removes an envelope hidden in the basket's lining.
An acquaintance of Lily's named Rachel is on the trail of the tea set too. Apparently, she and Kimberly are half-sisters, searching for their mother's final will. To her annoyance, Lily is dunked into the middle of this mess -- especially when her ex-boyfriend turns out to be involved. But it's more than a storm in a teacup when one of the sisters is found dead on the grounds of the B&B owned by Lily's grandmother, Rose.
Is this a simple case of greed boiling over, or are there other suspects in the blend? It'll take some savvy sleuthing from Lily, Rose, and their allies to find the answers before a killer shatters more lives....
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Lily Roberts is the proprietor of Tea by the Sea, a tearoom not too far from her grandmother Rose's beautiful B&B in Massachusetts. After leaving her job as a pastry chef in Manhattan behind, she's finally achieved her dream and couldn't be happier. What she needs now, however, is to peruse the aisles of an antiques fair in town, hoping to find new tea sets, because China is fragile and occasionally a piece or two gets broken.
When she, along with Rose and Lily's best friend Bernie arrive, they soon find what Lily is looking for: lovely things including a child's Peter Rabbit tea set nestled in a cute woven basket. Although the price is a bit steep, Lily can't resist. She's happy with her purchase and can't wait to use it. However, the next day a young woman comes looking for her and demands she produce it. Lily, irritated at the woman's rudeness, tells her it's being used right now and she'll have to come back after closing. The woman argues for a while, then storms out.
When the woman, who states her name is Kimberly Smithfield, returns for the set, all she does is rip the lining and take an envelope, telling Lily she can keep the set and throws money at her. Lily is surprised, but glad she gets to keep her prize. Later, an acquaintance from her old New York days, Rachel Morrison, arrives, also looking for the set, is dismayed to find that Kimberly took the envelope.
But the real surprises come later: Lily discovers that Kimberly -- and her new husband -- are staying at Rose's B&B. Rachel and Kimberly are half-sisters. And Kimberly's husband is none other than Lily's ex-boyfriend, Wesley, whom she broke up with and left behind along with her past. But he doesn't seem to be done with Lily. He wants her to come back to work for him, and seemingly won't take no for an answer.
When Lily hears a late night conversation and her little dog finds a body, the police are called. Now Lily is reluctantly involved in another murder investigation, and it may take all her wits and the help of her friends and Rose to solve this one. No one is saying anything, and Lily doesn't have a lot to go on. Everyone is keeping secrets and lies...and one of them is a murderer...
This is the fourth book in the series and I have loved them all. It just keeps getting better and better. The author is not only a prolific writer, but a talented one who takes us places we dream about and would love to visit. I can't imagine anything nicer than staying at a seaside B&B with a tearoom nearby.
I get a kick out of Bernie and her constantly changing book plots; it's amazing because she's so smart otherwise and knows her way around the inside of a computer (being married to an IT specialist myself, he knows the ins and outs and it leaves me in awe -- and I know computers pretty well myself). Bernie has a knack for finding things out, and she's a great help to Lily.
Lily is a woman on a mission, and it's a good thing she has a good staff, because this investigation leaves her a bit stumped. It doesn't help that her ex is a nasty piece of work, and his being in town is not something she's enjoying. But at stake is an estate worth millions, and none of the parties are willing to give up until what was in the envelope is found, and it leaves Lily wondering about it.
Watching her go through the motions of questioning people and trying to figure it all out is worth reading the book. Lily and her friends conspire to find the truth of the matter, and when it all comes together at the end, there are unexpected resolutions and a killer who's been hiding just barely under the wire. The ending is also worth reading the book for, and there are some recipes in the back that you might find interesting. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series and highly recommend this book.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley, but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Vicki Delany's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/vicki-delany/
No comments:
Post a Comment