Murder with Oolong Tea
The faculty of Willow Creek High School are having a get-together after the spring concert with refreshments provided, courtesy of Daisy’s Tea Garden. Oolong tea and chocolate biscuits are just what the staff needs to help them unwind from Althea Higgins’ demanding curriculum. Her lessons on such controversial subjects as school uniforms and underqualified substitute teachers are earning her an F from her colleagues.
But a failing grade was preferable to Althea falling victim to foul play. Daisy was there when her body was discovered in the school swimming pool, murdered by strangulation. Althea was certainly a strict, opinionated taskmaster, unliked by both teachers and students, but would any of them actually want to kill her? As Daisy starts asking questions, she gets a real education in Althea’s history, discovering more than enough enemies with more than enough motives to cancel her classes permanently.
Series: A Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery – Book #6
Author: Karen Rose Smith
Genre/Category: Cozy – Business/Tea Shop
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 320
Rating: 
Daisy is finding that school teachers aren’t what they appear to be. In the latest addition to the “A Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery” series, Murder with Oolong Tea, one teacher is murdered, and evidence points to the possibility that another teacher may be the culprit.
Daisy is a wonderful character, as are most of the recurring cast in this series. The setting could be in any town in America; it feels intimate and comforting. The tea garden, although it doesn’t play a tremendous role in this story, is inviting and sounds yummy. The victim in this book, long-time teacher Althea Higgin’s isn’t exactly a beloved member of the community, nor is she hated by most people. Yet, she is hard to take, and students and teachers won’t miss her all that much. But as with most people, Althea wasn’t what she seemed.
Suspects range from teachers and students to family members and a possible ex-lover. Evidence is scarce. This may be a failing of the story in general but does not detract from the reader’s enjoyment. The killer, once revealed, was not hard to figure out, mainly since the character falls into that “not what they seem” category, and the motive was made apparent earlier in the book. It’s too bad that Daisy isn’t in more peril, and her tea garden is at the center of the action. It would have made the story more interesting. Instead, the primary setting this time is the high school and Althea’s farm. This in and of itself isn’t an issue, but readers may not feel the same connection to the locations they have for Daisy’s tea garden.
Murder with Oolong Tea is a nice read for a quiet time. The action is minimal; the characters are well developed and familiar. The suspects, including the teachers and family members, are believable, and the murder is well thought out, and there are wonderful tea flavors. I am happy to recommend this cozy to readers who can relax and enjoy a story without too much detail or complications.
Other tea shop cozies readers will enjoy are Vicki Delany’s delectable “A Tea By The Sea Mystery” series or Laura Childs’ gripping series “A Tea Shop Mystery.”
About the Author:
Karen Rose Smith’s plots are all about emotion. She began writing when she listened to music and created stories to accompany the songs. After expressing feelings in poetry, earning a degree in English and French, and completing short stories that became too long to find a market, she turned to her love of relationships in romance.
An only child, Karen spent a lot of time in her imagination and with books—Nancy Drew, Zane Gray, The Black Stallion, and Anne of Green Gables. She dreamed of brothers and sisters and a big family like her mother and father came from, seven children in her mom’s family and ten in her dad’s. On weekends she was often surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins. This is the root of her plotlines that include small communities and family relationships as part of everyday living. She believes universal emotions unite us all, and that is the reason she uses them to propel her plots.
Karen is an animal lover and especially a cat lover. She and her husband are cat parents to four rescued felines, London, Zoie Joy, Halo, and Miss Paddington (Paddy), who is growing out of kittenhood.
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