Tea & Treachery

As the proud proprietor and head pastry chef of Tea by the Sea, a traditional English tearoom on the picturesque bluffs of Cape Cod, 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 teabag.

Series: A Tea By The Sea Mystery – Book #1
Author: Vicki Delany
Genre: Cozy Mystery/tea Shop
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 304

Rating:

Tea & Treachery is the first book in a new tea shop and B&B based cozy series by author Vicki Delany. This book has some interesting characters and a wonderful setting. Readers will enjoy getting to the bottom of this case.

The characters are, for the most part, fun and entertaining, but some are a bit much for most readers to take. To say that Rose and Bernie take some time to warm up to is putting it mildly. But in the end, perhaps they aren’t as bad as readers will initially believe. Lily needs more of a spine when dealing with her friend and grandmother. She also seems to lack any normal desire to help in an investigation that will keep her grandmother from being arrested for murder. All of these issues combined make loving these characters difficult.

I love the idea of the tea shop and the B&B physically being close to each other. Each business supports the other, and this is a great combination to keep readers turning the page. The description of the teas, food, and recipes deliver a delightful background for the story and future additions to the series.

The murderer came as no surprise; the motive was as clear as a summer sky. The suspects, of which there were plenty, all fit within their respective roles. Even the inept detective fits in well with the other characters and lends a bit of suspense to the story. The B&B is described in enough detail, and the tea shop makes readers want high tea while they read. There are red herrings throughout, a good deal of action, especially towards the end, and ultimately a quick and believable resolution.

There is a great deal in Tea & Treachery that readers will enjoy. I do recommend this book to those who like their characters a bit rough around the edges, and who understand that characters grow with a series and shouldn’t be judge based on the introduction.

Other tea or B&B series readers will enjoy Julia Buckley’s traditional tea house series “A Hungarian Tea House Mystery” and Bree Baker’s thrilling “Seaside Café Mysteries”.

About 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.

Represented by Kim Lionetti of Bookends LLC.

Contact Vicki: vicki@vickidelany.com

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