Murder Spills the Tea
The country’s hottest TV cooking show is coming to Cape Cod. And against her better judgment, Lily Roberts is entering America Bakes! With her charming tearoom, Tea by the Sea! Filming is already proving disruptive, closing the tearoom during Lily’s busiest season. But tensions really bubble over when the infamous bad-boy chef and celebrity judge, Tommy Greene, loses his temper with Lily’s staff, resulting in an on-camera blowout with Cheryl Wainwright. Then, just as Lily thinks the competition can’t get more bitter, Tommy is found dead in Tea by the Sea’s kitchen, murdered with Cheryl’s rolling pin.
Suspicion immediately falls on Cheryl, but the temperamental star has racked up plenty of culinary clashes in the past, both on- and off-screen. And nearly anyone associated with Tommy or the cooking show could be the killer: be it one of Lily’s fierce competitors, a member of the beleaguered film crew, or even one of Tommy’s fellow judges, struggling cookbook maven Claudia D’Angelo, or beauty contest winner, Scarlet McIntosh. Now, while baking up a storm for the show in the tearoom, Lily must also whip up an impromptu investigation before the murderer rolls someone else away.
The Details
Series: Tea by the Sea Mysteries – Book #3
Author: Vicki Delany
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Culinary
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496737695
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
What I wouldn’t give for a visit to Lily’s tearoom for a scone and a good cup of tea! But I do not want to watch a cooking show filmed or be in one. That aside, the newest book in the “Tea by the Sea Mysteries” series, Murder Spills the Tea, has fans ready for a tension-filled escapade that will leave them happy, hungry, and ready for more.
Lily has been roped into competing on a cooking show by her grandmother, Rose, and her best friend, Bernie. Her tearoom is overwhelmed by the film crew and the insufferable production team on the first day; she regrets agreeing to participate immediately. The judges, who all have personality issues, are tiresome, rude, and egotistical to the extreme. Namely, they are almost all unlikeable, uncaring, and nowhere near qualified to judge anyone’s cooking or baking. But publicity wins out along with the threat of a lawsuit, and she has to follow through with the contest. But when the least objectionable judge is killed in Lily’s tearoom kitchen, and one of her employees is suspect number one, she jumps into the investigation.
The suspects in this story are easy to find, and all of them or any of them could be the killer. Even the tearoom employees are not without motives, and almost everyone on the cooking show and film crew has motives and the opportunity to commit the crime. There are plenty of red herrings to lead readers astray, and when the killer’s identity is revealed, chances are most readers will be surprised. There is plenty of action, delightful locations, and some delicious recipes to try.
I love Lily’s tearoom; it has always been a dream of mine to have my own, combined with a bookstore, of course. The continuing characters, especially Rose and Bernie, who never fail to amuse me and keep Lily on her toes, are enjoyable and likable. I wasn’t crazy about the cooking show; it has been done many times in culinary-based series; I feared it would be stale and the same-old-same-old, but I was pleasantly surprised. Vicki Delany did a great job keeping the storyline fresh and filled with surprises, just like a cozy should be. I always enjoy this series; the characters are growing; granted, they are doing it slowly, but the growth is there. I would like to see the love interest ramp up or removed. Either option would be good; this change wouldn’t impact the fundamental bases of the series other than making room for more storylines in the future. Overall, I enjoyed Murder Spills the Tea and look forward to the next installment.
The Author
Vicki Delany (Eva Gates) is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than thirty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.
Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.
Vicki Delany also writes under the name of Eva Gates; she has several series under both names that readers will enjoy (without a cooking show or tearoom). I recommend the “A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery” series, and The Cat of the Baskervilles is wonderful. Another series readers will want to grab is “A Year-Round Christmas Mystery” book four, Silent Night, Deadly Night.
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